Skip to content
WineHQ
Search

Appellation · France

Brouilly

The largest of the Beaujolais crus, wrapped around a hill that carries a separate and more concentrated appellation of its own.

Brouilly AOCcontinentalmoderate
What to expect in the glass

Light-bodied, juicy red with red cherry and plum, soft tannin and bright acidity. Straightforward and best drunk young.

About Brouilly

Brouilly is the biggest and southernmost cru, and its wines are the softest and most immediately approachable of the ten.

Côte de Brouilly, on the blue volcanic rock of Mont Brouilly at the centre, is a separate appellation and makes a firmer, more concentrated wine from better-exposed slopes.

What the name means

Legal name
Brouilly AOC
Type
Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée / Protégée (AOC / AOP)
Set by
INAO
Regulates
Origin, plus grape varieties, maximum yields, minimum ageing.

The delimited area, permitted varieties, maximum yields, minimum alcohol, pruning and training methods, and in many cases minimum ageing. Administered by INAO.

Worth knowing

Côte de Brouilly, on the slopes of Mont Brouilly at its centre, is a separate cru appellation.

Grapes

Wines from here

red

Cru Beaujolais

Gamay from the ten named granite hills — structured, mineral and ageworthy, and nothing like Beaujolais Nouveau.

Rules worth knowing

Confirmed in the EU register

Brouilly is registered as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), file number PDO-FR-A0935, protected at EU level since 1973.

Article 107 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013

Specification published: Official Journal C, C/2026/2083, 09.04.2026 · Official Journal

Only the rules that change what to expect in the glass or on the label. WineHQ does not reproduce production specifications, and each entry carries the date it was last checked because appellation rules change.

The designation is confirmed above. WineHQ has not read this appellation’s production specification, so it publishes no yields, ageing minima or permitted-variety lists for it — those come from the document linked above, not from a summary of it.

What to eat, and how to serve it

Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.

Cru Beaujolais

Serve at 14–16°C (cellar cool).

Try with turkey, sausage and mash or vegetarian dishes.

Where to go next

Places worth trying if you like this one — neighbours, rivals, and the obvious step across.

  • Côte de Brouilly — The slopes of Mont Brouilly itself, on blue volcanic rock, making a firmer wine than the appellation surrounding it.
  • Morgon — The sturdiest of the Beaujolais crus, on decomposed schist, and the one that ages most convincingly into something resembling Burgundy.
  • Régnié — The most recent Beaujolais cru, promoted in 1988, on sandy granite between Morgon and Brouilly.

Sources

Sources consulted