Notify me
2021 Côte-de-Brouilly
Nicole ChanrionIf this wine was a stock, it would outperform the market every year—a real blue chip. From her hillside vineyard on the slopes of Mont Brouilly, Nicole Chanrion crafts delicious Beaujolais the traditional way, by hand-harvesting, fermenting with whole clusters, and patiently aging in large oak foudres. In investing, they say that past performance is not an indicator of future success, but it’s hard to argue with a track record that spans six generations.
—Dustin Soiseth
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2021 |
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: | 13% |
More from this Producer or Region
2023 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 Beaujolais-Villages
France | Beaujolais
This drinks like a Gamay infusion with lovely hints of potpourri, spice, and fresh grapes.
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.
2021 Morgon Tradition
France | Beaujolais
When you don’t know what your hosts are serving for dinner and they’re fun and friendly people, bring this juicy, silky, and minerally old-school Beaujolais and know you'll be invited back.
2022 Côte de Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
Not your basic Beaujolais, it showcases pedigreed and assertive fruit that is strikingly substantial for Gamay.
2022 Régnié “En Voiture Simone”
France | Beaujolais
The high-toned nose suggests an absolutely electric wine, full of delicate florals and tart berries, and the juice hits the palate like a dreamy cloud of Gamay.
2021 Côte de Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
For lovers of old-fashioned Beaujolais in all its elegant, high-toned, terroir-driven glory.
2015 Côte-de-Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
Nicole's thick, chewy Côte de Brouilly is a delicious and satisfying wine aging at a glacial pace.
2021 Fleurie
France | Beaujolais
Light and living, charged with herbs, cranberry, and strawberry.
2021 Brouilly “Reverdon”
France | Beaujolais
The 2021 vintage proved an elegant one for Thivin’s Brouilly, with all the suppleness and tonicity you’d expect from this storied estate.
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
2021 Chiroubles “Cuvée Léa”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais MAGNUM
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly HALF BOTTLE
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Régnié “Grain & Granit”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2022 Vin de France Blanc “Perle de Gamay”
Nicole Chanrion France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon
M. & C. Lapierre France | Beaujolais
2022 Fleurie
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2021 Fleurie
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2022 Moulin-à-Vent “Vieilles Vignes”
Bernard Diochon France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon “Eponym”
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2021 Chiroubles “Cuvée Léa”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais MAGNUM
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly HALF BOTTLE
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Régnié “Grain & Granit”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2022 Vin de France Blanc “Perle de Gamay”
Nicole Chanrion France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon
M. & C. Lapierre France | Beaujolais
2022 Fleurie
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2021 Fleurie
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2022 Moulin-à-Vent “Vieilles Vignes”
Bernard Diochon France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon “Eponym”
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
Where the newsletter started
Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch