Manseng Noir

Identity

Manseng Noir is not a red Manseng.

That is the first thing to say, because the name invites exactly the opposite error. Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng are Pyrenean whites, and one might take this for their black-berried version. The VIVC and Pl@ntGrape agree: it is a separate variety, not a coloured variant.

This corpus has met that trap twice already — with the two Mansengs themselves, which share a name without a documented pedigree, and with Trebbiano, whose name covers genetically distinct varieties. The rule that follows: a shared name is never proof of relatedness.

In the vineyard

Bud burst mid-season, ripeness late, vigour high.

Its distinguishing feature is agronomic and clear-cut: it is "not very fertile on the basal buds, which requires long pruning". The lower eyes do not produce, so wood must be left to find the crop further along the cane. It is the same fault as Fer Servadou, with the same consequence for management.

Otherwise Pl@ntGrape is reassuring: it "does not appear particularly susceptible to diseases and pests", and adapts to varied soils. A robust variety, then, whose rarity is not explained by fragility.

In the glass

The structure is the most telling part: high tannin and low acidity.

That is an unusual combination. Most of the tannic reds in this corpus keep their acidity — Tannat, Fer Servadou, Petit Verdot. Here the tannin comes on its own, without the acid that would balance it. A wine of that profile needs blending, or ageing that rounds it out.

The two descriptors, blackcurrant and blackberry, are readings of the register of a tannic South-West red, not quotations: Pl@ntGrape names no aroma for this variety.

Where it is named

At Madiran, an accessory variety behind the Tannat that dominates the appellation.

That is a modest position in an appellation whose principal variety, Tannat, is already very tannic. Bringing tannin to Madiran is not what is lacking — hence, probably, the accessory rank and the small plantings.

What this entry does not say

Its parentage, not established by the sources consulted. And what it actually becomes in a Madiran blend, for want of a source describing its contribution rather than its isolated profile. No planted area is claimed.