Discovering white Beaujolais: 10 wines to try

Beaujolais is inextricably linked with the red Gamay grape, so it may be surprising to learn that the region is also home to Chardonnay. This white grape accounts for a mere 4% of the vineyard area, but there have been recent increases in planting.

Traditionally, most Chardonnay grown in Beaujolais has gone into Crémant de Bourgogne or white Bourgogne wines. Reasonable choices, given that a wine labelled as Burgundy can fetch higher prices.

However, between 2016 and 2022 the Beaujolais wine council reported a 77% increase in the number of hectares of Chardonnay harvested, and a 24% increase in the volume of Chardonnay destined for white Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages.

Of the nearly 3,000 estates in Beaujolais, around 600 produce a white wine, amounting to 2.75 million bottles per year.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 10 wonderful white Beaujolais to seek out

White Beaujolais vs white Burgundy

Several Mâconnais appellations overlap the white Beaujolais territory: Mâcon, Mâcon-Villages, Mâcon-Chaintré, Saint-Véran and Pouilly-Fuissé. Many white wines made in northern Beaujolais are therefore sold under the better-known Mâcon appellations.

By law, white Beaujolais must be 100% Chardonnay and can be labelled as Beaujolais or Beaujolais Villages. There no white crus, although murmurs of potentially creating a Brouilly Blanc have surfaced due to successful plantings around Mount Brouilly where there are lighter clay-limestone soils at around 200m.

Château des Jacques, situated less than 20km south of the town of Mâcon, produces two different white wines from the same nine-hectare walled parcel of Chardonnay, the Clos de Loyse: a white Beaujolais and a white Bourgogne. ‘The difference is in the oak,’ says Geneviève Bonifacio, sales manager at Château des Jacques. ‘The wine labelled as Beaujolais is fermented in stainless steel and aged on lees until spring. The wine labelled as Bourgogne is barrel fermented and aged on lees in Burgundy barrels. People expect oak from a Bourgogne.’

Bonifacio explains that both soil and winemaking are key elements in their labelling choices. ‘Our Chardonnay used to be classified as Mâcon-Villages, however it was re-assessed by INAO (the National Institute of Origin and Quality) in the 1990s considering the geological aspect of its specific parcel. As the parcel mainly consisted of a sub-soil of granite, and a top-soil of marl and clay, it was declassified from Mâcon and had to be declared as either Bourgogne or Beaujolais.’

The limestone effect

Most producers say the south of Beaujolais is better suited to Chardonnay due to the predominantly clay-limestone soils, while Gamay thrives in the north in the granite-dominant soils (though it must be noted that there are over 300 soil types found throughout the region).

Jean-Paul Brun is a leading producer of white wine in the Beaujolais region, and claims that the limestone soils in the south are the reason for Chardonnay’s success. His Terres Dorées range comes from the Pierres Dorées vineyard area. Translating to ‘golden stones’, reflecting the warm-coloured stone buildings and limestone-based soils, this is an area between the villages of Bully, Oingt and Liergues. It is nicknamed ‘little Tuscany’ due to its resemblance to Tuscany’s Val d’Orcia.

Producers here are aiming for Pierres Dorées to become a specific geographical denomination within the Beaujolais appellation.

‘Previously, where the soils were not good enough for Gamay we used them for Chardonnay,’ explains Bonifacio. ‘Gamay doesn’t like clay-limestone or marl soils. It’s a high-yielding grape variety, it needs very poor soils to perform better.’

‘But if we’re going to create a cru for white Beaujolais, it needs to be on very specific soil – not simply where Gamay doesn’t work. You need clay-limestone soil and south or southeast-facing aspects. The south of Beaujolais where there are high altitudes is ideal, like in the Pierres Dorées area. Or further south, where the Monts du Lyonnais area is also interesting for Chardonnay,’ says Bonifacio.

Tasting white Beaujolais

A specific, identifiable style for white Beaujolais is yet to be defined. ‘It’s a very recent thing, with tiny production,’ explains Sonja Geoffray, owner and winemaker of Château Thivin, who produces two different styles of white Beaujolais: Marguerite which is a Beaujolais Villages from the Brouilly region, and Clos de Rochebonne from Chardonnay planted in the village of Theizé within the Pierres Dorées area.

‘The vines in the Brouilly region are planted at 200m on lighter soils with less iron,’ explains Geoffray. ‘These grapes are picked three weeks earlier than the grapes growing in southern Beaujolais. It’s not about latitude here, it’s about altitude.’

‘The Chardonnay planted at 500m in the Pierres Dorrées has a longer growing season, higher acidity and tension, making for a perfect foundation for ageworthy whites. This wine is aged in barrel and is more complex,’ says Geoffray.

As a general rule, most white Beaujolais wines undergo full or at least partial malolactic fermentation, are aged on fine lees and use old oak for maturation, if any at all. The majority, thus far, also undergo a cool fermentation in stainless steel.

Otherwise, the wines vary from one producer to the next. Some display lean, linear, savoury flavours and mineral intensity, while others are fragrant, peachy, sometimes veering on tropical with a fat, rounded mouthfeel. A pleasing jolt of acidity, when grown at altitude, is the perfect combination.

The organic or sustainable farming and low-intervention winemaking for which Beaujolais is increasingly known extends to Chardonnay production too.

Vines range from over 80 years old, like those of Arnaud Aucoeur and Jean-Paul Brun, to young and newly planted vines as found at Domaine Mee Godard and Domaine des Marrans.

‘Because of the terroir and the limestone, I find it really interesting to make Chardonnay in Beaujolais,’ says Mee Godard. ‘We have to continue to plant and experiment with Chardonnay in sandy soil as well.’

Considering the relatively small quantities currently produced, curious drinkers will need to actively seek out these wines. However, one thing everyone in the region agrees on is that the thirst for white wine is growing, and with its terroir potential, white Beaujolais has a bright future.

Tasting notes and scores for 10 wonderful white Beaujolais:

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