De Chaunac: A Little-Known Variety?

© Paul Bulas

Not too many wineries make a varietal De Chaunac in Ontario these days. I'm not sure if there are less of these wines today than there once were, but the examples that I've been able to try have convinced me that De Chaunac can stand quite respectfully alongside its more widely seen relatives, Baco and Foch. This said, the grape is not recognized under Canada's VQA system, and so its wines cannot bear a VQA symbol.

Still, well-made varietal De Chaunac can and does exist. The key to making a fine example seems to lie in getting the grapes suitably ripe, and in applying sufficient oak-aging. Otherwise, the wine can be simple and even bordering on nondescript. Not that that's a bad thing, mind you; sometimes a bit of neutrality makes for a pleasant change.

The first De Chaunac that I ever tried, and which was a pleasant revelation, was a 1998 from Lakeview Cellars. Anyone who's tried Lakeview's wines will probably know that they make fantastic Baco and Foch. Totally lacking the "smoky buckwheat" aromas that I often find in Baco and Foch, the De Chaunac instead had a pleasant bitter black cherry character to it. Here are some tasting notes:

1998 Lakeview Cellars De Chaunac, Dolling/Boreham Vineyards
Delightfully inky, staining blackish violet-purple colour; youthful violet at the edges. Big, juicy black cherries and vanilla on the nose, with secondary hints of damp peat as well as a Port-like, liquorous note. Firm acidity on the entry; texturally lean on the midpalate. Port-like flavours progress to an oaky, warm, bitter almond finish, with some puckery tannins lingering on the tongue.

1999 Lakeview Cellars De Chaunac
Medium-dark ruby core, with a beet-red/violet purple edge. Big-oak-and-tart-black-cherry nose. Huge, palate-bracing acidity; tart and dry with a brisk, black cherry-flavoured palate-feel. Very tart, light-bodied red wine that finishes on an acidic note. No tannin to speak of.

And here's one from Thomas & Vaughan Vintners:

1999 Thomas & Vaughan De Chaunac
Saturated (nearly opaque) ruby, with a purple-violet hue. Swirling brings out juicy red fruits, cherries and plums, with a pleasing dusty note. Some earthy hints emerge from behind a delicate veil of oak. A hint of grippy tannin makes itself felt on the tip of the tongue, where the pleasantly tart entry leads to a full, dry, almost fat, glycerolic palate-feel that's alive and invigorating. Oak and a bit of earthiness take over on the mid-palate and carry the finish.

If varietal De Chaunac is available in your area, you may wish to give it a try. Who knows -- you might end up liking it as much as I did!

October 2001

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