Château Bellefont-Belcier

The château

Count Louis-François de Belcier founded the estate in the middle of the 18th century, and in 1889 it was sold to Pierre Faure, whose family held it for more than 100 years. Under the Faures it did well. Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, put it in 1893 at the head of the second growths of Saint-Émilion, at 50 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels), a domaine set picturesquely on the south slope of the hill of the first growths, listed its medals, silver at La Roche-sur-Yon in 1873 and at Niort in 1874, another at the Exposition universelle of 1889 and a gold at the Concours général agricole of Paris in 1892, and wrote that it was becoming one of the most noted vineyards in the Gironde.

From 1994 a partnership of Dominique Hébrard, Alain Laguillaumie and Jacques Berrebi ran it. It became a Grand Cru Classé in 2006 and has held the rank since, through the legal dispute over that list: the courts annulled the list of 2006 and the classification of 1996 came back into force, until a law of 2009 let the estates promoted in 2006 keep their rank. Then the estate changed hands 3 times in 5 years: the Wang family, in Chinese steel, bought it in 2012, the Cypriot businessman John Renos in 2015, and Peter Kwok, of Vignobles K, in December 2017. It was in the list of 2012 and, having applied for Premier Grand Cru Classé in the revision of 2022, is a Grand Cru Classé in the list approved in September 2022.

The vat house is the reason to come. Built in 1889 and cut into the hill, it holds long concrete vats standing in a ring around the room, and it is still where the wine is made, with almost no sulfur added during fermentation. Wooden ovoid vats of 40 hectoliters have been in use since 2018 and hold about 30% of the wine as it is raised, and the cellars reopened after renovation in April 2023. The vineyard is 14.35 hectares in one block of 28 parcels, running down from the limestone plateau through the south-facing clay-limestone slopes to the Molasses du Fronsadais, the sandy clay at the foot; it is planted 72% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, vines 35 years old on average, and is certified organic. Jean-Christophe Meyrou directs the estate; Emmanuelle d’Aligny Fulchi, after 25 years at Château Angélus, has been technical director since 2022, and Thomas Duclos consults. About 65,000 bottles are made, with Les Tours de Belcier, or Marquis de Bellefont, as the second wine.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Laurent-des-Combes

Classification

Grand Cru Classé, 2006, 2012 and 2022; Michelin Guide, 1 grape (2026)

Owner

Peter Kwok, of Vignobles K, since December 2017

Direction

Jean-Christophe Meyrou; Emmanuelle d’Aligny Fulchi, technical director, since 2022

Consultant

Thomas Duclos

Vineyard

14.35 hectares in one block of 28 parcels; vines 35 years old on average

Soil

Limestone plateau, south-facing clay-limestone slopes, Molasses du Fronsadais Terroir of Saint-Émilion →

Grapes

Merlot 72%, Cabernet Franc 17%, Cabernet Sauvignon 11%

Farming

Certified organic

Cellar

The circular vat house of 1889, concrete vats in a ring; wooden ovoid vats of 40 hectoliters since 2018

Production

About 65,000 bottles

Wines

Château Bellefont-Belcier; Les Tours de Belcier or Marquis de Bellefont, the second wine

In history

At the head of the second growths of Saint-Émilion in 1893, at 50 tonneaux