Juliénas AOC

Tradition holds that Julius Caesar lies behind the names of the villages of Juliénas and Jullié, from when his legions were stationed nearby during the conquest of Gaul in the century before the common era. Tradition also makes Juliénas, whose vineyard is two thousand years old, the original core of the Beaujolais vineyard. Buildings that bear witness to wine activity from the Middle Ages include the Château de Juliénas, whose cellars date from the 13th century, the Château du Bois de la Salle, built in 1660 and three centuries later the seat of the cooperative cellar, and the Maison de la Dîme, where the clergy's tithe was collected under the Ancien Régime. Jullien praised Juliénas in his 1816 book Topographie de tous les vignobles connus. In 1954, at the urging of the grower and wine merchant Victor Peyret, the old church of Juliénas became a tasting cellar decorated with bacchic frescoes. The AOC was initially recognised by the decree of 11 March 1938.

• Name linked by tradition to Julius Caesar, for both Juliénas and Jullié
• Château de Juliénas cellars date from the 13th century; Château du Bois de la Salle was built in 1660
• Old church converted into a tasting cellar in 1954
• AOC initially recognised by the decree of 11 March 1938

The zone lies on the eastern flanks of the northern Monts du Beaujolais, mainly on the south-facing side of the Mont de Bessay (478 metres), 15 kilometres southwest of Mâcon and 30 kilometres north of Villefranche-sur-Saône. Three substrates coexist: pink granite, well developed in the centre of the zone, which weathers into a sandy arène; east of Juliénas village, that granite sand mixes with clay-siliceous colluvium; and at the tops of the slopes, greenish volcano-sedimentary schists form steep slopes with more clay-rich but still shallow soils. The area is a transition zone. Parcels lie between 225 and 450 metres on slopes facing east, south and southwest. The AOC has one of the most diverse soils in the Beaujolais, with schist, diorite and sandstone as well as clay; one breakdown gives blue stone 42%, piedmont deposits 29%, schist 14% and granite 3%. In a Decanter report on the 2018 vintage, Andy Howard MW finds much less granite here, with soils orientated towards clay and schist and diorite playing an important role. The climate is oceanic with continental and southern influences, rainfall spread evenly through the year and a mean annual temperature close to 11°C. The Monts du Beaujolais shelter the vines from westerly winds, the vineyard is sheltered from north and east winds, and the wide Saône valley brings brightness and southern influences.

• Pink granite in the centre of the zone, weathering to sandy arène
• East of Juliénas village: granite sand mixed with clay-siliceous colluvium
• Slope tops: greenish volcano-sedimentary schist, with more clay-rich but shallow soils
• Oceanic climate with continental and southern influences; mean annual temperature close to 11°C

Juliénas is typically a violet-tinged red whose colour darkens and deepens with time, often floral and fruity on the nose with spicy notes as it develops, and on the palate lively, structured, fruity and full, marked by a certain minerality and sometimes a tannic character. Heat and strong sunshine, particularly on the clay sectors, tend to give the wines a wild and sometimes tannic character, while liveliness is more marked on the heights and fruit is more marked elsewhere. Typical aromas include red fruit, strawberry, violet, cinnamon, redcurrant and peony. Andy Howard MW, in Decanter's report on the 2018 vintage, found the wines sturdy and ageworthy, with dark cherry and cassis fruit and spicy, peppery notes. Producers use a particular vinification in which traditional fermentation and semi-carbonic maceration coexist, and by custom they isolate fruit from the best parcels and name the best-known lieux-dits on their labels. Under the 2022 rules, wines must reach a minimum natural alcohol of 10.5%, and after enrichment their total alcohol may not exceed 13%. The same rules set the yield at 56 hl/ha with a rendement butoir of 61 hl/ha, requires ageing until at least 15 January after the harvest, and allows sale to consumers from 1 February.

• Traditional fermentation and semi-carbonic maceration coexist
• Minimum natural alcohol 10.5%; total alcohol at most 13% after enrichment
• Yield 56 hl/ha; rendement butoir 61 hl/ha (2022 rules)
• Aged until at least 15 January after the harvest; on sale to consumers from 1 February

The geographic area covers Émeringes, Juliénas and Jullié in the Rhône and Pruzilly in Saône-et-Loire. It sits in the north of the Beaujolais vineyard, 60 kilometres from Lyon, between Villefranche-sur-Saône and Mâcon, on the south face of the Mont de Bessay overlooking the valley of the Mauvaise, a tributary of the Saône. From north to south the ten crus are Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Côte de Brouilly and Brouilly. In 2010 the vineyard covered 580 hectares, with annual production of about 22,000 hectolitres. The accessory varieties Aligoté, Chardonnay and Melon are allowed only when interplanted among the vines, are limited to 15% of each parcel, and are vinified together with the Gamay. Les Capitans, La Bottière, Bessay, Beauvernay and Bois de la Salle are among the most-claimed lieux-dits. The ODG is the Union des Crus du Beaujolais, based in Fleurie.

• Rhône: Émeringes, Juliénas and Jullié; Saône-et-Loire: Pruzilly
• 580 hectares and about 22,000 hectolitres a year in 2010
• Saint-Amour heads the north-to-south order of the crus; Juliénas comes second
• ODG: Union des Crus du Beaujolais, Fleurie

Primary sources (INAO and Inter Beaujolais): https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO-CDCJuli%C3%A9nas-CN221130.pdf, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/julienas-ou-julienas-cru-du-beaujolais-17296, https://www.beaujolais.com/en/appellation/julienas/, https://www.beaujolais.com/en/visit/the-beaujolais-wine-route/, https://www.beaujolais.com/en/legal-notice/. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/premium/beaujolais-top-scoring-st-amour-regnie-julienas-and-chenas-2018-wines-455349/. Last verified 2026-10-05