Marquis de Bellefont Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2013

Bottle notes

The second wine of Chateau Bellefont Belcier, which owes its name ‘Belle Fontaine’ meaning beautiful spring, to the numerous springs near to the Chateau and to its founder, the Marquis of Belcier. A Merlot based blend, this is rich, silky smooth and has plenty of charm.

A classic right bank Bordeaux with a bit of bottle ageing, dominated by Merlot with a touch of Cabernet Franc, lots of ripe, rich red fruits, velvety tannins and a long finish. A shining example of St Emilion Grand Cru's potential.

Created at the end of the 18th century, Château Bellefont-Belcier is ideally located on the southern coast of Saint-Emilion, alongside the prestigious vineyards of Château Pavie, Château Larcis-Ducasse and Château Tertre Roteboeuf. It owes its name, belle fontaine, to the many springs near the château and to its founder, the Marquis de Belcier.

The year 2013 will remain a vintage of great tension for all winegrowers in our region. After a regular budburst and a promising exit, cold temperatures and frequent precipitation create a vegetative delay. We then experience a relatively significant flow impacting from the start of season a fortunately generous volume. You have to wait until July to recover the start delay of cycle and regain hope with quite exceptional hot and dry conditions. The sunshine of month of August combined with the big difference in temperature between temperate days and cool nights, are at the origin of the synthesis of anthocyanins and numerous aromatic molecules in grapes. The poor weather conditions in the second half of September make us fear an installation fast from rot. Complete leaf removal of the fruiting zone combined with increased monitoring made it possible to wait until October 1 to collect the Merlots from the foot of the hill and October 11 for the top of the hill. The Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon are then harvested until the 14th.

This is drinking well now but could also go a few more years in the cellar if you were looking for a good wine to age. 

Details

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc

Alcohol: 13.5% VOL

Volume: 75cl

Suitable for Vegans: No

Organic: No