Appellation
Chénas
Identity card
VillageAOPRed
Beaujolais · Recognised on 11 September 1936
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Chénas (Rhône) and La Chapelle-de-Guinchay (Saône-et-Loire).
- At most 56 hl/ha, at least 10.5% natural alcohol; at least 6,000 vines/ha.
- Sorting is compulsory; released from 1 February after the harvest.
Grape varieties
Red wine onlyGamay
Allowed as a small share of the red wine: Aligoté, Chardonnay, Melon de Bourgogne (15% at most of the vines in each plot)
Only interplanted among the vines, and fermented with the Gamay
Production rules
56
hl/ha
Maximum yield
10.5
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
6,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: At least until 15 January of the year after the harvest
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 67 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 9 % ABV to 12.5 % ABV across 63 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each. For reference: 4,000 vines/ha to 9,000 vines/ha across 75 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Montagne de Rémont and terraces, 210 to 380 m up
- Soils: Granite with quartz and manganese seams; pink sand
- Soils: East: old terraces of pebbles and gravel
Wine style
- deep garnet
- floral and fruity
- tender and generous
- spice with age
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
20 February 2024
Arrêté du 20 février 2024 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Chénas » (JORF n°0048 du 27 février 2024, texte n°17 ; NOR AGRT2322442A). Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 11 septembre 1936 (chap. I du cahier des charges).
Labelling terms
- A registered lieu-dit may follow the appellation name
- "Cru du Beaujolais", "Vin du Beaujolais" or "Grand Vin du Beaujolais"
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Trade bodySite officiel des vins du Beaujolais (Inter Beaujolais)— Inter Beaujolais — interprofession des vins du Beaujolais
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Chénas »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
The smallest of the ten Beaujolais crus by area — about 250 hectares according to the interprofession —, on the communes of Chénas (Rhône) and La Chapelle-de-Guinchay (Saône-et-Loire), on the eastern flank of the Montagne de Rémont, next to Moulin-à-Vent. It makes red wine only, mainly from Gamay, on weathered granite and old terraces between 210 and 380 metres. According to the interprofession, its name recalls an old oak wood cleared for vines.
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