Appellation
Juliénas
Identity card
VillageAOPRed
Beaujolais · Recognised on 11 March 1938
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Émeringes, Juliénas, Jullié (Rhône) and Pruzilly (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: Mainly the south face of Mont de Bessay, 225 to 450 m
- Soils: Pink granite sand; greenish schist higher up
- Soils: East: deeper clay and silica colluvium
Wine style
- purple-red colour
- floral and fruity
- lively, firmly built
- spice with age
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
20 February 2024
Order of 20 February 2024 approving the specification of the AOC “Juliénas” (JORF no. 0049 of 28 February 2024, text no. 26). Appellation first recognised by the decree of 11 March 1938.
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
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Juliénas »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
- Trade bodySite officiel des vins du Beaujolais (Inter Beaujolais)— Inter Beaujolais — interprofession des vins du Beaujolais
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
On the communes of Émeringes, Juliénas and Jullié (Rhône) and Pruzilly (Saône-et-Loire), a cru whose name is traditionally linked to Julius Caesar, whose troops are said to have occupied the region during the conquest of Gaul in the 1st century BC — a legend the official Beaujolais website itself promotes. Its specification describes a transition zone of pink granite, greenish volcano-sedimentary schist and clayey colluvium, giving lively, firmly built wines that keep well.
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Juliénas
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