The white grape variety is a natural mutation or subsequent selection of the red grape variety Cabernet Sauvignon. It was first discovered in 1980 by Malcolm Cleggett in the vineyards of the South Australian winery Clegett Wines in the Langhorne Creek area. A vine had developed two clusters of bronze-coloured berries (in addition to the normal red grapes) in one spot. Cleggett planted seeds from these and selected a total of 15 seedlings from them by 1984. He named this variety Malian (a combination of Malcolm and his brother Ian) and produced a light red wine from it. After further selection and propagation, white to golden coloured grapes were then achieved as a result in the early 1990s. Initially, Cleggett named the variety Cabernet Blanc or White Cabernet, but he then registered it under the name Shalistin. A single-varietal, dry white wine with a lemon flavour was introduced to the public in 2002. In 2016, 0.1 hectares of vines were designated (Kym Anderson). Also in Australia, the Cygne Blanc variety was created from an open-pollinated Cabernet Sauvignon seedling.
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Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien