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A few weeks back we made a pulled pork on the Big Green Egg Smoker. It was our first time making a big piece of meat in years. We flavoured the pork with a Carolina Mustard Sauce as we prefer barbecue sauces that tend to the savoury instead of the sweet.
When I say “we”, I mean my husband. I mainly just fretted about what wine to pair it with. It had been so long that I couldn’t remember what worked.
A common saying for wine pairings is what grows together goes together. Barbecue, being associated with the “new world” aka non-European, tends to pair best with fruit focused wines. This led me to a Beaujolais wine that was new to the store. I must say the pairing turned out perfectly!
Let me guess … enter the featured wine… a Beaujolais
You betcha!
(I have written about Beaujolais a few times, so for the region’s nitty gritty see here, here, and here or access these same links at the end of this article.)
But remember, for Beaujolais it is easy – 2 grapes only. If it’s red think Gamay, and if it’s white it’s Chardonnay. But don’t let the simplicity of a two grape region fool ya! Not all Beaujolais are created equal– particularly when it comes to the reds.
Today, I focus on one of the region’s ten crus. Cru refers to a subregion whose vineyards are considered superior in quality to the rest of the wine region. In the case of Beaujolais, they extend over the northern portion of the region. They are numbers 3 to 12 on the map below.
The specific wine I chose, La Côte Étoilée ‘Cadole’ 2023, is from the Brouilly cru. I had not had a Brouilly in a long while, so I was pumped!
Brouilly is the largest and the southernmost of the Beaujolais cru. They tend towards being lighter and perfumed wines, although the featured wine is medium body. Perfumed! - this one sure was – I loved the nose – the aroma of violets! Overall, I would call it very elegant in style.
Elegant? Does that mean it is soft?
It can, but that is not really what we mean when used to describe a wine.
My favourite definition is from Peter Munro, the head winemaker at St Hugo in South Australia: “Elegance is analogous to balance, where nothing stands out… It doesn’t necessarily have to be light; it could be a full-bodied wine, but it has a seamless, even palate.”
This is what I found in this Brouilly! Nothing stealing the show! The whole, simply harmonious!
But back to the subregion. So much to say, so little time! Brouilly’s vineyards grow on Mont Brouilly, which according to a local legend was named after a 4th century Roman lieutenant named Brulius. The man is said to have settled on these slopes….
…and planted some vines!
That’s how the story goes!
You may have noticed on the map above that there is also a Côte de Brouilly. It is considered a separate cru. While the Brouilly subregion surrounds the lower and mid-slope, Côte de Brouilly occupies the top portion of the hill itself. They tend to be more structured and have greater ageing potential than the Brouilly.
There is a fun story around La Côte Étoilée winery’s name, which translates to the starry hillside or slope. The name makes reference to a chapel on Mt Brouilly which when illuminated at night shines on the hill like starlight. Built to honour the Virgin Mary, the chapel is aptly named Notre Dame aux Raisins (Our Lady of Grapes). Since the mid-1800s, the chapel is associated with protecting the crops. The winery refers to it as their lucky star (notre bonne étoile).
But what of the name of the wine itself? Cadole is the local term for a small stone building used as shelter for workers. Larger versions would accommodate a horse. While the term Cadole is regional to Beaujolais, these shelters are not unique to even France. These structures are common in many wine regions. They are typically made of rocks removed from the soil while planting or maintaining vineyards.
When reading the definition, my mind went straight to Priorat, Spain where we spent a week helping at the Gratavinum winery during harvest. You may have noticed a small building in the headline photo. This is a small building in one of Gratavinum’s vineyards. Notice the two different construction methods, likely build at two different times. I am sure there is a story there too!
Ain’t there always??!!
Let’s get back to the wine – why was the pairing so awesome anyway?
Right! Talk about a tangent!
There is a lot going on flavour wise in the pulled pork, with its rich and fatty meat and the complex Carolina Mustard Sauce. The Brouilly’s fruit notes complement the intensity of the tang from the vinegar and mustard in the sauce. What also makes this wine great for this dish is how its acidity cuts through the meat’s richness, refreshing the palate. Its medium tannins give just enough structure without clashing with the slight heat from the sauce’s spice and mustard.
Sounds like the fretting paid off!
Yup, mental energy well spent! Scroll down for more tasting notes and pairing ideas.
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La Côte Étoilée ‘Cadole’ 2023 from Brouilly, Beaujolais, France
Style: Medium body red wine
Variety(ies): 100% Gamay
This perfumed wine introduces itself with notes of violet and red cherry on the nose followed by a hint of raspberry hard candy that soon fades away. Then enters more earthy flavours and aromas of clove and forest floor. As the wine opens up more fruity elements of blueberry, black cherry, cranberry, strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry gradually unfold. This is when the tannin, which starts out very soft, also becomes more apparent with a slightly grippy character although staying at a medium level. As we pour the last of the decanted wine, caramel, wet leaves, black olive, and cedar flavours come through. This wine has intensity on both the nose and palate, and a long finish.
Best pairings: Carolina Mustard Sauced Pulled-Pork, Pork Tenderloin with cherry sauce, Fish Tacos, Ginger Beef, Salt and Pepper Prawns, and Jerk Chicken, Cheeses: Comté, Gruyère and Aged Gouda.
Serving Temperature: 14-16 degrees Celsius
Serving Tips: Decant for about 30 minutes
Price: ~$34 Cdn
Relevant Shades of Grape links: Keep scrolling
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LINKS TO RELEVANT PAST SHADES OF GRAPE ARTICLES:
SOURCES:
Beaujolais.com, no date. Brouilly. [online] Available at: https://www.beaujolais.com/appellation/brouilly/ [Accessed 3 September 2026].
Domaine Famille Morin, no date. Construction d’une cadole. [online] Available at: https://www.domainefamillemorin.fr/construction-dune-cadole/ [Accessed 3 September 2026].
Harding, J. and Robinson, J., 2023. The Oxford companion to wine. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité (INAO), no date. Brouilly ou Brouilly – Cru du Beaujolais. [online] Available at: https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/brouilly-ou-brouilly-cru-du-beaujolais-18176 [Accessed 3 September 2026].
La Côte Étoilée, no date. La Côte Étoilée. [online] Available at:
https://www.la-cote-etoilee.com/
[Accessed 3 September 2026].
Le Progrès, 2016a. À la découverte des cadoles, abris des vignerons. [online] Available at: https://www.leprogres.fr/beaujolais/2016/08/05/a-la-decouverte-des-cadoles-abris-des-vignerons [Accessed 3 September 2026].
Le Progrès, 2016b. La commune rénove une cadole. [online] Available at: https://www.leprogres.fr/beaujolais/2016/09/27/la-commune-renove-une-cadole [Accessed 3 September 2026].
Shades of Grape, no date a. Gamay and its own unique world of… [online] Available at: https://www.shadesofgrape.ca/p/gamay-and-its-own-unique-world-of [Accessed 3 September 2026].
Shades of Grape, no date b. Once banished: Not all Beaujolais… [online] Available at: https://www.shadesofgrape.ca/p/once-banished-not-all-beaujolais [Accessed 3 September 2026].
Shades of Grape, no date c. Vino Nobile: The Montepulciano that’s… [online] Available at: https://www.shadesofgrape.ca/p/vino-nobile-the-montepulciano-thats [Accessed 3 September 2026].
Techno-Science.net, no date. Cadole. [online] Available at: https://www.techno-science.net/fr/definitions/cadole [Accessed 3 September 2026].
Wine & Spirit Education Trust, 2025. D3: Wines of the World – An accompaniment to the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines. Version 1.2. London: Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
The Brouilly is a good call, and it's worth naming why. Carolina mustard sauce is mostly acid, and smoke brings bitterness, so you want acidity to meet it and very little tannin to push back. Brouilly delivers both. Loire Cabernet Franc or a chilled Trousseau would too, since the match is structural.