On the volcanic slopes of Mont Brouilly, Nicole Chanrion has spent decades quietly making some of the most consistent and characterful Cote-de-Brouilly in the Beaujolais.
Backstory
The domaine has been a family estate in Cercie, on the flanks of Mont Brouilly, for more than eight generations, with roots traced to 1861. Nicole Chanrion grew up working the vines alongside her father and trained at the viticultural school in Beaune before a short internship in the Napa Valley. She took over the estate in 1988, at a time when convention still largely kept women out of the cellar, and worked every stage herself, from pruning and tractor work to winemaking and bottling. In 2000 she became president of the Cote-de-Brouilly appellation, earning the affectionate title La Patronne de la Cote. She is now working with the next generation, Romain Chanrion.
The Region
Cote-de-Brouilly is one of the ten Beaujolais crus, occupying the steep mid-slopes of Mont Brouilly. The estate's vines grow on volcanic schist and diorite soils on east and northeast-facing slopes.
Vineyards and Farming
The domaine farms around 7.5 hectares of Gamay, including parcels of vines over a century old, planted at the high densities of ten to twelve thousand vines per hectare typical of the best Beaujolais sites.
Winemaking
The wine is made in the traditional Beaujolais manner: hand-harvested, fermented whole-cluster with natural yeasts via carbonic maceration over fifteen to twenty days in stainless steel, then aged at least nine months in large oak foudres and bottled unfiltered. The result is a Gamay of genuine depth, structure and consistency that ages well beyond most of its peers.
