Notify me
2014 Côte-de-Brouilly
Nicole ChanrionEnough beating around the bush: Nicole Chanrion’s Côte-de-Brouilly is not only among the best values in Beaujolais, it should be on any list of best quality, too. No, I’m not exaggerating or making a sales pitch. Highly delicious and strongly evocative of its terroir, it can be carelessly quaffed today but will hold up for ten years easily, its lively fruit gradually giving way to a deep complexity and gutsy structure. By sticking to a time-tested formula— hand-harvested old-vine fruit, whole-cluster fermentation with native yeasts, old foudres, and (you guessed it) no filtration—Nicole creates some of the most honest and affordable cru Beaujolais on the market. It smells good, too: pull the cork and breathe in the intoxicating perfume to see what I mean.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2014 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay |
Appellation: | Côte-de-Brouilly |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Nicole Chanrion |
Winemaker: | Nicole Chanrion |
Vineyard: | 50 years, 3.5 ha |
Soil: | Schist, Porphyry |
Aging: | Ages for at least nine months before an unfiltered bottling |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
2022 Vin de France Blanc “Perle de Gamay”
France | Beaujolais
Notes of stones, pear, and citrus... Enjoy as a refreshing, mineral apéritif or alongside your favorite fresh seafood.
2022 Morgon “La Roche Pilée”
France | Beaujolais
The newest addition to the Thévenets’ Morgons, La Roche Pilée is lush and light at the same time, with a balance of soft minerality referenced in the name (which means crushed rock).
2021 Chiroubles “Cuvée Léa”
France | Beaujolais
Floral and succulent, bursting with notes of little red berries, but it is also delicate and light on its feet.
2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
France | Beaujolais
Leave it to Breton to take summer heat and turn it into a light summer breeze in a glass.
2022 Beaujolais MAGNUM
France | Beaujolais
This Beaujolais offers the drinkability of the most effusive Morgons with the frankness of a chiseled Moulin-à-Vent.
2022 Moulin-à-Vent “Vieilles Vignes”
France | Beaujolais
April Club Gourmand ~ Soulful and savory, with notes of cherries, iron, and smoke, this is cru Beaujolais built to last.
2022 Beaujolais Rosé
France | Beaujolais
The result is a pretty, round, and versatile rosé full of notes of red fruit, melon, and rhubarb. It finishes with a subtle herbal note and foodfriendly acidity.
2020 Côte de Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
Alex Foillard fashions a Côte-de-Brouilly that strikes a deeper register, saturating the senses with tooth-staining fruit, gritty earth, and just a touch of the good funk.
2021 Fleurie
France | Beaujolais
Light and living, charged with herbs, cranberry, and strawberry.
2015 Côte-de-Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
Nicole's thick, chewy Côte de Brouilly is a delicious and satisfying wine aging at a glacial pace.
About The Producer
Nicole Chanrion
About The Region
Beaujolais
After years of the region’s reputation being co-opted by mass-produced Beaujolais Nouveau and the prevalence of industrial farming, the fortunes of vignerons from the Beaujolais have been on the rise in the past couple of decades. Much of this change is due to Jules Chauvet, a prominent Beaujolais producer who Kermit worked with in the 1980s and arguably the father of the natural wine movement, who advocated not using herbicides or pesticides in vineyards, not chaptalizing, fermenting with ambient yeasts, and vinifying without SO2. Chief among Chauvet’s followers was Marcel Lapierre and his three friends, Jean Foillard, Guy Breton, and Jean-Paul Thévenet—a group of Morgon producers who Kermit dubbed “the Gang of Four.” The espousal of Chauvet’s methods led to a dramatic change in quality of wines from Beaujolais and with that an increased interest and appreciation for the AOC crus, Villages, and regular Beaujolais bottlings.
The crus of Beaujolais are interpreted through the Gamay grape and each illuminate the variety of great terroirs available in the region. Distinguishing itself from the clay and limestone of Burgundy, Beaujolais soils are predominantly decomposed granite, with pockets of blue volcanic rock. The primary vinification method is carbonic maceration, where grapes are not crushed, but instead whole clusters are placed in a tank, thus allowing fermentation to take place inside each grape berry.
Much like the easy-going and friendly nature of many Beaujolais vignerons, the wines too have a lively and easy-drinking spirit. They are versatile at table but make particularly good matches with the local pork sausages and charcuterie. Though often considered a wine that must be drunk young, many of the top crus offer great aging potential.
More from Beaujolais or France
2022 Vin de France Blanc “Perle de Gamay”
Nicole Chanrion France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly HALF BOTTLE
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon “Charmes - Infusion”
Quentin Harel France | Beaujolais
2021 Juliénas “Beauvernay”
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2020 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais Rosé
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2020 Morgon “Eponym”
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais Blanc “Clos de Rochebonne”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly “Cuvée Zaccharie”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2022 Régnié “En Voiture Simone”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2022 Vin de France Blanc “Perle de Gamay”
Nicole Chanrion France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly HALF BOTTLE
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon “Charmes - Infusion”
Quentin Harel France | Beaujolais
2021 Juliénas “Beauvernay”
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2020 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais Rosé
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2020 Morgon “Eponym”
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais Blanc “Clos de Rochebonne”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly “Cuvée Zaccharie”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2022 Régnié “En Voiture Simone”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
Living wines have ups and downs just as people do, periods of glory and dog days, too. If wine did not remind me of real life, I would not care about it so much.