Roublot is a traditional French variety of white 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 France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new ...

. It was once quite widely grown near

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are re ...

History

In the early 19th century, Roublot made up a third of the area in Saint-Bris-le-Vineux in the west of Chablis. Then the vines were wiped out in 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, ...

epidemic, and uniquely for Burgundy, were replaced by

Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

, the wines of which today are designated Saint-Bris AOC.

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 te ...

has shown that Roublot 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 Pinot may refer to: *Pinot (grape), a grape family * Pinot (surname) *Pinot (restaurant) Joachim Splichal is a celebrity chef based in Los Angeles, California. In 1991, he was declared "Best California Chef" by the James Beard Foundation. Four ye ...

, making it a full 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 vigor as the parents were genetically quite different. 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 Aubi ...

, Auxerrois,

Bachet noir Bachet noir is a traditional French variety of red wine grape that is a sibling of Chardonnay. A little is still grown in the Aube, where it is used to add colour and body to Gamay wines. History DNA fingerprinting has shown that it is one of m ...

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, Gamay Blanc Gloriod,

Gamay Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire_Valley_(wine), Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long a ...

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, Peurion,

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 o ...

, Roublot, and Sacy. The synonym César blanc may reflect a traditional link with the ancient red grape César, a Pinot/

Argant Argant is an ancient variety of red wine grape. It originated in Spain and may have been taken to eastern France by the Romans. It was briefly popular, but little of it remains today. It used to be common in southwestern Germany and in Austria un ...

cross.

Viticulture

Like many Pinot/Gouais crosses, Roublot is quite vigorous, with small bunches. It is a very unreliable yielder, thanks to its high susceptibility to

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 ...

and grey rot.

Wine regions

Roublot has just about disappeared from commercial production.

Synonyms

Aubanne, César Blanc, César Femelle, L'Haubanne, Meslier, Plant De Vaux, Plant Paule, Robleau, Roblot, Roublat, Roubleau

References

{{reflist

External links

VIVC Bibliography
White wine grape varieties