12 APPELLATIONS
> Juliénas

Fact sheet

Appellation recognition decree :
11th March 1938
 
Appellation type : communal
 
Surface area 578 ha
 
Yield per hectare : 52 hl/ha
 
Production (in 2006) : 30 212 hl, or 4 million bottles
 
Grape variety : gamay noir à jus blanc
 
Colour : red
 
Pruning type : short goblet leaving 3 to 5 branches on each vine and a maximum of 10 eyes (buds).
 
Number of plants per hectare : from 8 000 to 10 000.
 
Soil type : to the west the land is poor and arid granite with seams of manganese and porphyry; to the east are formations from the Mesozoic era that are shallow with a little clay made up of old alluvium.
 
Communes with the right to the appellation name : Juliénas, Jullié and Emeringes, in the Rhône department with a foray into the village of Pruzilly in the Saône-et-Loire department. The Cru touches the Mâconnais region to the north.
 
Number of vinegrowers : 120
 
Vinification : in whole bunches. This vinification type is specific to the Beaujolais winemaking area. Length of fermentation on the skins: from 9 to 10 days, depending on the vintage and the winemaker. After vatting and the first, alcoholic, fermentation, the grapes are pressed and the run off and press juices are assembled then the second, malo-lactic, fermentation takes place. Its role is to render the wines supple in removing their acidity. In order to get the most out of their grapes and give added structure to their wines, quite a few winemakers use techniques to immerge the grapes in their own juice during the first fermentation such as placing a grid over the cap to hold it down, pushing the cap down or pumping the juice from the bottom of the vat over the cap.