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Appellation · France

Chiroubles

The highest and coolest of the crus, making the lightest and most delicate Gamay in Beaujolais.

Chiroubles AOCcontinentalcool
What to expect in the glass

Very light-bodied, pale, floral red with high acidity, delicate red fruit and almost no tannin. Drink it young and cool.

About Chiroubles

Chiroubles sits highest of the ten crus, and the extra elevation shows: the wines are the palest, lightest and most aromatic in the region, and they ripen last.

In cooler vintages that can tip into leanness. In the warm seasons that have become normal, it has been one of the region’s clear beneficiaries.

What the name means

Legal name
Chiroubles 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.

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

Chiroubles is registered as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), file number PDO-FR-A0911, protected at EU level since 1973.

Article 107 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013

Specification published: Official Journal C, C/2025/2421, 16.4.2025 · 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.

  • Fleurie — The most perfumed of the Beaujolais crus, and the one whose name has done most for its sales.
  • Morgon — The sturdiest of the Beaujolais crus, on decomposed schist, and the one that ages most convincingly into something resembling Burgundy.

Sources

Sources consulted