The Beaujolais wine route
The Beaujolais vineyard is famous worldwide and boasts an infinite number of treasures and flavours. And the Beaujolais tourist wine route, which includes 12 appellations, will teach you all there is to know about its heritage, wines and landscapes: the prestigious crus, the bell towers in Beaujolais Villages, the sun-drenched Beaujolais slopes and the picturesque villages in the Pierres Dorées area...
This linear itinerary will take you across all the terroirs of Beaujolais crus as well as the Beaujolais-Villages and Beaujolais controlled appellations of origin estates. From Saint-Amour to the north, it crosses the crus and villages all the way to Lozanne: 140 km to discover the Beaujolais area through its vines, its people and its heritage.
The region of Beaujolais crus
The Beaujolais region is a subtle blend of soils, grape varieties and people. It is the full and magical expression of a terroir. The "most sensual of vineyards" extends over 17,324 hectares along a strip of land 10 to 15 kilometres wide and 50 kilometres long, that winds from Mâcon in the north to Lyon in the south along the hilly slopes of the Monts du Beaujolais which rise to an altitude of 700 to 1,000 m.
The Gamay Noir grape variety reigns supreme on this land blessed by the gods, and in the most spectacular way, as it offers an extraordinary array of wines, from the subtlest and most aromatic with Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages wines, to the most potent and complex, seeing as the ten Beaujolais crus all have their own specific characteristics which are related to their different terroirs: Brouilly, Chiroubles, Chénas, Côte de Brouilly, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, Régnié and Saint-Amour. This region is best enjoyed by taking a slow drive along the Beaujolais wine route.
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