Côte de Brouilly French wine appellation guide: location, history, wines, climate & soil
Côte de Brouilly is one of the ten Beaujolais crus, a small appellation on the slopes of an extinct volcano, producing intense, mineral and elegant Gamay reds.
More info about Côte de Brouilly
Geographic position
Eastern France, in the Rhône department, about 35 km north of Lyon, on the slopes of Mont Brouilly, which rises to about 1,590 feet, surrounded by the larger Brouilly appellation and covering parts of Odenas, Saint-Lager, Cercié and Quincié.
Origin & history
According to legend, a Roman lieutenant named Brulius gave Mont Brouilly its name. The small chapel of Notre-Dame-aux-Raisins, built at the summit in 1857 to protect the vines from oidium (powdery mildew), is still a site of pilgrimage for winegrowers every September. Côte de Brouilly became an AOC in 1938.
Wines & grape varieties
Red wine only, from 100% Gamay Noir. Expect blackcurrant, blueberry, cherry, iris and violet, with a distinctive mineral, flinty character and firm, fine tannins; the best wines age 5 to 8 years.
Climate & soil
Semi-continental climate, with sun-exposed steep slopes. Hard blue-green volcanic diorite rock called "corne verte" (green horn), plus granite and schist.
Wine region: Beaujolais
Grape varieties: Gamay