Bachet noir is a traditional
French variety of red wine grape that is a sibling of
Chardonnay
Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...
. A little is still grown in the
Aube
Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),[Gamay
Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th centu ...]
wines.
History
DNA fingerprinting
DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding.
DNA profiling is a forensic tec ...
has shown that it is one of many grapes to be the result of a cross between
Gouais blanc
Gouais blanc () or Weißer Heunisch () is a white grape variety that is seldom grown today but is important as the ancestor of many traditional French and German grape varieties. The name ''Gouais'' derives from the old French adjective ‘ ...
(Heunisch) and
Pinot noir
Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...
, making it a sibling of famous varieties such as Chardonnay and
Aligoté
Aligoté is a white grape used to make dry white wines, especially in the Burgundy region of France where it was first recorded in the 18th century.winepros.com.au. Since it is tolerant to cold, this variety is also cultivated in Eastern Europ ...
. Gouais blanc was widely grown by the French peasantry in the Medieval ages. This offered many opportunities for hybridization, and the offspring benefited from hybrid vigour as the parents were genetically quite different.
The fact that it is now only found in the Aube, and is descended from grapes that have been grown locally for hundreds of years, suggests that it originated to the north of Burgundy.
Other Gouais blanc/Pinot crosses include
Aubin vert
Aubin vert is a white French wine grape variety that is grown in the Lorraine region where it is an authorized variety for the ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wines of the Moselle. While often confused for the Côtes de Toul grape Aubin ...
,
Auxerrois,
Beaunoir
Beaunoir is a traditional French variety of red wine grape that is a sibling of Chardonnay. The 'beautiful black' grape produces a thin wine and not much is grown these days.
History
DNA fingerprinting has shown that it is one of many grapes to ...
,
Franc Noir de la-Haute-Saône
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...
,
Gamay Blanc Gloriod
Gamay Blanc Gloriod is an obscure French wine, French variety of white wine grape. Very little of it is grown commercially.
It is named after Émile Gloriod, who discovered it as a seedling; it was originally thought to be a white version of the ...
,
Gamay noir
Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th centu ...
,
Melon
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The ...
,
Knipperlé
Knipperlé is a traditional French variety of white wine grape from Alsace. It's not listed for use in AOC wine, but is a minor component of blends for local drinking, in some ways an Alsatian equivalent of its sibling Aligoté in Burgundy.
His ...
,
Peurion
Peurion is a traditional French variety of white wine grape that is a sibling of Chardonnay. Once quite popular, not much is still grown in France these days.
History
Peurion was popularized by the Augustinian monks at Langres north of Dijon a ...
,
Romorantin
Romorantin is a traditional French variety of white wine grape, that is a sibling of Chardonnay. Once quite widely grown in the Loire, it has now only seen in the Cour-Cheverny AOC. It produces intense, minerally wines somewhat reminiscent of ...
,
Roublot
Roublot is a traditional French variety of white wine grape that is a sibling of Chardonnay. It was once quite widely grown near Auxerre.
History
In the early 19th century, Roublot made up a third of the area in Saint-Bris-le-Vineux in the west ...
, and
Sacy
Viticulture
Bachet noir has small, winged bunches of small grapes
Wine regions
Tiny amounts of Bachet noir are grown in the Aube, between Champagne and Chablis. It contributes color and body to the red wines of this northerly region.
Synonyms
Bachet, Bachey, François, François Noir, François Noir De Bar-Sur-Aube, Gris Bachet
References
External links
VIVC Bibliography
{{Wines
Red wine grape varieties