Brouilly

The name Brouilly seems to come from Brulius, a Roman lieutenant who reportedly settled on the slopes of the hill in the 4th century and planted a few vines there. In 1179, when the Sires of Beaujeu founded the abbey of Belleville, they gave it vines at the 'clos de Brouilly', and until the 17th century the wine was drunk by local connoisseurs and as far as Lyon. Until the 1910s the Brouilly name applied only to wines from the slopes of the hill. During the First World War, when the vineyard covered 400 hectares, some producers sold their wine under the name to escape requisition, and a joint commission of Burgundy's growers and merchants ratified this extension in 1919. Producers created their defence syndicate in 1934, and the AOC was recognised in 1938. At Château Thivin, which calls itself the oldest wine estate on Mont Brouilly, the date 1383 can still be seen over the door of a small cellar; the Geoffray family bought the estate at auction on 8 June 1877, with a little under 2 hectares of vines.

• Name thought to come from Brulius, a Roman lieutenant who reportedly planted vines on the hill in the 4th century
• 1179: the Sires of Beaujeu give the abbey of Belleville vines at the 'clos de Brouilly'
• 1919 extension of the name beyond the hill, 1934 defence syndicate, 1938 AOC

The zone lies in the heart of the Beaujolais vineyard, 40 kilometres north of Lyon between Villefranche-sur-Saône and Mâcon, ringing Mont Brouilly, a small mountain detached from the eastern edge of the Monts du Beaujolais. The subsoil is mainly acidic Palaeozoic rock: granites form slopes with sandy, thin soils west of Mont Brouilly, and porphyries give more clayey, stonier soils to the south. To the east and north, recent spreads of debris from the mountain mix with a clay-silica matrix, as on the 'plateau de Briante' and the 'côte de Pisse Vieille', and clay-limestone formations appear locally on the eastern edge. The climate is a degraded, temperate oceanic one with clear continental and, above all, southern influences. The Monts du Beaujolais shelter the vineyard from westerly winds, and the slopes between 250 and 400 metres usually escape the spring frosts and morning fogs of the Saône plain (175 metres). Pink granite makes up 46% of the soils and blue stone 4%, and the most-claimed lieux-dits include Saburin, Pissevieille, Briante, Pierreux, Combiaty, Les Platures, Les Nazins, La Roche, Les Bruyères and La Terrière.

• Six communes, none named Brouilly: Cercié, Charentay, Odenas, Quincié-en-Beaujolais, Saint-Etienne-la-Varenne and Saint-Lager
• Granite to the west, porphyry to the south, mixed debris over a clay-silica matrix to the east and north, and local clay-limestone on the eastern edge
• Wines from the slope north of the Ardières river in Cercié may add the name Pisse vieille

Gamay is the principal variety. Aligoté, Chardonnay and Melon are accessory varieties, allowed only when interplanted in the vineyard, with a combined cap of 15% within each parcel; wines from such parcels are vinified as a blend of the grapes concerned. Vinification is inspired by semi-carbonic maceration, used to preserve fruit character, with many producers submerging the grapes in the juice during fermentation and macerations that often exceed 10 days. The wine is generally ruby, more violet from granite sites and darker from the eastern part of the vineyard, with red-fruit aromas, suppleness, flesh and finesse; INAO calls it reputedly the most tender of the Beaujolais crus. Wines from granite parcels tend to have more pronounced fruit and are enjoyed young, while those from schist soils in the centre of the vineyard have deeper colour and serious assets for ageing. Expect wines that are typically fruity, round and smooth, with strawberry and raspberry on the nose and mellow tannins.

• Gamay principal; Aligoté, Chardonnay and Melon accessory, interplanted only, at most 15% of each parcel
• Vinification inspired by semi-carbonic maceration, with macerations often over 10 days
• Granite parcels give more pronounced fruit for early drinking; schist parcels in the centre give deeper colour and ageing potential

Decanter's Andy Howard MW lists Château de La Chaize, George Descombes and Château Thivin among the top producers of Brouilly. Château Thivin, which calls itself the oldest wine estate on Mont Brouilly, is run by six generations of the Geoffray family, with vineyards mainly in the Côte de Brouilly and Brouilly crus; its range includes Brouilly Reverdon. Château de La Chaize, a family estate since 1676, has 110 hectares of vines and 24 cadastral lieux-dits across Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Fleurie, Morgon and Beaujolais Blanc. Domaine Chasselay has 14 hectares of vines, primarily in Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly, and has been certified organic since 2006.

• Château Thivin: Geoffray family since 8 June 1877; the range includes Brouilly Reverdon
• Château de La Chaize: family estate since 1676, with 110 hectares of vines and 24 lieux-dits across Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Fleurie, Morgon and Beaujolais Blanc
• Decanter's 2018 Brouilly report also names Château de la Chaize, Domaine Nicolas Boudeau and Domaine Laurent Martray among the Brouilly wines it tasted

Brouilly is one of the 10 Beaujolais crus, and its ODG is the Union des Crus du Beaujolais. The current cahier des charges was homologated by the arrêté of 20 February 2024, and a standard amendment was published in the EU Official Journal on 9 April 2026. The 2022 cahier des charges text sets these rules: still red wines only; grapes with at least 180 grams of sugar per litre of must and a minimum natural alcohol of 10.5%; a yield of 56 hectolitres per hectare and a rendement butoir of 61 hectolitres per hectare; no more than 13% total alcohol after enrichment; ageing until at least 15 January of the year after the harvest; and release to consumers from 1 February of that year. The cahier also sets out conditions for machine harvesting, requires sorting of the harvest, and bans irrigation. Labels may add the name of a registered lieu-dit, and may add the larger unit 'Vin du Beaujolais', 'Grand Vin du Beaujolais' or 'Cru du Beaujolais' in smaller type. Côte de Brouilly is a separate cru, recognised in 1938, on the slopes of Mont Brouilly across four communes.

• Decree of 19 October 1938; current cahier homologated by the arrêté of 20 February 2024
• Yield 56 hl/ha, rendement butoir 61 hl/ha; minimum 180 g/l sugar and 10.5% natural alcohol (2022 cahier text)
• Ageing until at least 15 January and release from 1 February of the year after harvest

The hill has been crowned by the chapel of Notre-Dame aux Raisins since 1857. Mont Brouilly is labelled a geo-site within the UNESCO Global Geopark network, with a panoramic viewpoint at the summit that presents the region's diverse geology. Côte de Brouilly and Brouilly are presented together at the 'Cuvage des Brouilly', the producers' tasting cellar in Saint-Lager. For visits, Decanter's Natasha Hughes MW points to the renovated Château de la Chaize, Château Thivin and Domaine les Roches Bleues.

• Chapel of Notre-Dame aux Raisins on the summit since 1857
• Mont Brouilly geo-site in the UNESCO Global Geopark network, with a summit viewpoint on the region's geology
• Cuvage des Brouilly in Saint-Lager, where both Brouilly crus are presented

Primary sources (INAO, Inter Beaujolais and producers' own sites): https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO-CDCBrouilly-CN221130.pdf, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/brouilly-ou-brouilly-cru-du-beaujolais-18176, https://www.beaujolais.com/en/appellation/brouilly/, https://www.beaujolais.com/appellation/brouilly/, https://www.beaujolais.com/en/legal-notice/, https://www.beaujolais.com/en/appellation/morgon/, https://www.beaujolais.com/en/appellation/cote-de-brouilly/, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/cote-de-brouilly-ou-cote-de-brouilly-cru-du-beaujolais-16768, https://www.chateau-thivin.com/en/wine/, https://www.chateau-thivin.com/en/history.php, https://www.chateaudelachaize.fr/fr_FR/, https://www.chateau-thivin.com/en/. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/premium/beaujolais-top-scoring-brouilly-cote-de-brouilly-2018-wines-455305/, https://www.decanter.com/premium/cru-beaujolais-2022-panel-tasting-results-553081/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-travel/secret-beaujolais-expert-travel-guide-wineries-restaurants-570356/. Last verified 2026-10-05