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