2025 Clos Ste. Magdeleine Cassis Blanc

Cassis is an almost impossibly charming Provençal fishing port town and now popular tourist destination just east of Marseille and the Parc national des Calanques. Among its other charms, grapevines grow on the steep, often terraced hillsides around the town, which means that there is wine from the Cassis Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée: mostly white, some rosé, and a tiny amount of red. A dozen vignerons together farm just 215 hectares and make small quantities of wine, much of which is consumed in the village alongside fresh fish off the boat. (Note that Cassis AOC wine is geographically and in every other way unrelated to Crème de Cassis, the blackcurrant liqueur that is an essential ingredient in the Kir, Kir royale, and original Tequila sunrise. Cassis is the French word for blackcurrant, and Crème de Cassis originally came from Dijon, Burgundy.)

Paul Marcus Wines has proudly sold Clos Sainte Magdeleine Cassis Rosé for several years. On a recent wine trip, Ailis visited the producer and tasted their Cassis Blanc. Now we’re equally thrilled to offer what is the best Cassis Blanc that we’ve had the opportunity to try. Aurélie and Jonathan Sack-Zafiropulo are fourth-generation winegrowers who have converted the family’s 22 hectares of vineyards to certified organic farming. Their Cassis Blanc is 40% marsanne, 30% ugni blanc, 25% clairette, and 5% bourboulenc, fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks. It is very much a Provençal coastal wine: saline, delicately herbal and floral, sun-kissed yet breezy. But whereas much of the Provençal blanc produced, including Cassis, is content to be serviceable tourist wine to wash down the fish while you watch the boats glide past, this one has dimension, complexity, and length. Drink it with bouillabaisse (naturally), grilled vegetables, or ratatouille.