Crouchen

Crouchen is a white South African and Australian wine grape variety that originated in the western Pyrenees of France but is now virtually extinct in France due to its high susceptibility to fungal diseases like powdery and downy mildew.

[1] Recent European Union regulation aimed at standardizing wine labelling laws has encouraged wineries to move away from these synonyms but their use still persists.

In 1976 ampelographer Paul Truel positively identified the vines growing in Australia as the French variety Crouchen.

[1] In the early 1990s, there were over 1,000 acres (420 hectares) of Crouchen growing throughout Australia but its numbers have been steadily declining over the past few decades.

Wine expert Jancis Robinson notes that some examples of Cape Riesling do have the potential to age and improve in the bottle.