Vitis vinifera Manseng noir is an alternative red variety for low alcohol wines of strong structure and soft tannins

Abstract

In 2019, we have planted the red variety Manseng Noir, as it has been shown that it is the only sister of the Tannat grape. Tannat was introduced to Uruguay in 1870 from the south-western regions of France. Other varieties from this region have also been shown to produce very good wines, such as Arinarnoa introduced in 1995 and Petit Manseng in 2005, both of which are now considered excellent for high-end wines in Uruguay¹.

However, in 2013 it was discovered through genetic analysis that Manseng noir is not only from the same region as Tannat, but is the only sister identified among 2500 varieties studied⁴. This variety has virtually disappeared from the Pyrenees, probably due to the production of grapes with lower sugar content than Tannat or Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, when some markets are looking for varieties with a moderate alcohol content, some producers in this region have been encouraged to replant Manseng noir, thinking that it could help them to obtain wines with low alcohol content⁵.

After several years, we have managed to plant the first vineyard outside the Pyrenees, in Uruguay, together with some of our Tannat clones, in order to compare the two varieties from a viticultural and oenological point of view³. In 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 harvests, their elaboration was achieved within this project, where agronomic, chemical and sensory analyses were carried out.

Sensory analyses show an early smoothness in Manseng noir tannins, allowing to obtain wines with lower alcohol and higher structure but less astringency in the mouth (p<0.001).

Enological results obtained show that its agronomic phenotype, acidity and colour intensity are similar to Tannat, but with the peculiarity of being grapes of moderate ripeness, 11.0-12.5% of alcohol. The flavanol polymerization was 8% more than that of the control Tannat at 14% alcohol and interesting differences were found in the anthocyanin characteristics of the skin.

Manseng noir complete genome was sequenced by Illumina technology and the results of the comparison of genes related to polyphenol biosynthesis between the two varieties are presented².

In reference to color composition, Manseng noir have a higher content of acylated anthocyanins and a higher malvidin/delphinidin relation that indicates increase flavonoid 3′,5′-methyltransferase activity not related to gene copy number (as both genomes have 4 genes for this enzyme), this fact may contribute with an increase in color stability in this variety.

A comparative analysis of the metabolome of volatile compounds with GC-MS is also carried out during five harvests. The results are discussed to explain why Manseng noir is softer than Tannat by early polymerisation of the tannin fraction. Manseng Noir would be a variety more adapted to today’s consumer preferences and new wine design trends, with lower alcohol content even under warmer climate, shorter ageing time in barrel and a successful grape to work with low input winemaking technologies.

References

1. Carrau, F., Boido, E., Gaggero, C., Medina, K., Fariña, L., Disegna, E., & Dellacassa, E. (2011). Vitis vinifera Tannat, chemical characterization and functional properties. Ten years of research. Multidisciplinary Approaches on Food Science and Nutrition for the XXI Century, Rosana Filip, ed (Kerala, India: Transworld Research Network), 53-71.
2. Da Silva, C., Zamperin, G., Ferrarini, A., Minio, A., Dal Molin, A., Venturini, L., … & Delledonne, M. (2013). The high polyphenol content of grapevine cultivar tannat berries is conferred primarily by genes that are not shared with the reference genome. The Plant Cell, 25(12), 4777-4788.
3. Fariña, L., Gonzalez, V., Mayo, D., Boido, E., Carrau, P., Martin, V., … & Carrau, F. (2023). Vitis vinifera Manseng noir, the sister of Tannat. Alternative variety for low alcohol wines produced in Uruguayan conditions. In BIO Web of Conferences (Vol. 56, p. 01032). EDP Sciences.
4. Lacombe, T., Boursiquot, J. M., Laucou, V., Di Vecchi-Staraz, M., Péros, J. P., & This, P. (2013). Large-scale parentage analysis in an extended set of grapevine cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.). Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 126, 401-414.
5. Raymond, N. (2019). Preservación de variedades pirenaicas olvidadas en la Bodega cooperativa Plaimon Producteurs. Estrategia comercial para valorizar una variedad desconocida: Manseng Noir. citarea.cita-aragon.es