Notify me
2021 Chiroubles
Guy Breton

Not since my early days in the retail store (circa 2000) have we worked with a grower in Chiroubles . . . until now! When “Max” Breton showed an interest in expanding his range of wines, I suggested Chiroubles as a terroir that could fit his preferred style (light, bright, and juicy). This cru is blessed with high-altitude, steep, decomposed granite slopes and a lot of old vines that are very difficult to work. If you are willing to put in the elbow grease—which fewer and fewer seem prepared to do—the results can be mesmerizing. The crunchy, lip-smacking berry fruit of this beauty are simply delicious, as all proper Beaujolais should be, and there is intellectual interest to boot!
—Dixon Brooke
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2021 |
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: | 12% |
More from this Producer or Region

2021 Morgon “Côte du Py”
France | Beaujolais
Serious minerality, with earthy stone and plum notes.

2021 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.

2022 Beaujolais-Villages “Marylou”
France | Beaujolais
French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan says nostalgia is the longing for a past that never was. But, hand to god, this year's Cuvee Marylou tastes just like the raspberry thumbprint cookies my mother used to make for Christmas.

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.

2021 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
France | Beaujolais
Low extraction, low alcohol, bright acidity, juicy fruit...P'tit Max's old-vine Morgon is simply hard to resist. Red wine doesn't get more delicious than this!

2021 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.

2021 Moulin-à-Vent “Vieilles Vignes”
France | Beaujolais
Soulful and savory, with notes of cherries, iron, and smoke, this is cru Beaujolais built to last.

2021 Côte de Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
For lovers of old-fashioned Beaujolais in all its elegant, high-toned, terroir-driven glory.

2021 Fleurie
France | Beaujolais
Light and living, charged with herbs, cranberry, and strawberry.
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
2021 Régnié “Grain & Granit”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais MAGNUM
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2021 Beaujolais
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2021 Vin de France Blanc “Perle de Gamay”
Nicole Chanrion France | Beaujolais
2021 Moulin-à-Vent “Vieilles Vignes”
Domaine Diochon France | Beaujolais
2021 Fleurie
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon Tradition
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2020 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2015 Côte-de-Brouilly
Nicole Chanrion France | Beaujolais
2021 Fleurie “Les Moriers”
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Régnié “Grain & Granit”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais MAGNUM
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2021 Beaujolais
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2021 Vin de France Blanc “Perle de Gamay”
Nicole Chanrion France | Beaujolais
2021 Moulin-à-Vent “Vieilles Vignes”
Domaine Diochon France | Beaujolais
2021 Fleurie
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon Tradition
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2020 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2015 Côte-de-Brouilly
Nicole Chanrion France | Beaujolais
2021 Fleurie “Les Moriers”
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
You don’t have to be rich to cellar a great wine.