Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc
the principal grape of Beaujolais and the variety behind all ten crus. Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc accounts for more than 98 per cent of Beaujolais plantings. Grown almost exclusively on the granite, schist and sandy soils of the northern Beaujolais hills, it produces wines ranging from the light, cherry-bright Chiroubles style at altitude to the dense, iron-mineral Morgon from the Cote du Py schist. The variety was allegedly banished from Burgundy by Philip the Bold in 1395 and found its true home on Beaujolais granite. The Gang of Four natural producers revealed its capacity for ageing and terroir expression through whole-cluster, low-intervention winemaking from the 1980s onward. Today Beaujolais Gamay is vinified by carbonic maceration for Nouveau, semi-carbonic maceration for approachable crus, and as a whole-cluster traditional ferment for the natural-wine tier.
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is the permitted white grape for Beaujolais Blanc AOC and Beaujolais-Villages Blanc, accounting for a small but growing fraction of the region's production. Beaujolais Chardonnay tends to be crisp, unoaked and mineral compared to the richer Burgundy style, reflecting the granitic soils of the northern zone. It also appears in small quantities in the Coteaux Bourguignons AOC overlap classification, where Beaujolais growers can use it in declassified blends with Burgundy fruit.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is permitted in Beaujolais under the Coteaux Bourguignons AOC, the declassification overlap classification that bridges Beaujolais and Burgundy. Beaujolais sits at the southern edge of the Burgundy viticultural zone, and some producers in the northern crus and Beaujolais-Villages zone grow small parcels of Pinot Noir for this purpose. Jean-Paul Brun at Terres Dorees is a Beaujolais producer working with Pinot Noir, producing an unusual old-vine cuvee alongside his Gamay and Chardonnay wines.
Aligote
Aligote appears very occasionally in Beaujolais under the Coteaux Bourguignons AOC overlap, the classification shared with southern Burgundy. It is an extremely minor presence in Beaujolais compared to its role in Bouzeron on the Cote Chalonnaise. Its crisp, high-acid character suits the granitic terroir of the northern Beaujolais hills, though almost no producer bottles it as a single-variety Beaujolais wine today.
Gamay de Bouze
A teinturier mutation of Gamay that produces red juice as well as red skin, in contrast to the standard Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc. Grown in tiny quantities in Beaujolais, it was historically used to add colour to lighter cuvees. Today it is almost entirely absent from commercial production, surviving mainly in old mixed-planting parcels (en foule) alongside standard Gamay. A curiosity of the region's viticultural heritage rather than a commercially significant variety.
Gamay de Chaudenay
A second teinturier mutation of Gamay alongside Gamay de Bouze, producing deeply pigmented red juice. Like Gamay de Bouze, it exists in trace quantities in very old Beaujolais vineyards planted before varietal selection was standardised. Modern winegrowers rarely identify it separately; it appears as an occasional element in en foule (field blend) parcels among the oldest Gamay vines. Its existence is a reminder of pre-clone viticultural diversity in the region.
Melon de Bourgogne
Melon de Bourgogne, the grape of Muscadet in the Loire Valley, was historically grown in southern Burgundy and the northern fringes of Beaujolais before being effectively banned from both regions by AOC rules. It survives in tiny parcels under the Coteaux Bourguignons AOC declassification, though it is commercially negligible in Beaujolais today. Its presence is a historical footnote to the grape's origin in the Burgundy region before its transplantation to the Loire.
Gamay Noir Vieilles Vignes
Not a separate variety but the old-vine expression of Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc, listed here as a distinct entry to reflect its importance in Beaujolais cru winemaking. Vines over 50 to 80 years old planted on Morgon, Fleurie and Moulin-a-Vent granite give naturally lower yields and more concentrated, complex fruit. Guy Breton's Morgon Vieilles Vignes and Marcel Lapierre's old-vine parcels on the Cote du Py are among a noted expressions of this aging-vine Gamay style. The oldest surviving parcels date to the 1920s and 1930s, pre-dating the post-war replanting that standardised clone selection.