Chateau Bellevue St. Emilion Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Bellevue St. Emilion with wine tasting notes and wine with food pairing tips. Learn the best vintages, information on the vineyards, and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Bellevue History, Overview

Chateau Bellevue in Saint Emilion is known to have great terroir. The ancient Romans were aware of this. In fact, when walking the vineyards, it’s easy to spot remains of the original cultivations left by ancient Roman vintners. The rebirth of Chateau Bellevue begins in the 17th century.

At that time, the Fief de Bellevue, took charge of the vineyard As was the custom of the day, he renamed the Bordeaux vineyard using his name.

The property remained in the hands of the same family from 1642 until Chateau Bellevue changed hands in 1938 when the vineyard was purchased by the de Coninck family along, with the Pradel de Lavaux family as a joint venture. The Pradel de Lavaux also own Chateau Saint Pierre in Pomerol.

Starting with the 2000 vintage at Chateau Bellevue, the dynamic duo of Bordeaux, Nicolas Thienpont and Stéphane Derenoncourt were hired to turn the estate around.

That was the first vintage in ages showing how good Chateau Bellevue could be. In late 2007, a 50% stake in the 5.9-hectare vineyard of Chateau Bellevue was purchased by the de Bouard family, owners of Chateau Angelus, which is located almost adjacent to the property.

Since the time, Hubert de Bouard began calling the shots. Once Hubert de Bouard took charge, he instituted top to bottom renovations for the wine-making facilities, chateau, and vineyards of Chateau Bellevue. The labels on the bottles were updated as well. This was to complement the changes in the vineyards and chateau.

Ironically, the de Bouard family had an opportunity to purchase the Right Bank property several decades earlier. But due to difficult economic conditions at the time, they did not buy it when it was first offered.

Following the recent acquisition of the property, a complete, top to bottom renovation of Chateau Bellevue took place in the Saint Emilion vineyards as well as in the cellars, reception area, and wine-making facilities.

The de Bouard family own other estates in the Right Bank including; Chateau La Fleur de Bouard in Lalande de Pomerol, and Chateau de Francs in the Cotes de Francs appellation. Starting in 2012, Stephanie de Bouard-Rivoal, the daughter of Hubert de Bouard took over control of the estate.

Things changed in 2022 as the vineyard was divided equally between the Pradel de Lavaux family and the de Bouard family. 3 hectares were added to Chateau Angelus. The remaining 3 hectares were brought under full control of the Pradel de Lavaux family who once again, hired the the team of Stephane Derenoncourt.

Chateau Bellevue Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 3-hectare vineyard of Chateau Bellevue is planted to 100% Merlot, Previously, there was a minor, 2% portion of the vineyard that was planted to Cabernet Franc. But those vines were ripped out in 2015.

Interestingly, several years before that, the estate had even more Cabernet Franc planted in the vineyards. But those vines were also removed in favor of Merlot.

The terroir is clay and limestone soils. The vineyard is on the plateau of a slope, next to Chateau Beausejour Duffau, with a south-facing exposure. All the work in the vineyards has been done using 100% organic farming methods since 2006. They were certified organic in 2009.

Chateau Bellevue is also located exactly across the road from Angelus. The vines are on average, 40 years of age. Chateau Bellevue is one of the few estates in Saint Emilion with 100% Merlot in their vineyard. Chateau Bellevue is also one of the oldest vineyards in the Right Bank.

In fact, the ancient Roman ruins found throughout the soil, make it difficult to plant in some areas, as the remains are protected by law and cannot be disturbed.

However, this makes it an amazing walk as your stroll through the vineyards of Chateau Bellevue, as the remains are easy to see scattered about in the soil. To get an even better understanding of their terroir, visit the limestone caves located under the chateau. Hubert de Bouard referred to the estate as the Petrus of St. Emilion, due to its high concentration of Merlot.

Vinification of Chateau Bellevue takes place in a combination of cement and oak tanks. Each block is fermented separately. In 2009, for the first time, 40% of the wine was micro-vinified, meaning that those grapes were fermented in barrels. That no longer takes place. Today, the wine is whole berry fermented Malolactic fermentation takes place in 100% new, French oak barrels. Sur lies aging takes place in barrel for the first six months of the aging process. The wine of Chateau Bellevue is aged in 100% new, French oak barrels.

The best vintages of Chateau Bellevue are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2005 and 2000. Although, Chateau Bellevue seems to be entering a new level of quality starting with the 2022 vintage.

Chateau Bellevue produces on average about 1,200 cases of wine per year. There is a second wine, La Caze Bellevue.

When to Drink Chateau Bellevue, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Bellevue is better with at least 8-10 years of aging in good vintages. Young vintages can be decanted for 1-2 hours or more. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume.

Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. Chateau Bellevue offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 9-22 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Bellevue with Wine and Food Pairing Tips

Chateau Bellevue is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. Chateau Bellevue is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes.

Chateau Bellevue is a perfect match with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta as well as cheese.

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