The Manseng Brothers - Get to know them!

You remember the Mansengs, right? Petit and Gros? They were in the same home room as Marty Malvasia and Minnie Malbec…Actually, I’m pretty sure that very few have met the Mansengs, but I think that it’s time that you did.

The two Manseng cultivars are white-berried vines that are found in one very isolated patch in the extreme southwest of France, very close to the Spanish border. The vine is often associated with the Basques, and indeed one of the appellations in which the Manseng grape makes an appearance is in the Irouleguy appellation in the French basque region with the other two being Jurancon and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh (yes, this is spelled correctly) both just east of the French Basque. Due to the Basque association, there are also some small parcels of the Mansengs in Uruguay, a place to which many Basques emigrated in the 19th century.

The basic differences between the Gros and Petit versions of this vine are berry size and skin thickness. Intuitively, Gros Manseng produces larger berries with thinner skins. Gros Manseng lends itself to the production of dry rather than sweet wines. Its yields are quite generous, and it is, despite its thinner skin, quite disease resistant. Conversely, Petit Manseng, with smaller, thicker skinned fruit, when vinified solo, is more likely to be making a dessert wine. Though usually considered to be the “nobler” of the two, Petit Manseng, despite its thicker skins, is prone to both downy and powdery mildew as well as coulure (vine diseases). Petit Manseng, due its paucity of juice, also lends itself to late harvesting or post-harvest drying. The two sub-varieties are sometimes combined (with the Gros in the lead) to make dry wines as well.

So what’s it like in the glass? It tends to be fairly weighty even in its dry form, and the sweet versions are quite rich and viscous. The Mansengs most frequently yield flavors and aromas of tangy grapefruit, green apple, flint, white pepper, and ginger, and pair well with shellfish, spicy and pungent but not necessarily “hot” chicken dishes, and salty fare. It also goes quite well with non-western cuisines like Vietnamese, Chinese, and Indian. Wines made from Manseng are definitely not Pinot Grigios or Chardonnays - they’re a bit more “eccentric” than that, but are refreshing, though-provoking, and GREAT with food!

Presently, we’re only carrying one Manseng-based wine - a dry Jurancon. As always, please post your tasting notes for this (or any other) Manseng-based wine here if you’re so inclined…

TOM CIOCCO

Man oh Manseng!