Chiroubles AOC

Chiroubles is one of the 10 Beaujolais crus and the highest of them. Its geographic area is limited to the single commune of Chiroubles, in the north of the Beaujolais vineyard, 60 kilometers north of Lyon between Villefranche-sur-Saône and Mâcon. From north to south, the 10 crus are Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Côte de Brouilly and Brouilly. The appellation was recognized by the decree of 11 September 1936, and INAO's national committee approved its delimited parcel area on 11 September 1985. Under the cahier des charges put to national opposition in November 2022, the AOC is reserved for still red wines, with gamay as the principal grape. The vineyard covers 315 hectares farmed by nearly 80 growers; in 2010, about fifty private cellars and one cooperative cellar farmed 350 hectares for a production of nearly 16,000 hectoliters.

• Single-commune appellation: Chiroubles, in the Rhône department
• Sixth of the 10 crus in north-to-south order
• Still red wine only; principal grape gamay, with aligoté, chardonnay and melon permitted only as interplanted accessory vines, at most 15% per parcel
• 315 hectares and nearly 80 growers; 350 hectares and nearly 16,000 hectoliters in 2010

The delimited parcels sit on slopes above the Saône plain at altitudes between 260 and 600 meters, which makes Chiroubles the highest vineyard in the Beaujolais region. These are the highest vines in Beaujolais, often on slopes steeper than 30%, and Decanter's Natasha Hughes MW writes that Chiroubles has the region's most vertiginous slopes. The area lies on the eastern flanks of the Monts du Beaujolais, which reach 1,009 meters at Mont Saint-Rigaud, backed by a small ridge that forms a granite cirque open to the southeast. The soils are 100% pink granite, and Hughes calls Chiroubles the only one of the 10 crus composed exclusively of pink granite soils. They are highly homogeneous, formed from weathered granite bedrock that yields a coarse, sandy arène, with local veins of microgranite and lamprophyre, and they are thin, light, acidic, permeable and shallow. The climate is a degraded oceanic climate with continental and southern influences and a mean annual temperature close to 11°C. The Monts du Beaujolais shelter the vines from westerly winds, and their foehn effect dries the air. The slope position lets the vineyard escape spring frosts and morning fog in most years, and the foehn effect brings high temperatures at ripening that offset the effects of altitude.

• Delimited parcels between 260 and 600 meters, the highest vineyard in the Beaujolais region
• Slopes often steeper than 30%
• Soils: 100% pink granite, weathered into a coarse, sandy arène with microgranite and lamprophyre veins
• Degraded oceanic climate with continental and southern influences, mean annual temperature close to 11°C

Vines spread here from the Middle Ages under the influence of monastic orders, and from the end of the 15th century the Lyon bourgeoisie, enriched by silk and banking, expanded the vineyard. The name Chiroubles appears among vine-growing parishes in the 1697 census requested by Lambert d'Herbigny. In his Topographie de tous les vignobles connus of 1816, Jullien cited the wines of "Cheroubles, qui fournit des vins de l'espèce de ceux de Fleury". Victor Pulliat assembled a collection of 1,200 grape varieties at his Tempéré estate in Chiroubles, defined a ripening-precocity scale for grape varieties, and in the 1880s led the fight against phylloxera; he developed vine grafting, and his vines were the first grafted in the Rhône department. In 1928 small growers founded a cooperative cellar, where grapes from about sixty members are still vinified. The AOC was recognized in 1936 at the initiative of the Syndicat de défense. Since 1995 the Confrérie des Demoiselles de Chiroubles has promoted the wine, and at the Crus du Beaujolais festival, initiated by the commune of Chiroubles, the best wine of the annual competition receives the coupe Victor Pulliat.

• Vines developed under monastic orders from the Middle Ages; the Lyon bourgeoisie expanded the vineyard from the end of the 15th century
• Named among vine-growing parishes in the 1697 census requested by Lambert d'Herbigny
• Victor Pulliat: 1,200-variety collection at Tempéré, fight against phylloxera in the 1880s, first grafted vines in the Rhône department
• Cooperative cellar founded in 1928; Confrérie des Demoiselles de Chiroubles active since 1995

Chiroubles producers adopted a vinification in which traditional fermentation and semi-carbonic maceration coexist, so that the wines gain the tannic structure needed for ageing. Growers make a point of keeping fruit from the best parcels separate and naming the most renowned lieux-dits on labels; the most-claimed lieux-dits are Javernand, Bel-Air, Les Pontheux, Chatenay, Les Roches, Tempère, Fontenelle, Rochefort, Grille Midi and Les Bonnes. The wines tend to be light in colour, a fine ruby red, often with floral notes of violet or iris alongside fruity notes, and generally low in tannin, tender and very fine, balancing fruit and elegance. The nose can run to iris, lily, violet and peony, with red fruit on the palate, and Chiroubles is typically fine-boned and perfumed. Under the 2022 text, vines are planted at a minimum density of 6,000 vines per hectare, the yield is 56 hl/ha with a rendement butoir of 61 hl/ha, grapes must reach at least 180 g/l of sugar and the wines a minimum natural alcohol of 10.5%, and total alcohol after enrichment may not exceed 13%. Wines are aged at least until 15 January after the harvest and may be released to consumers from 1 February. The Chiroubles harvest takes place a week later than for other Beaujolais wines.

• Traditional fermentation and semi-carbonic maceration coexist
• Often floral, with violet or iris and fruity notes; generally low in tannin, tender and very fine
• Yield 56 hl/ha, rendement butoir 61 hl/ha; minimum natural alcohol 10.5%, total alcohol after enrichment no more than 13%
• Harvest a week later than for other Beaujolais wines

Natasha Hughes MW, writing in Decanter in July 2026, found that Chiroubles lost nearly 15% of its vineyard area over the two years she spent researching her book The Wines of Beaujolais. It is already the second smallest of the 10 crus by area. Pauline Passot of Domaine de la Grosse Pierre puts the working conditions plainly: "The vineyards are so steep they just can't be mechanised." Hailstorms sweep through the region with increasing frequency, and most Chiroubles growers told Hughes they count on losing a significant proportion of their crop at least one year in three. Hughes argues that the freshness derived from elevation and wind is now an advantage in a changing climate.

• Nearly 15% of vineyard area lost over Hughes's two years of research for her book
• Second smallest of the 10 crus by area
• Hail: most growers count on losing a significant share of the crop at least one year in three

Primary sources (INAO and Inter Beaujolais): https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO-CDCChiroubles-CN221130.pdf, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/chiroubles-ou-chiroubles-cru-du-beaujolais-17295, https://www.beaujolais.com/en/appellation/chiroubles/, https://www.beaujolais.com/en/visit/the-beaujolais-wine-route/, https://www.beaujolais.com/en/legal-notice/. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/wine/france/the-vanishing-of-chiroubles-is-this-beaujolais-cru-in-danger-of-disappearing/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-travel/secret-beaujolais-expert-travel-guide-wineries-restaurants-570356/. Last verified 2026-10-05