Château Bellevue-Mondotte

The estate

Bellevue-Mondotte was 2.5 hectares on the clay and limestone plateau of Pavie, partly an enclave of Château Pavie-Decesse, with a name that borrowed from its neighbors La Mondotte and Troplong Mondot; its size kept it out of sight for a long time. Gérard Perse bought it in 2001, to sit beside Pavie, Pavie-Decesse and Monbousquet in Saint-Émilion and Clos Lunelles in Castillon. In 2022 its vines, with those of Pavie-Decesse, went into the blend of Château Pavie. For a plot this size, on the same plateau as Pavie, it was the natural end.

While it had a label of its own, the vineyard sat 80 meters above the Dordogne valley on a south-facing slope, well drained and sheltered from the north wind and from frost, planted 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and looked after by the vineyard director and the cellar master of Château Pavie. The vines were leaf-thinned 2 times, on the east side in late June and on the west in mid-August, and green-harvested hard for yields of 22 hectoliters a hectare. The grapes were picked and sorted by hand and fermented with their own yeasts in temperature-controlled wooden vats; the malolactic ran in barrel, and the wine aged about 24 months in new oak, the first 6 on its fine lees, then was blended just before bottling and bottled without fining or filtration. There were about 4,800 bottles a year.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion, on the Pavie plateau

Classification

No classification; not in the list of 2022

Last owners

The Perse family; Gérard Perse bought it in 2001

Vineyard

2.5 hectares; in the blend of Château Pavie since 2022

Ground

Clay and limestone, 80 meters above the Dordogne

Grapes

Merlot 90%, Cabernet Franc 5%, Cabernet Sauvignon 5%

Cellar

Wooden vats; malolactic in barrel; about 24 months in new oak; no fining or filtration

Production

About 4,800 bottles a year

The house

Château Pavie, Château Pavie-Decesse and Château Monbousquet, Saint-Émilion; Clos Lunelles, Castillon

Now part of

Château Pavie

Sources: Vignobles Perse, Château Bellevue-Mondotte, history and presentation · Vignobles Perse, Château Bellevue-Mondotte, the wine · Vignobles Perse, Château Bellevue-Mondotte, the cellars · Château Pavie, the domain