The Beaujolais Cru Côte de Brouilly is almost entirely within the AOC Brouilly, but has been given its own AOC due to the different soils. The Côte de Brouilly grows on granite soils with blue-green slate, the so-called "Cornes vertes". The Côte de Brouilly is considered more powerful and longer lasting than the fruitier Brouilly.
Château de la Chaize makes an excellent Côte de Brouilly, which is produced from approximately 25-year-old vines. With a normal harvest, there are around 8,000 bottles of this wine per year. In order to obtain additional structure from the low-tannin Gamay vine, 50% is pressed and fermented as whole grapes, i.e. with the stems. After fermentation with exclusively natural yeasts, the wine is aged in large wooden barrels and half in concrete tanks for a long 20 months until it has reached the perfect maturity for bottling.
The aromas of the Côte de Brouilly Château de la Chaize are reminiscent of ripe plums, dark berries and spices. On the palate it shows the typical Beaujolais charm, but it also has a good bite thanks to its ripe tannins, the wine is elegant and long in the finish. A beautiful Côte de Brouilly from a very good vintage.
