Learn more about grape varieties
Discover all types of black grape varieties
Did you know that several elements contribute to the production of quality wine? While the region's climate, soil type, and weather are important, the grape variety (cultivated grapevine plant) and the juice it produces are even more decisive.
Indeed, the grape variety is the essential element of wine, as it gives it its taste, body, appearance, and aromas. There are white, black, and red grape varieties.
Today, let's discover black grape varieties together in this article.
The main black grape varieties
There are several varieties of black grape varieties in the world. But they do not all have the same yield or reputation.
For this reason, this article has selected some of the most famous among them, exploring their main production areas and their respective characteristics.
Syrah
Production area: quite honestly, it is difficult to say with certainty where syrah originated.
Taking into account conflicting legends, it may have originated in one of these three ancient cities: Sicily, Syria, or Persia. More concretely, recent tests have shown that it actually originated in the northern Rhône Valley.
However, to date, it is grown in the Rhône Valley, Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon and, of course, southwestern France.
Its global acreage continues to increase, and it is also grown in Italy, South Africa, Mexico, and Argentina.
Characteristics: highly susceptible to diseases, syrah is also sensitive to drought. When grown on soils rich in trace elements, it produces beautiful clusters with a bluish-black color and medium-sized berries that are highly spiced and sweet.
Syrah produces red wines with very deep colors. Very low in acidity, they are highly alcoholic and also feature a spiced aromatic complexity, fruity, floral aromas and tannins. In addition to red wines, syrah also produces pleasant, fruit-forward rosé wines thanks to their finesse.
Pinot noir
Production area: pinot noir is a very important grape variety in Burgundy and Champagne; it is also the only red grape variety permitted in Alsace.
But its success in Oregon, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand is not enough to hide the fact that it is difficult to grow outside of France.
Characteristics: this grape variety, rich in phenolic compounds, requires a terroir that can temper its delicacy and reduce the production of shoots.
It is highly susceptible to diseases such as downy mildew and grey rot, as well as leafhoppers. It particularly favors continental climates. The wines it produces are of great quality, combining finesse, power, intensity, and aromatic complexity depending on their age (fruit, forest floor, leather).
This is why the greatest and finest wine producers, such as Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, use it with pinot noir to make their wines.
Grenache
Production area: black grenache is not the only variety of grenache that exists. There are two others (white grenache and grey grenache).
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It proudly ranks behind merlot and cabernet sauvignon in the list of the most widely cultivated grape varieties worldwide. It covers more than 100,000 hectares of vineyards in France, spread across Languedoc, the Rhône Valley, and Provence.
It is also grown outside of France in countries such as Spain, Italy, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, and California.
Characteristics: it is quite productive and produces very sweet juice, probably due to its generous clusters and berries.
The reputation of its sweet natural wines from Roussillon precedes it. For this reason, many experts consider it the grape variety that produces the most popular red and rosé wines in the Mediterranean, whether grown alone or blended with carignan, syrah, or mourvèdre.
Its wines, with aromas of black fruit, have notes of cocoa, spices, and coffee, and are high in alcohol and low in acidity.
Cinsault
Production area: this French black grape variety, which is said to have originated in Provence covers nearly 30,000 hectares in France and extends into the Rhône Valley and Languedoc-Roussillon. It is also grown in Algeria and South Africa, where a cross between cinsault and pinot noir has been developed.
Characteristics: it is resistant to drought, making it a fertile and highly productive grape variety.
The consistency of its production and its quality are only possible if it is grown on poor, dry land. It ages fairly quickly and is susceptible to trunk diseases, mites, and grey rot.
Its large berries and clusters increase its juice yield. Their flavor is very sweet regardless of their stage of ripeness. When planted in poor, dry soil, it produces sweet wines.
Carignan
Production area:often nicknamed hard wood, carignan is a grape variety of Spanish origin, more precisely from Carinena in the province of Zaragoza, where it was gradually discontinued.
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Today, it is grown mainly in France, its adopted country, in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region and the Rhône Valley over an area of 955,744 hectares. Although it is little grown in its country of origin, it is worth noting that it is also grown in Italy on more than 2,500 hectares, in Cyprus, Greece, Morocco, and South Africa, as well as in Latin America, the United States, Australia, and China.
Characteristics: these are highly resistant grape varieties that can live for a hundred years or more, and it is at 30 years that they are able to produce their best wine. They prefer poor, dry soils and require heat and sunlight; it must wait until their third season to reach maturity.
The wines produced from it are deeply colored due to their richness and power. In terms of its aromatic component, this grape variety combines the following aromas: ripe cherry, banana, raspberry, pepper, damask rose, prune, and violet.
It is also used in the production of rosé wines. It is one of the most cloned grape varieties (25 clones in total) due to its yield. It is a grape variety that receives a lot of criticism, as it is unfairly or rightly dismissed as mediocre.
Cabernet franc is very old
Production area: this black tank grape is one of the oldest Bordeaux red grape varieties. It is the closest member to the wild varieties of the cabernet family (considered one of the most widely cultivated grape families in the world).
Read this article dedicated to cabernet sauvignon as well.
In addition to cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon, it is full of new cabernet grape varieties, including: cabernet carbon, cabernet cortis, cabernet cubin, cabernet dorio, cabernet dorsa, cabernet mitos, and ruby cabernet.
It originated in the Pyrenean vineyards and gradually conquered southwestern France. About 45,000 hectares are grown in more than 20 countries worldwide.
But France has the largest share, about 36,000 hectares, half of which are grown in Aquitaine and another part in the Loire Valley, but the Libournais remains its preferred terroir. Its early ripening compared to its cousin cabernet sauvignon gives it the opportunity to be grown in the north.
Characteristics: it has many assets that distinguish it from the others, relying on an aromatic finesse (spiced and bell pepper aromas) but also on its aging characteristics (its low tannin content accelerates its aging).
The aromas it produces depend on the terroirs where it is planted. For example, in the Bourgueil vineyards, they are close to raspberry, and in the Chignon vineyards, they are close to violet.
The wines it produces have medium color. Fruity, they have the particularity of being consumed young, but also at an advanced age. This grape variety is not unfamiliar in blends where it usually makes up the majority (it represents 60% of its blend with the very famous Château Cheval Blanc).
Malbec
Production area: this grape variety, whose name varies depending on the vineyard, may be called Auxerrois in Cahors and Malbec in Bordeaux. Elsewhere, it is known as Côt. Malbec is a high-yielding black tank grape variety and originated in France, where its cultivation is declining, with only 6,000 hectares remaining.
However, it has established itself well in Argentina with unprecedented success, covering 25,000 hectares of Argentine vineyards today. It has also been exported to Chile, covering about 6,000 hectares. Vineyards can also be found in Italy, Australia, California, Italy, and New Zealand
Characteristics: regarding its characteristics, it should be noted that despite the vigor for which it is known, it is sensitive to leafhoppers and cicadelles, as well as coulure, so it is essential to plant it densely and use a low-vigor rootstock.
The berries are small to medium, and it has medium-sized clusters and berries that contribute to the production of highly colored, aromatic wines rich in tannins, which makes them age well. Its wines are very aromatic, and in blends, it enhances the wine by adding body and color.
Gamay
Production area: this early and productive French tank grape variety is sometimes called black gamay with white juice.
Due to the competition it faced from Burgundy pinot noir, it was moved to Beaujolais, and its cultivation extends from Mâcon to Lyon.
It clearly benefits from the granite and siliceous soils that promote better production.
It is grown in other French terroirs such as the Loire Valley, Bugey, Lorraine, Savoie, and Auvergne. This grape variety has limited export because out of the 33,000 hectares cultivated worldwide, 30,000 are in France, mostly in Beaujolais with about 22,000 hectares.
Characteristics: it is a high-yielding grape variety because its production density ranges from 6,000 to 13,000 vines per hectare. It cannot tolerate very hot climates, much less fairly fertile conditions and is especially sensitive to bunch rot and late frost. Among the diseases it is susceptible to are powdery mildew and botrytis.
The wines produced from this grape variety are described as warm, fruity, spiced, and fairly colored. This grape variety lacks aromatic complexity and is low in tannins. In principle, these wines have a short drinking window, although in other terroirs they can improve over five or ten years or even longer. Its early ripening encourages limiting production so that the quality of its fruity, fresh, and delicious red wines takes precedence over quantity.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the black grape variety as a plant variety that produces red and rosé wines is no longer a secret to you, as this article has endeavored to study some of the most famous among them by outlining their geographical locations and characteristics.
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