'Violette de Bordeaux'
In these observations I am only
referring to the main crop.
This is one of those fig varieties I recommend you do a little research on or
you might end up with a few of them in your collection under two or three
different names. ‘Violette de Bordeaux’ translates to “Violet of Bordeaux”, a
region in France, this dark French fig is common meaning it’s capable of
ripening its main crop in areas that do not have the magical and most desired
“fig wasp”. Some of the common synonyms you might find in the online market
space will be; ‘Negronne’, ‘Vista’, ‘Nero 600m’, and ‘Petite Negri’ and there
are a few more I’m aware of, most likely many more that I am not so check your
inventory and watch out for the synonyms.
In our short season maritime climate the main crop ripened towards the end of the
season, pretty late. After 3 or 4 years of observing this variety I’ve noticed
the figs ripen earlier and earlier each season as it matures but is still generally
one of the last to ripen its main crop out of my collection. The tree has been
a slow grower so far and it’s still young leaving plenty of room for
improvements so I’m leaving it in ground for further observations.
In a perfect world I would like
‘Violette de Bordeaux’ to ripen earlier in the Puget Sound region but really the
only thing this variety lacks is vigor at a young age. I’ve seen others
document how vigorous this cultivar can be once established so keep in mind
when choosing a spot in the landscape that it may take longer to mature
compared to other varieties. The growth has been quite compact with short node
spacing and a lot of sprouts from down low on the trunk. Because of these
habits I decided to let it naturally grow shrub like instead of pruning for a
single leader tree.
What this variety lacks in vigor at a premature age it makes up for with abundant
fruit production and precociousness which tells me what this plants priorities
are and where all of the energy is going. With all of this energy going into
fruit production it’s clear why the tree stays small, until the root system
builds up enough energy to push into vigorous shoots and branching each season.
I find the dark medium sized fruit to be just as beautiful as the compact shrub like structure of the tree which is why I chose this variety over a handful of others to grow in the front yard. The exterior of the fruit is longer than round in shape with a very tight to a completely closed eye. The exterior colors are a deep and rich saturated black with these wonderful little red and white dots that look like distant stars. You can tell there is this beautiful shade of deep purple that lives under these deep black tones where the colors transition at the neck from the saturated black to a rich purple, then followed by a trail of the most beautiful shades of neon pink I have ever seen. I was always into space growing up and if these colors remind me of anything it’s galaxies and the deep void of unknown emptiness. When I bite into these figs I noticed the skin can be tough if not well ripened but not in a bad way. I personally find this fig a pleasure to eat before it is completely ripe just as much as over ripe because the textures vary and change throughout the ripening stages.
Being a later ripening variety paired with our climates unavoidable challenges one thing I worry about with a variety like this is the fruit cracking and going insipid due to higher moister levels that move in when this fig wants to ripen a main crop. I believe the tough skin helps keep this fig looking beautiful while others start deteriorating in the rain by keeping out moister out better than those varieties with really thin skin.
The interior reminds me of a glossy blood red ruby with light hues of pinks. I observed the pulp to be quite dense with a delightful jam like texture. The seed crunch was light and due to the dense pulp, I found the cavity on almost all of the fruit to be mostly filled or completely filled in. The flavor profile was one of the most complex of all the figs I’ve tried from my collection throughout the season which surprised me because it ripened fruit in the harshest part of our season. The most standout flavors were a combination of strawberry and raspberry with a little bit of acidity. With the flavors being so complex it gets harder to translate into words but without a doubt this was one of my favorites. Not every fig in my collection leaves me walking away pondering what I just tasted and what I can compare it to.
