Brouilly

According to INAO, the name Brouilly seems to come from a Roman lieutenant, Brulius, who is said to have settled on the slopes of the hill in the 4th century and planted a few vines there. INAO's 2022 cahier des charges text records that in 1179, when the Sires of Beaujeu founded the abbey of Belleville, they gave it vines at the 'clos de Brouilly', and that until the 17th century the wine was drunk by local connoisseurs and as far as Lyon. The same text says the Brouilly name applied only to wines from the slopes of the hill until the 1910s; during the First World War some producers sold their wine under the name to escape requisition, when the vineyard covered 400 hectares, 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, whose own site calls it 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 attributed by INAO to Brulius, a Roman lieutenant said to have 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' (INAO 2022 cahier text)
• 1919 extension of the name beyond the hill, 1934 defence syndicate, 1938 AOC (INAO 2022 cahier text)

INAO places the zone 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. INAO's 2022 cahier des charges text describes a mainly acidic Palaeozoic subsoil: granites forming slopes with sandy, thin soils west of Mont Brouilly, and porphyries giving 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 same text describes a degraded, temperate oceanic climate 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 spring frosts and the morning fogs of the Saône plain (175 metres). Inter Beaujolais (accessed 2026) lists pink granite at 46% and blue stone at 4% of the soils, and names Saburin, Pissevieille, Briante, Pierreux, Combiaty, Les Platures, Les Nazins, La Roche, Les Bruyères and La Terrière among the most-claimed lieux-dits.

• Six communes, none named Brouilly (INAO): 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 (INAO 2022 cahier text)
• INAO allows wines from the slope north of the Ardières river in Cercié to add the name Pisse vieille

INAO's 2022 cahier des charges text names Gamay as the principal variety and Aligoté, Chardonnay and Melon as 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. The same text describes a vinification 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. INAO describes a generally ruby wine, more violet from granite sites and darker from the eastern part of the vineyard, with red-fruit aromas, suppleness, flesh and finesse, and says it is reputed to be the most tender of the Beaujolais crus. INAO's cahier text adds that wines from granite parcels 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. Inter Beaujolais (accessed 2026) describes the wines as 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 (INAO 2022 cahier text)
• Vinification inspired by semi-carbonic maceration, with macerations often over 10 days (INAO 2022 cahier text)
• Granite parcels give more pronounced fruit for early drinking; schist parcels in the centre give deeper colour and ageing potential (INAO 2022 cahier text)

Decanter's Andy Howard MW (updated 30 March 2021) lists Château de La Chaize, George Descombes and Château Thivin among the top producers of Brouilly. Château Thivin's own site calls it the oldest wine estate on Mont Brouilly, 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 according to its own site, lists 110 hectares of vines and 24 cadastral lieux-dits across Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Fleurie, Morgon and Beaujolais Blanc. Decanter's 2022 cru Beaujolais panel notes that 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 Thivin's own site)
• 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 (Château de La Chaize's own site)
• 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 the Union des Crus du Beaujolais is the ODG that INAO lists for the appellation. INAO lists the current cahier des charges as homologated by the arrêté of 20 February 2024, and a standard amendment was published in the EU Official Journal on 9 April 2026. INAO's 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. INAO lists Côte de Brouilly as 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 (INAO)
• Yield 56 hl/ha, rendement butoir 61 hl/ha; minimum 180 g/l sugar and 10.5% natural alcohol (INAO 2022 cahier text)
• Ageing until at least 15 January and release from 1 February of the year after harvest (INAO 2022 cahier text)

INAO's Côte de Brouilly page says the hill has been crowned by the chapel of Notre-Dame aux Raisins since 1857. Inter Beaujolais (accessed 2026) says 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. INAO's 2022 cahier des charges text says 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 (updated 19 November 2025) 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 (INAO)
• Mont Brouilly geo-site in the UNESCO Global Geopark network, with a summit viewpoint on the region's geology (Inter Beaujolais)
• Cuvage des Brouilly in Saint-Lager, where both Brouilly crus are presented (INAO 2022 cahier text)

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 2026-09-24