Marignan is a named cru of the Vin de Savoie appellation in the Alps of eastern France. Located on the southern banks of Lake Geneva halfway between Thonon-les-Bains and the city of Geneva, Marignan is one of Savoie's most northerly crus. Vin de Savoie Marignan white wines are amongst the lightest made in Savoie from the Chasselas grape variety, displaying floral characters and delicate minerality.
The Marignan cru covers the administrative commune of Sciez at the foot of the Mont de Boissy hill on the lakeshore. The vineyards themselves stretch up the northeastern slopes of the hill, where they have a view of Lake Geneva (locally known as Lac Leman). The vineyards of Crepy lie on the southern side of the hill, while the lakeside crus of Ripaille and Marin are a short way to the east.
Marignan's location on the northern side of the hill is unusual within Savoie – vineyards most often lie on south-facing slopes to take advantage of the sunlight to maximize ripening. Instead, the vineyards of Marignan have a gentle, northerly aspect where they have less sunlight, but receive warmth from the lake during the late summer and early fall. As large bodies of water store heat more effectively than the land, Marignan's mesoclimate is made suitable for ripening the Chasselas grapes. That said, grapes grown on these north-facing vineyards do not ripen quite as effectively as those from sunnier crus, and Vin de Savoie Marignan wines are typically some of the leanest in Savoie.
The Mont de Boissy hill that sits above Marignan is essentially an accumulation of glacial moraine left over from ice age glaciations. The vines are planted on the sand and clay soils at the base of the hill, where their loose, crumbly structure, along with the slope, provide good natural drainage. By limiting the water intake of the vines, these soils force the vines to produce small, highly flavored grapes in lieu of leafy vegetation.
The slopes of the Marignan cru have been home to viticulture for hundreds of years, with monks from the Abbey de Filly first establishing vineyards in the 14th Century (along with those of Crepy). It is thought that the vines cultivated here during that time were also distributed to other parts of Savoie. Marignan became a named cru of Vin de Savoie in 1973, as its vineyards were recognized as producing Chasselas-based wines of particular quality. While many Vin de Savoie Marignan wines are varietal, a small selection of other grape varieties are permitted to compose up to 20% of the wine, including Chardonnay, Aligote and Mondeuse Blanche.
