Study on the ageing of Chasselas
Why is it that a Chasselas wine develops positive aromatic and flavour characteristics over time? It would take a clever person indeed to answer that with any certainty.
There are few scientific studies on the ageing potential of this grape variety. That is why Agroscope and the Changins School of Viticulture and Oenology have launched an experimental study on aged Chasselas, with the support of the Canton of Vaud and the Bovard Foundation. Although the study is still ongoing, a 2024 report has already highlighted the positive influences of qualitative and quantitative factors.
The excellent ageing potential of Chasselas wines
Chasselas has a reputation as a wine that should be drunk young, ‘while it’s still fruity’. This preconception does a disservice to its reputation, as great wines are generally perceived as those that age best.
However, although not all vintages of Chasselas are suited to ageing, the grape variety has significant ageing potential. But how should these wines be described? What are the reasons behind their such positive aromatic and flavour profiles? In other words, why and how does a young Chasselas wine develop, over time, a bouquet of positive ageing notes?
The problem is that there are very few studies on how Chasselas wines develop over time.
Experimental research
This is why the Agroscope federal research centre and the Changins School of Viticulture and Oenology have launched an experimental research project, which is still ongoing.
Members of the Bovard Foundation contributed their expertise to the project and helped define its framework. Like other producers, Domaine Louis Bovard provided older vintages for both chemical and sensory analysis.
Those in charge of the study sent questionnaires to Vaud-based winegrowers and winemakers, as well as to consumers. Tasting tests were conducted with around forty professionals using vintages from 2003, 2009 and 2012. The aim was to ascertain whether it was possible to identify, in a blind tasting, good examples of aged Chasselas, characterised by a positive change in their sensory and taste characteristics. Analyses were also carried out to determine whether the sensory characteristics observed could be linked to the wines’ chemical composition.
Provisional results
It appears, for the time being, that the key indicators of a fine example of aged Chasselas are its alcohol content, amino acid levels and acidity. In terms of quantitative analysis, around twenty chemical compounds show significant differences depending on the vintage in question. Qualitative factors such as corking, nitrogen correction of the must, the vintage or the vine’s water reserve appear to be correlated with the qualities of the finest aged wines.
Ultimately, these quantitative and qualitative data will provide valuable insights for promoting aged Chasselas wines.