- Château Belair
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Château Belair is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Premier grand cru classé B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the commune of Saint-Émilion, in the department Gironde. The estate was considered the leading winery of Saint-Émilion for most of the 19th century.[1]
Contents
History
A close neighbour of Château Ausone, Belair may also have been the property of the statesman and poet Decimus Magnus Ausonius (310-395 CE).[1] The vineyard is thought to have been planted between 1730 and 1750 during the time of Jacques Canolle, a descendant of Robert de Knollys or Knolles, who had owned the land in the 14th century.[1][2] Exiled during the French Revolution, the estate was run by the Goudichau family until the Canolles returned in 1802.
In 1916 Belair was purchased by the owner of Ausone, Edouard Dubois-Challon, and the two estates have remained continually connected.[1][2] After the death of Edouard Dubois-Challon, the estates were run by his widow Helyett Dubois-Challon, since 1975 with the assistance of Pascal Delbeck.[1] When the widow died in 2003, they were inherited by Delbeck who retained control of the estates though having sold a 30% share of the property to JP Moueix.[2] Following difficulties paying inheritance tax and other taxes, Delbeck was forced to sell the remainder of the estate to Moueix in 2008.[3]
Production
The vineyard area extends 12.5 hectares with the grape varieties of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The Grand vin is Château Belair and there is produced no second wine.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e Peppercorn, David (2003). Bordeaux. London: Mitchell Beazley. pp. 396–398. ISBN 1-84000-927-6.
- ^ a b c d Kissack, Chris, thewinedoctor.com. "Chateau Belair". http://www.thewinedoctor.com/bordeaux/belair.shtml.
- ^ Kevany, Sophie, Decanter.com (June 13, 2008). "Moueix buys Belair". http://www.decanter.com/news/258558.html.
External links
- Château Belair official site (French)
Categories:- Bordeaux wine producers
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