Coteaux du Lyonnais

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The appellation extends across the eastern edge of the Massif Central, bounded by the valleys of the Turdine and the Azergues to the north, the Rhône and the Saône to the east, the Monts du Lyonnais to the west, and the Gier valley to the south.
• The appellation covers the territory of 49 communes in the Rhône département, with vines planted between 200 and 550 metres above sea level on the first slopes of the Monts du Lyonnais.
• Primary formations of the Massif Central predominate, with igneous rocks such as granites and metamorphic rocks such as gneisses and schists, which weather to produce sandy or sandy-clay arènes.
• At the north-eastern boundary, the small massif of Mont d'Or is composed of secondary sedimentary formations — limestones and marls — giving calcareous soils that are sometimes clay-rich, where drainage is ensured by slope.
• To the south-east, along the edge of the Rhône, a terrace with a granitic substrate is covered by morainal deposits left by the Quaternary Alpine glaciers, forming gravelly, sometimes coarse, more or less clayey soils.
• The temperate oceanic climate features moderate rainfall of 835 millimetres per year, well distributed throughout the year, and a mean annual temperature of around 11°C, with the mountains to the west intercepting a portion of the oceanic rains.
• The diversity of altitudes and aspects creates a multitude of mesoclimates that can induce differences in ripening of approximately two weeks between plots.

• Archaeological excavations at Saint-Laurent-d'Agny have revealed a Gallo-Roman estate with a vineyard and winemaking facilities, where grape pips were identified.
• In the Middle Ages, the Benedictines of Savigny planted the first vines in the northern part of the vineyard area, while the Celestines of Millery developed them to the south.
• The vineyard reached its peak in the mid-nineteenth century with 12,000 hectares before suffering the devastation of phylloxera and new diseases such as downy mildew and powdery mildew.
• In 1952, producers joined together within the Fédération des Vins des Coteaux du Lyonnais and obtained recognition as a vins délimités de qualité supérieure appellation d'origine, followed by AOC status in 1984.
• Post-phylloxera replanting for quality wines was carried out principally with the Gamay variety, vinified as a red wine, which accounts for the great majority of volumes produced.

• The red wines are dry, bright in colour, aromatic and fruity, with moderate tannic structure, and are suited to enjoyment as primeur wines in their earliest-ripening cuvées.
• The majority of red wines express their quality in the year following the harvest and may be kept for one to three years of bottle ageing.

• On the moraines with their leached, stony, and warm soils, plots achieve advanced ripeness that allows the production of concentrated cuvées, sometimes very high in alcohol.

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)
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — Inter Beaujolais