Chatus is a red
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
variety native to
Ardèche
Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.[France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...]
.
History
Before the
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...
epidemic, Chatus was grown primarily in the sandy soils of
Bas-Vivarais, though scattered plantings could also be found in
Drôme
Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019. and
Isère
Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.[ONIVINS
French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian wine, Italian, Spanis ...]
request for reclassification was obtained in 1997, and in 2000 growers set a limit of 50 hectolitres per hectare in the
Cévennes
, etymology=
, photo=Point Sublime-Gorges du Tarn-Frankreich.jpg
, photo_caption=The Gorges du Tarn
, country= France
, subdivision2=
, subdivision2_type=Départements
, parent= Massif Central
, area_km2=
, length_km=
, length_orient ...
, which were replanted with the variety.
Distribution and wines
Chatus is presently grown exclusively in the area surrounding Ardèche. The grape can produce wines with brilliant color and complex aromas of medlar and overripe fruit. Wines made from Chatus tend to be intense and tannic when young, and were historically blended with Courbès, a now extinct native Ardèche varietal, to add acidity and alcohol. It is recommended to be aged five years before drinking.
Vine and viticulture
The vine is upright, vigorous, and prefers high altitudes and siliceous soils, especially the detrital ridges south of the
Massif Central
The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France.
Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...
. Its susceptibility to diseases increases when grown on calcareous soils, especially
mildew
Mildew is a form of fungus. It is distinguished from its closely related counterpart, mould, largely by its colour: moulds appear in shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white. It appears as a thin, superficial growth consi ...
and
powdery mildew
Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant diseases to identify, as ...
.
It ripens in mid-October.
The clusters are compact, large, elongated and conical, without wings, though sometimes with a secondary cluster. The berries are round, uniform, small, and deep black with bluish bloom. Their pulp is green, tart, and sweet with no distinctive smell.
References
{{Wines
Red wine grape varieties
Wine grapes of France