Four wild Ribes species (R. alpinum L., R. uva-crispa L., R. rubrum L. and R. petraeum Wulf.) were surveyed for their polyphenolic patterns. These patterns were very uniform within R. alpinum and R. uva-crispa, each displaying a single chemotype. In contrast, great variations were detected within the other species. R. petraeum showed two chemotypes and several intermediate profiles. In R. rubrum, variations were qualitative and quantitative. One chemotype was clearly identified in a few samples. Variations between the other samples were important, but we could not characterise precise chemotypes. Species comparisons showed that R. alpinum differed from other species. In conclusion, an important infrageneric polyphenolic variability was detected in the genus Ribes. This kind of analysis should be performed on other Ribes species.