Notify me
2019 Chiroubles “Cuvée Léa”
Guy Breton
Unlike Morgon or Côte-de-Brouilly, Chiroubles is not a Beaujolais cru that has been a fixture of our portfolio over the last five decades. Exceptional wines from here have proved elusive because, until recently, high-quality cru Beaujolais had not been popular enough to justify the backbreaking labor and financial investment involved in farming these incredibly steep slopes. We imported one in the ’90s, and then not again until the 2017 vintage, when Guy Breton decided to pursue Chiroubles and crafted one of our most beautiful Beaujolais of that vintage. He’s back with an equally perfumed and silky rendition that has a habit of vanishing quickly. Chiroubles sits in the middle of the vertical band of the ten Beaujolais crus and represents the highest-altitude cru. Its elevation and cooler temperatures mean that grapes ripen more slowly and often produce wines that are among the least concentrated of the region. Guy’s Chiroubles is floral and succulent, bursting with notes of little red berries, but it is also delicate and light on its feet. It serves as a phenomenal counterpoint to some of the more structured Gamays that we import from Beaujolais. Try this wine alongside some chicken salad or grilled fish.
—Tom Wolf
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2019 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay |
Appellation: | Chiroubles |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Guy Breton |
Winemaker: | Guy Breton |
Vineyard: | 60 years old, 1.2 ha |
Soil: | Granite |
Farming: | Organic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 13.5% |
More from this Producer or Region

2022 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.

2023 Beaujolais
France | Beaujolais
Dupeuble’s rouge is thirst-quenching and tangy with loads of violet and réglisse.

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.

2024 Beaujolais Villages Rosé
France | Beaujolais
Sourced from the pink granite terroir of Brouilly, this rosé is simply delicious, with good grip and notes of summery red berries.

2021 Côte de Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
A relatively new addition to Guy Breton’s Beaujolais lineup, this exuberant Côte de Brouilly is flat-out delicious.

2022 Fleurie
France | Beaujolais
An opulent, mouth-filling expression of granitic terroir, this bottling has the delicate floral nuances and fine-grained tannin that differentiates Fleurie from the other crus.

2023 Beaujolais-Villages
France | Beaujolais
Silky and seductive, with notes of rose petals, red berries, and stones.

2023 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
France | Beaujolais
October Club Rouge ~ Leave it to Breton to take summer heat and turn it into a light summer breeze in a glass.

2022 Régnié
France | Beaujolais
Savor it while you can, because your glass will be empty before you know it, leaving you only with the spicy, mineral-laden aftertaste of a bottle that went down way too easily.

2022 Côte de Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
A relatively new addition to Guy Breton’s Beaujolais lineup, this exuberant Côte de Brouilly is flat-out delicious.
About The Producer
Guy Breton
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
2023 Côte de Brouilly
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2023 Morgon
M. & C. Lapierre France | Beaujolais
2020 Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2023 Brouilly “Reverdon”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2023 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2022 Chiroubles “Cuvée Léa”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2023 Beaujolais
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2022 Fleurie
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2023 Beaujolais MAGNUM
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2023 Moulin-à-Vent “Vieilles Vignes”
Domaine Diochon France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2023 Côte de Brouilly
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2023 Morgon
M. & C. Lapierre France | Beaujolais
2020 Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2023 Brouilly “Reverdon”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2023 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2022 Chiroubles “Cuvée Léa”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2023 Beaujolais
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2022 Fleurie
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2023 Beaujolais MAGNUM
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2023 Moulin-à-Vent “Vieilles Vignes”
Domaine Diochon France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
A good doctor prescribed the wine of Nuits-Saint-Georges to the Sun King, Louis XIV, when he suffered an unknown maladie. When the king’s health was restored the tasty remedy enjoyed a vogue at court. Lord, send me a doctor like that!
Inspiring Thirst, page 117