Chateau Belgrave
AOC Haut-Médoc
Grand Cru Classé 1855
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Grand Cru Classé in 1855
Since 1979, Dourthe has been extremely privileged to manage operations at Château Belgrave, a large, classic estate and one of Medoc’s finest. Our team’s unstinting commitment is channelled into expressing the refinement, intensity and personality of this outstanding terroir. This Grand Cru Classé 1855 is a true quest for perfection.
A vineyard set out in a single block, where 95% of the vineyard has remained unchanged since 1855.
Key facts
94/100
James Suckling
804
Metres of diverse plant species planted across the estate.
0
CMR / chemical fertilisers / pesticides / herbicides
Planting
30 Ha Cabernet Sauvignon
29 Ha Merlot
1 Ha Petit Verdot
Soil profile
2 hilltops of deep gravel overlying a clay subsoil, gravel-sandy soils and clay outcrops.
Total surface area
60 Ha
Terroir
An exceptional wine, born of century-old skilled expertise.
Situated at the extremities of the St-Julien appellation, separated only by a stream, Château Belgrave is one of the Medoc’s oldest Cru vineyards. In 1855, given the exceptional quality of the property’s deep gravel soils, it was awarded 5th growth classification. The diversity of soils are well-suited to late-ripening varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, the latter now accounting for 4% of the vineyard.
The estate’s two gravel outcrops, at 23m and 26m respectively, are made up of gravel and ‘galet’ pudding stones dating back several thousand years and overlying a clay bedrock. The gravel thins towards the foot of the hillocks, gradually replaced by well-drained gravel and sand, and clay outcrops, which are particularly suited to cultivating Merlot.
Highly detailed soil mapping assists in our understanding of the diverse and complex terroir.
Frédéric Bonnaffous
Viticulture at Château Belgrave
Significant efforts are channelled primarily into ensuring optimum fruit quality. To this end, in-depth studies have analysed the terroir at Château Belgrave, and the correlation between vine growth and the profile of the sub-soil and available water. 75% of the vineyard is now planted at a density of 10,000 vines per hectare.
This meticulous undertaking has allowed us to map the entire vineyard with precision, and identify specific zones within each parcel that ripen at the same rate.This in-depth understanding of the vineyard and terroir is instrumental in creating healthy grapes of consistent ripeness and craft highly consistent cuves.
Guyot Poussard
Traditional ploughing, mechanical weeding. Manual budstripping, desuckering, leaf thinning, and lateral shoots removal for Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.
Eco-grazing and beehives. Organic and biological control agents as a priority. CMR pesticides banned. Sustainable cover planting, temporary sowing depending on plot vigour.
Grapes of inconsistent ripeness removed from mid-veraison as required. Harvesting carried out by hand, in crates and selectively. Optical sorting, while grapes are transfered by conveyor belt.
Winemaking and ageing
Château Belgrave is fitted out with winemaking and ageing equipment best suited to the terroir, and adapted to the diversity and character of grapes harvested selectively, in this way ensuring the most gentle winemaking techniques.
The extensive tank room has been entirely renovated, and now contains 33 stainless-steel tanks of varying sizes, including 6 small stainless-steel cone-shaped tanks. The barrel hall, which is partly buried underground, provides ideal conditions for ageing our wines.
The team
Bertrand Delavelle, Estate Manager
Frédéric Bonnaffous, Chief Winemaker
Our history
2015
NEW BOTTLE
Château Belgrave sees a packaging overhaul; the new bottle is engraved with the historic coat of arms, which has already appeared on labels since 1939.
2007
A NEW CELLAR
The barrel hall, which is partially buried underground, is entirely renovated and modernised, complete with temperature and humidity control.
1996
L’UNION DES GRANDS CRUS DE BORDEAUX
Coopted by its peers, Château Belgrave becomes a member of the Union des Grands Crus in Bordeaux.
1987
DIANE DE BELGRAVE
The team at Château Belgrave decide to launch a second wine. To pay tribute to the estate’s historical link to hunting, it is only fitting that the second wine takes the name Diane de Belgrave, with reference to Diana the Huntress.
1979
Dourthe and Château Belgrave
Dourthe takes over the management of Château Belgrave. The start of a new era, set to bring this prestigious wine back to its former glory, worthy of its prestigious Grand Cru Classé Haut-Medoc ranking.
1939
A ferret as an emblem
The first time the ‘ferret’ is associated with the wine, a symbol that has featured on Château wine labels ever since.
1898
MARCEL ALIBERT
Marcel Alibert takes on ownership of Belgrave in 1898. Fully committed to safeguarding, enhancing and promoting Bordeaux, he devotes his life to structuring the industry; restricting production, introducing quality standards and assigning individual Appellations d’Origine for each vineyard. He plays a key role in establishing the Syndicat des Crus Classés du Médoc in 1901, of which he is General Secretary, then Vice-President for 25 years.
1855
Grand Cru Classé
The wine is granted 5th growth status in 1855, still under the name ‘Coutanceau’, while ‘Belgrave’ is finally adopted at the beginning of the 20th century by Marcel Alibert, founder of the Syndicate of Crus Classés, and owner of the estate for almost 30 years.
1851
“Bellegrave”
The name ‘Bellegrave’ first appears in 1851, when Bruno Devès, a Bordeaux negociant, remodelled the estate, focusing on cultivating vines on the finest gravel terroirs. He builds residences, tank rooms and wineries, and in 1850 constructs the existing residence on the site of the former hunting pavilion.
1823
COUTANCEAU
The vineyard is developed notably by Godefroi Bartelemi Coutanceau, a doctor at the Val-de-Grâce hospital, who purchases the smallholding of Darrous from the Brisson inheritors in 1823. His name would be associated with the estate for many years; and ‘Coutanceau’ would feature in almost all classifications established by the courtiers and negociants on the Place de Bordeaux until 1855.
1796
The Brisson Heirs
On the death of Joseph Brisson, a wine merchant, the estate, comprising three smallholdings – Petit Camensac, Sieujan and Darrouilh – the latter being the locality now known as Belgrave, is divided among the inheritors. A difficult succession lasting 30 years would then follow.
1700s
A hunting pavilion
During the reign of Louis XV, the smallholding known as ‘Darrouilh’ where Chateau Belgrave stands today, was a hunting pavilion.
The link between the Cru property and hunting is still in evidence today, symbolised by the ferret that features on wine labels, and also the name of the second wine: ‘Diane de Belgrave’ in a nod to Diana the huntress.
Gallery
