Paul Truel, creator of the grape Marselan, was born in Paris in 1924 but spent most of his life further south. He worked at Domaine de Vassal, the vineyard collection of INRA (Institut National de Recherche Agronomique) in Montpelier, from 1954 until his retirement in 1985. He was a student of the noted ampelographer Pierre Galet at the University of Montpellier.

Truel created more than a dozen new grape varieties, including Chasan, a cross of Chardonnay and Listan, and Caladoc, a cross of Grenache and Malbec. He put his vine-identifying skills to use, especially in the 1970s and early 1980s, with trips to Argentina (1970), Bulgaria (1974), Australia (1976 and 1982), Portugal (1982) and elsewhere. And he wrote several works on vines and grapes, including a three-volume set with Jean Branas, who was instrumental in creating Domaine de Vassal.

Truel died in 2014. GiESCO, a group of vine and wine experts, paid tribute to him in its newsletter:

“Paul TRUEL will remain in our memories as the pillar, craftsman and soul of the Vassal estate, for his world collection of vines, for his breeding plots, as one of the few outstanding ampelographers of our time, as the father of vines of the first rank of which it is undoubtedly necessary to place the Marselan.”

Truel was described as a “man of rigor, insatiable researcher,  indefatigable worker, endowed with a breathtaking memory, an unparalleled observer.” And cited for his “generosity and his welcoming of young researchers.”

Here are some more mentions of Truel through the years. I am working, slowly but surely, on a fuller biography. If you have any info to share, please send it to Jim Boyce via jimboyce (at) marselanday.com.

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“When I was in France back in 1957, I visited the new National Agricultural Research Institute Vineyard at Vassal, near Montpelier… and there I met Paul Truel, in charge of collecting and identifying clones from all areas of France.  Now with more than 25 years experience at this task of grape variety identification, Mr. Truel has become one of the top world authorities on the subject.”

The Friends of Wine (Amis du vin), Cornell University, 1982

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“Experience has shown ampelography is a field of systematic botany requiring very specialized skills and interpretative ability, as well an extraordinary memory. Very few people can walk into any vineyard and unequivocally identify varieties. Some  modern acknowledged experts apart from Pierre Galet have included his colleague Paul Truel and successors Jean-Michel Boursiquot, Thierry Lacombe of Montpelier, and Anna Schneider of Italy, and the late Allan Antcliff of Australia.”

The Oxford Companion to Wine, Jancis Robinson and Julia Harding, 2015

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One of the events that inspired [the publication] was the visit to Australia of the French grape wine identification expert M. Paul Truel. The identity of all varieties illustrated (except Moschata Paradisa and Solvorino, which are names used only in Australia) was confirmed by him, during a visit to Merbein in February 1982. Readers will probably appreciated, from the brief history of wine grapes in Australia contained in this book, just how much uncertainty and confusion there has been around varietal names.”

Vines for Wines, George Kerridge and Angela Gackle, Csiro Publishing, 2005

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One of the many varieties taken to Australia by the pioneer viticulturist James Busby in 1832 was called Blanc Select. The other important date in this cosmopolitan saga is 1976, when the French ampelographer Paul Truel explained to the Australians that the variety grown by Joseph Irvine at the Great Western Champagne Cellars, called Irvin’s White, so usefully high in acid, was none other than Onenc. He also pointed out that the variety called Sercial in South Australia was Ondenc too.

Vines, Grapes and Wine, Jancis Robinson, Knopf, 1986

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“In the mid-seventies, the French ampelographer Paul Truel examined specimens of Petite Sirah in the vine collections at [UC] Davis, and concluded that at least some of them were Durif.”

American Rhone, Patrick J Comiskey, University of California Press, 2016

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Dr Allan Antcliff began collecting varieties into a major germplasm collection in the CSIRO Division of Horticulture at Merbin, Victoria, in the late 1950s for use in a grape-breeding program which commenced in the early 1960s. It soon became apparent that many of the varieties were wrongly named and in 1976 M. Paul Truel was brought to Australia to sort out the confusion (Antcliff 1976).

M. Truel was the curator of the INRA grape germplasm collection at Vassal near Montpellier in the south of France. During this visit to Australia, M. Truel found that most of the major wine grape varieties—Shiraz, Grenache, Cabenet Sauvignon, Mataro, Riesling, Semillon, Doradillo, Pedro Ximinez, Trebbiano and Palomino—were generally correctly identified, although some incorrectly named plantings were found (e.g. a Riesling called Semillon). Some of the minor varieties—Graciano, Marsanne, Mondeuse and Sauvignon Blanc—were also found to be correctly identified. However, some of the errors included Chenin Blanc called Semillon in Western Australia and Albillo in South Australia. Chenin Blanc was also the major component of a Chardonnay planting in the Rutherglen area of  Victoria. Bastardo was found under the name of Touriga in New South Wales and as Cabernet Gros in South Australia. The true Malbec was found to be correctly identified, but a Malbec in South Australia was found to be Tinta Amarella and one in Victoria was found to be Dolcetto. More recent introductions were also found to be incorrect, e.g. a Gamay Beaujolias which was actually a clone of Pinot Noir, and Napa Gamay which proved to be Valdiguie. Even more recently, two clones of Pinot Blanc were found to be Semillon.”

Vines for Wines, George Kerridge and Angela Gackle, Csiro Publishing, 2005

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In June 1980, Paul Truel attended the 100th Anniversary Symposium at U.C. Davis, and was shown the variety collection. He identified the vines labeled Pinot Blanc as Melon (synonym—Muscadet) and those labeled Napa Gamay as Valdiguié.

—The Friends of Wine (Amis du vin), Cornell University, 1982

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Australia is rapidly increasing her plantings of Chenin Blanc, having blithely called it Semillon in Western Australia, Albillo or “Sherry” in South Australia and Chardonnay in Rutherglen, until the seminal visit in 1976 of French ampelographer Paul Truel to nose around Australia’s vines.

Vines, Grapes and Wine, Jancis Robinson, Knopf, 1986

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Monsieur Paul Truel of the National Agricultural Research institute of France, visited W.A. with Mr. A. J. Antcliff of CS.l.R.O. Division of Horticultural Research, Merbein, and Mr. R. R. Hollick of the Australian Wine Board. Mr. Truel examined most grape varieties in our ampelographic collection. Most of the major wine grape varieties in W.A. are correctly named with the important exception of Muscadelle incorrectly referred as to Tokay.

Report of the Australian Wine and Brandy Producing Industry, 1976

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The 1970s were a time of great change for the winegrape variety scene in Australia…. In 1976, French ampelographer Paul Truel visited vineyards in many regions, accompanied by Allan Antcliff of CSIRO [Australia’s foremost ampelographer of the time]. Their findings were surprising, to say the least. For example, all Semillon in Western Australia and the variety known as Albillo in South Australia turned out to be Chenin Blanc. Much of the Malbec in SA was Tinta Amarela, and most of the Malbec in Victoria was Dolcetto. Cabernet Gros in SA was actually Bastardo syn Trousseau and many other varieties were found, for the first time, to be present in Australian vineyards.

Wine & Viticulture Journal, July/August 2014

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I am gathering more info about Truel and his adventures, including to South America. More updates to come!