The Cru Juliénas vineyard spreads over 580 hectares (1433 acres) and is the northernmost of the 10 Crus. Within the appellation confines are the entire commune of Juliénas, as well as some slopes in Jullié, Pruzilly and Emeringes.
Most of the soil is made up of « pierres bleues » or blue stone, that is a combination of schist and diorite. Up until complete mapping of the soil, blue stone was only thought to be in Cru Brouilly and Cru Côte de Brouilly. Finding it in Cru Juliénas shows the diversity of soils coming from different geological events in the Beaujolais region. The slopes are very steep and widely open to the south, then they round out and start facing east on a base of ancient alluvium and clayey subsoils.
Photo credit: Cru Juliénas
