Chasselas de Thomery, also known as Chasselas doré de Fontainebleau, is a Chasselas grape variety grown in the village of Thomery in the Seine-et-Marne region.
This table grape, closely related to Chasselas de Moissac, has been produced and preserved using unique, traditional local methods since 1730. The special features of this crop, located in a very northerly zone for a table grape, are based on the development of espalier vine-growing techniques on walls, and optimization of fruit ripening through very specific pruning of the vines known as "Cordon Charmeux", as well as specific methods for preserving in fruitiers the fresh bunches picked in October and marketed until May of the following year.
Chasselas de Thomery, whose production peaked at the beginning of the 20th century, was renowned and appreciated between the wars, when it was considered a luxury grape to be enjoyed throughout the winter and spring. Its cultivation and marketing declined sharply from the late 1930s onwards, and today it is only grown traditionally and ornamentally by a few private individuals in the commune.
History
Origins
Chasselas de Thomery, also known as Chasselas doré de Fontainebleau, has a secondary origin, either in the Cahors region (it is closely related to Chasselas de Moissac), or in Piedmont in Italy, although it is not yet possible to say which hypothesis prevails over the other. On the other hand, in the current state of scientific knowledge, this variety is identical to Chasselas B, whose primary origin is the region on the borders of France, Italy, and Switzerland, probably in the geographical area known as the arc lémanique, which also includes the village of Chasselas, through which the original variety passed between the 16th and 17th centuries. As a result, Chasselas, which has long been classified as a proles orientalis variety, must now be considered a proles occidentalis, given the results of recent comparative genetic studies based on microsatellite sequence analysis of over 500 different grape varieties.
Establishment and development in Thomery
The Fontainebleau region was a vine-growing area long before the present-day viticulture of Thomery, as attested by the existence of the Pressoirs du Roy in Samoreau, built under Francis I in 1530, and the cultivation of vines along the 1,200-meter "treilles du Roi" on the south wall of the Château de Fontainebleau gardens. However, vine-growing was limited to court consumption, and did not extend beyond the royal orchards.
The sandy-clay soil of alluvial origin on the By hillside, although facing east and south-east, was nevertheless chosen by François Charmeux around 1730 as the site for the first chasselas vines grown on the "treilles du Roi" in Fontainebleau. This soil, a priori unfavorable to viticulture, combined with a northerly location not conducive to sunshine, could not intrinsically produce a wine of acceptable quality. However, with the Charmeux family's improvements in grape ripening techniques, the possibility of producing a high-quality table grape was demonstrated. Given the success of his small-scale production, Charmeux decided to build more high walls between 1730 and 1736. Vine-growing was initially very limited, involving only a handful of producers between 1750 and 1800, but expanded with a second wave of wall construction around 1840 and the optimization of production methods, culminating around 1842 in Thomery's 205 hectares of walled vineyards. At that time, Chasselas de Thomery was not the only grape variety grown along the walls, but also alongside the German Frankenthal grape variety from the town of the same name, which attracted consumers for the aesthetics of its bunches and growers for its ease of cultivation. Although many other trials were carried out, these were really the only two grape varieties grown on a large scale in the region. Between the walls are also developed monothematic fruit and vegetable crops, often on counter-paliers (i.e. supported by rows of wire).