JULIÉNAS: The Sun, the Moon and a Star

Beaujolais series: 7 / 14

By Stuart Pigott – last revision: 12.04.26

Vineyard Area: 520 hectares (2024)

Proportion of Total Production: 4% (2024)

Appellation Established: 1938

PART ONE: A Dramatic Start

When I arrived at Domaine Mont Bessay’s beautiful modern building at the top of the En Bessay site of Juliénas at sunset the view was expansive with a panorama of vineyards laid out before me. And when I left the full moon dominated the no less dramatic night sky and one star shone brightly. That’s very much how the best wines from this drastically underrated appellation taste - the opposite of small or limited - but in many wine markets around the world few people have ever experienced them. In those places that don’t yet "get" Beaujolais the reputation of Juliénas often seems to be stuck in the long-term parking lot between the coolness of Morgon and the unpretentiousness of Beaujolais-Villages.

And yet Juliénas has more vineyards with the volcanic diorite or pierres bleues soil than Morgon, or any of the other Beaujolais Crus! This fact seems no better known than the topography of the appellation, and let me be honest, both were newer me this year! The majority of the vineyards are on more or south- or southwest-facing slopes that offer stunning views if you climb them high enough.

My first encounter with them was an accident. The oddly skittle-shaped bottle of 1976 Juliénas from Georges Duboeuf that I bought in a London wine store 1983/4 was a bargain! It had a wonderful combination of richness and balance that many of those from the 2023 and 2022 vintages described below also have. The remarkable thing is how, thanks to the special acidity of the Gamay grape, Juliénas from ripe vintages often feel medium-bodied with 14% or more alcohol.

I feel pretty sure that those numbers are a part of the appellation’s problem, because most contemporary wine consumers would prefer 13% on the label to 14.5%, and a bunch of them would prefer 12% to 13%. Although it’s true that alcohol levels have been rising right around the world due to the warming climate, it’s NOT true that wines like Juliénas never had 14% plus alcohol in the past, much less that back in the good old days 12.5% printed on the labels of most French wines accurately reflected the true alcoholic contents of the contents of the bottle.

Back in that distant place called the 20^th century 12.5% on the label was a convention, meaning that in most years the wine’s alcoholic content would be relatively close to that figure. In the great vintages of the 20^th century many top French wines had way more than 12.5% alcohol. To give a couple of famous examples, 1990 Château Troplong-Mondot in St. Emilion/Bordeaux had 14.2% natural alcohol and the 1990 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes from Domaine Ponsot in Burgundy was 14.8%! My guess is that the magnificent 1976 Juliénas from Georges Dubeouf was also in that range, but this was no great exception for the warm 1976 vintage in Beaujolais. And yes, in the cooler years of the 20^th century the alcoholic content of all those wines was around 12.5%, often needing chaptalisation - the addition of sugar to the fermenting wine - to get there.

PART TWO: The Eternal Question – Why?

So, what leads the wines to have such richness and the alcohol that comes with it? Those vineyards with a beautiful southerly exposure bask in the sun, and that’s certainly a factor here. However, sunshine is only one side of the photosynthetic equation, on the other side of which is water. You see, the vine is not a cactus that can store large quantities of water within its tissues and is adapted to transpiring as little water as possible. With almost no water storage and a large leaf area during the growing season, the vine needs to constantly pull water from the soil. This problem has become more chronic with the increasing frequency of droughts in the new climate situation. That’s why soil management to increase the content of water-retaining humus content in the soil is now so crucial, particularly in locations with stony or sandy soils.

And this brings us to those volcanic diorite soils that are so common in Juliénas, and are also found in Morgon plus a number of other Beaujolais Crus. Their clay content is 300%-400% higher than that of the stony granite soils. Clay (the finest type of soil particle) is more effective at holding water than silt (the next largest type of soil particle) and immensely more so than sand, though which water freely flows. Granite weathers to sand, and if a granite soil is shallow, then it holds very little water. 

It may sound horribly unromantic to many readers, but this is the most important aspect of soil that makes it a major terroir factor. The second most important aspect of soil with great relevance for viticulture is the pH or acidity/alkalinity. For example, limestone is alkaline and granite is acidic, with volcanic diorite in the middle, though slightly on the acidic side. Beaujolais is a near-perfect example of this because of the three dramatically contrasting soil types.

But, of course, your question now is why should I be interested in Juliénas? My answer is the quality of the best contemporary wines. The very consistent wines from Domaine le Cotoyon are self-confidently rich and powerful, but very well crafted.  I love the elegance of the wines from Michel & Sylvain Tête, underlined by their moderate alcoholic content. Then there are two exciting new domaines on the block. Domaine Oedipoda is the work of Bérengère Bezaud and Antoine Miguel, and though some may call these natural wines I think innovative and alternative is a better description. Then, there’s Domaine Mont Bessay that debuted with the 2021 vintage. The ebullient, but precise Guillaume Marko is partnered with Philippe Pascal of Domaine du collier aux Moines in Gravy/Burgundy. The winemaking here is modern Burgundian in the best sense of those words. 

Sure, if you don’t really like the wines of the Gamay grape, then you might fail to find something here that excites you. However, if you are open, then I think the sun, the moon and the rising star of Juliénas are shining you right in the face! 

21 tasting notes, two with 96 and one with 95

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PART THREE: The Rising Star Shines Bright!

2024 REDS

Château Bonnet  Juliénas  Vieilles Vignes  2024 – 13.5% / This intensely mineral wine has a fascinating smokiness and a serious tannin structure that neatly underlines these qualities. Slight youthful roughness at the finish, but stacks of character. 91

Domaine de Boischampt  Juliénas  2024 – 12% / The aromas of smoke, dried flowers and liquorice leap out of the glass at you! Super fresh and sleek, but with ample, fine-grained tannins this is a very striking wine. The blood orange and grapefruit bitter finish may be too much for some, but I like it. 91

Domaine de Boischampt  Juliénas Les 4 Cerisiers  2024 – 12% / This sleek and racy beauty impresses with its intense minerality, rather than with power or volume. You have to like acidity to really go for this, even the fruit character – redcurrant and blood orange – lying at the tart end of the scale. However, this flyweight is very expressive. 92

Domaine le Cotoyon  Juliénas  Vieilles Vignes  2024 – 13% / At once bold and vivid, the ample tannins of this impressive 2024 need some time to fully integrate, but the mineral freshness is already exciting and there’s  enough flesh to successfully wrap this package. 92

Domaine Mont Bessay Juliénes Les Quatre Cerisiers  2024 – 13% / Very youthful with a touch of graphite (from reduction). Deep strawberry and sour cherry fruit is wrapped around a firm tannin structure that drives the long mineral finish. From vines growing on volcanic diorite soil at the western tip-off the appellation. 94

Domaine Mont Bessay  Juliénas  Les Amourettes  2024 – 13% / Cool and crisp but with a wealth of red berry fruit, this is charming, but also has good substance. Some fresh herb aromas and a touch of minerality. Primarily from young vines in the Mont Bessay site. 92

Domaine Mont Bessay  Juliénas En Bessay  2024 – 13% / A real mountain wine that has terrific mineral energy! Needs a moment in the glass to open up, but the depth of wild berry and herb aromas is stunning. Then comes the conclusion that’s the best part of this racy story. 95

Domaine du Moulin Berger  Juliénas  Vayolette 2024 – 13% / The aromas of black cherry and wild blackberry leap out at you and they are backed-up by nice soft tannins. Then, the citrusy acidity of cool vintages in this appellation kicks in at the slightly drying finish. 89

Domaine de la Vieille Eglise  Juliénas  Le Clos des Poulettes  2024 – 13% / Remarkably ripe and solidly-structured for the cool and wet vintage with quite a firm core of tannins, this is a bold wine, but not heavy. The full, firm finish suggests that this may show better after further bottle aging. 91

Famille Mélinon  Julienas  Bois de Chat  2024 – 13% / Although this is a generous wine with plenty black cherry fruit and a bunch of gentle tannins there’s also a touch of rhubarb character. Rather tart finish. 88

Michel & Sylvain Tête  Juliénas Clos du Fief  2024 – 13% / A super-elegant wine for the 2024 vintage, this glides over your palate in spite of a touch of the blood orange freshness I associate with cool vintage wines from this appellation. I love the violet aroma and the wet-stone minerality at the very long finish. 94

2023 REDS

Arnaud Combier  Juliénas  2023 – 14% / In spite of the generous bitter chocolate and liquorice character this has the great balance of the best 2023s. At once smoky and savoury with quite some tannins, this has stacks of structure and excellent aging potential. 93

Domaine Oedipoda  Juliénas Chanoriers  2023 – 12.5% / The wildness of the wild berries and herbs is at once ripe and joyful! Breathtaking mountain freshness and violet beauty that makes me feel stupid for reducing this experience to a numerical score! Incredibly energetic, wet-stone finish.  Bottled unfiltered and unfined with a spritz of natural carbon dioxide, so best decanted. 96

Domaine Oedipoda  Juliénas Beauvernay  2023 – 13% / Intense clove and dried sage aromas make this a love it or loathe it experience. Needs some aeration for the violet and sour cherry aromas to begin to emerge. The ample, velvety tannins make this feel a bit bigger than it really is. A lot of savoury and liquorice complexity at the long, focused finish. Bottled unfiltered and unfined with a spritz of natural carbon dioxide, so best decanted. 94

Domaine Mont Bessay  Juliénas En Bessay  2023 – 14.5% / This great wine really shows what Julienas can do in a warm vintage. How can a wine this ripe and concentrated be this fresh? Plush and imposing on the front-palate, then, at silky and dangerously mineral at the very long and precise finish. 96 

Domaine du Moulin Berger  Juliénas  Cuvée Mathys  2023 – 14.5% / Big black fruit aromas and excellent freshness in the nose. If the tannins were a bit less solid on the generous palate, then it would be amazing, but they weight it down. Less would have been more. 89

2022 REDS

Château Pougelon  Juliénas Lieu-dit “Beauvernay”  2022 – 13% / This is very cool for the hot and dry vintage, in fact, the dominant aromas are of dried sage and laurel. Bright wild blackberry too. Still youthful, this is an unusually sleek and crisp 2022. 90

Domaine le Cotoyon  Juliénas  Les Pièces  2022 – 14.5% / The roasted meat and plum aromas make a bold statement. Plenty of spices too. On the palate this is surprisingly silky with gentle black fruit flavors and enough acidity to keep the whole package lively. From the elegant finish you would never think this has 14.5% alcohol! 93

Domaine le Cotoyon  Juliénas Cotoyon  2022 – 14.5% / Deep nose of bitter chocolate and dried cherries that leads you into the expansive, yet cool palate – yes of course that seems contradictory! And the cocoa powder finish sets the crown on this. From vines growing on volcanic diorite soil at over 400 meters altitude. 93

Domaine le Cotoyon  Juliénas  Les Mouilles  2022 – 13% / This beautiful 2022 has the combination freshness and elegant structure that so many of the wines didn’t quite have. Very solid core, but without making the wine feel at all heavy. Crisp tannins and acidity at the long, subtle finish. From a relatively low altitude vineyards for this appellation and early-picked. 94

Domaine de la Vieille Eglise  Juliénas  Le Clos des Poulettes  2023 – 14% / Because this appellation is not so well known there’s a widespread expectation that the wines will be light, but this has a lot of power. Complex spicy nose. Stacks of liquorice on the palate with generous, moderately dry tannins. From a 1.5 hectare southeast-facing site. 92