Château des Poupets

From the estate

Discovering Juliénas

A small Cru with a Roman name, steep vines, and a village built for cellars and Sunday lunch — Juliénas is where Château des Poupets has stood since 1847.

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Published 3 December 2025

A name that remembers Rome

Local tradition links Juliénas to Julius Caesar. Whether or not the emperor slept here, vines have marked these slopes for centuries. The modern AOC covers roughly 580 hectares across Juliénas and neighbouring hamlets. The village itself is modest: a church, a square, tasting cellars, and roads that climb quickly into granite.

Les Poupets on the hill

Château des Poupets stands above the village beside the chapel, looking east toward the Saône. The lieu-dit Les Poupets gives the estate its name. Morning walks along the D17 show why the Cru works — drainage on the slopes, sun on the face, clay pockets that hold a dry summer. Guests who stay overnight wake in the middle of the appellation, not on its tourist edge.

Discovering Juliénas
Skurnik Wines

What the wine tastes like

Juliénas is Gamay with energy: ruby colour, notes of strawberry and violet, a peppery lift, and a mineral finish. It is built for the table — charcuterie, duck, mushrooms, even a fragrant curry — and usually drinks well within a few years, though the best parcels and vintages keep longer. Serve cooler than a heavy red; the fruit stays clear.

A day in the Cru

Taste at the château, walk the village, then loop through Chénas and Fleurie if time allows. Beaujeu, the historic capital of Beaujolais, is a short drive; Lyon is under an hour. Harvest and Nouveau week need appointments — write ahead and we will time a cellar visit around your route.

Juliénas rewards slow attention. One hillside, one grape, one village name on the label — and a glass that still feels like discovery.

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