Côte de Brouilly

🇫🇷 France

AOC Rare find

Cru 1938 - The volcanic heart of Beaujolais, 310 hectares on Mont Brouilly's sacred blue stone slopes

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Region profile

History

First vines planted in the 4th century AD. The name "Brouilly" first appeared in 1179 when the Sires de Beaujeu donated the "clos de Brouilly" to Belleville Abbey. Château Thivin, the defining estate, has stood on Mont Brouilly since 1383 - making it one of the oldest continuously operating wineries in France. Food writer Richard Olney discovered Château Thivin in 1976 and introduced it to American importer Kermit Lynch, launching Beaujolais Cru wines to American acclaim. The Geoffray family has owned Thivin since 1877; today sixth-generation Claude Geoffray produces wines that demonstrate Gamay can rival Burgundy's finest.

Climate
Steep volcanic slopes (250-400m) of blue diorite ("pierres bleues" or "cornes vertes"); extraordinary drainage from porous volcanic rock; south-facing exposure maximizes sun; completely different terroir from surrounding Brouilly
Signature wines
Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly "La Chapelle" - 640-year-old estate discovered by Richard Olney 1976, introduced to America by Kermit Lynch; sixth-generation Geoffray family; the benchmark that proved Beaujolais could age
What sets it apart
Blue volcanic diorite creates a wine so different from surrounding Brouilly it required its own appellation; Château Thivin (since 1383) is among France's oldest wineries; Richard Olney's 1976 discovery launched American Beaujolais enthusiasm

Facts

  • 310 hectares climbing the steep slopes of Mont Brouilly's volcanic cone
  • completely encircled by Brouilly AOC
  • blue-grey andesite formed from Paleozoic volcanic activity 350 million years ago
  • locally called "cornes vertes" (green horns) for the blue-green tinted rocks
  • only ~1.5M bottles annually
  • AOC October 1938

Region profile from the Wine Memories wine-data corpus · verified January 2026