Chiroubles

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The geographical area lies on the eastern slopes of the Monts du Beaujolais, which reach their highest point at 1,009 metres at Mont Saint-Rigaud, forming a granitic cirque open to the south-east.
• The plots are planted on hillsides between 260 and 600 metres in altitude, making this the highest-altitude vineyard in the Beaujolais region, with a mean elevation of 410 metres.
• All soils derive from the weathering of the granitic bedrock, producing a coarse, sandy grus that is lean, light, acidic, permeable, and shallow, with localised veins of microgranite and lamprophyre.
• The degraded oceanic climate, subject to continental and southerly influences, receives precipitation spread fairly evenly across the year and has a mean annual temperature close to 11 °C.
• The Monts du Beaujolais shelter the zone from westerly winds and generate a foehn effect that dries the humid air, increasing light intensity and reducing rainfall.
• The broad Saône valley promotes high luminosity and channels southerly influences, most notably in the form of strong summer heat.

• Victor Pulliat assembled a collection of 1,200 grape varieties on his Tempéré estate and was instrumental, in the 1880s, in pioneering grafting as a response to phylloxera.
• Victor Pulliat's vines were the first to be grafted in the Rhône département, and his role was decisive in the reconstitution of the vineyard.
• Producers combine traditional fermentation with semi-carbonic maceration to give the wines the tannic structure required for ageing.

• The wines have a light, attractive ruby-red appearance, with floral and fruity notes frequently present on the nose.
• The palate is generally low in tannin, supple, and very refined, with a balance between fruitiness and elegance; one or two years of cellaring reveals their full finesse.

• The lean, free-draining, granitic and low-clay soils drain and warm up quickly, which favours the production of quality grapes and the particularly fruity character of the wines.
• The siting of the vineyard on hillsides between 260 and 600 metres in altitude ensures sunlight levels that support good photosynthetic activity and guarantees rapid drainage of excess rainwater, thereby enabling optimal ripeness of the grapes.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF) — approved 20 février 2024, JORF 24 février 2024
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — Inter Beaujolais