The Last Grape

Often overlooked Rhône red grape Muscardin is gaining attention in California thanks to Paso's Tablas Creek.

- By AARON ROMANO

Approximately 0.01% of the vineyards in France's Rhône Valley are planted to Muscardin, an auxiliary blending red grape, which, while recognized in the official Châteauneuf-du-Pape regulations, is often forgotten among the better-known allowed varieties such as Syrah, Grenache and Roussanne.

“[Muscardin] is one of the many old varieties that fell out of favor,” says Tablas Creek partner and general manager Jason Haas. “In the 1960s and ’70s, it was making wines that were pale and low alcohol, and high in acid, in an era where the wines that were being rewarded tended to be dark and rich and luscious.”

In 2019, Tablas Creek established half an acre of Muscardin in its Paso Robles vineyards, which now represents all of California’s plantings.

But why plant a castaway grape like Muscardin? “It was part of my dad and the Perrins’ vision from the beginning,” says Haas.

In 1989, Haas’ father, Robert, and partners France’s Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel decided Paso Robles would be the place to honor Châteauneuf-du-Pape with the founding of Tablas Creek. Vines using cuttings from Château de Beaucastel vineyards were planted, and after early success with the more prominent Châteauneuf-du-Pape grapes, they decided in 2003 to bring the remaining grapes from Beaucastel to Tablas Creek, including Muscardin.