Château Bellefont‑Belcier was established at the end of the 18th century and is ideally located on the southern slope of Saint‑Émilion, in the immediate vicinity of Château Pavie, Château Larcis‑Ducasse, and Château Tertre Roteboeuf. The Bellefont‑Belcier estate originally belonged to an influential Bordeaux family: at the end of the 18th century, Count Louis‑François de Belcier first planted the vineyard and, in the early 19th century, built the château, which he named Bellefont — a shortened form of Belle Fontaine (“Beautiful Spring”), referring to the numerous springs flowing through the clay‑limestone hillside surrounding the estate.
At the end of the 19th century, Château Bellefont‑Belcier became the property of the Faure family. During this period, the vineyard developed into one of the most distinguished estates in the Bordeaux region, earning numerous awards, including the only gold medal granted by the French Ministry of Agriculture to Bordeaux wines at the 1892 Paris Agricultural Exhibition.
For its time, the estate was remarkably innovative: this is where the famous circular cellar was created, built into the hillside and operating entirely by gravity. It has been preserved in its original form and remains one of the true jewels of the estate.
In 1994, extensive restructuring of the vineyard began. In 2006, Château Bellefont‑Belcier was awarded Grand Cru Classé status. In 2017, the estate was acquired by Peter Kwok.

 

VINTAGE 2019

Harvest: 27 September – 14 October. Production: 55,000 bottles.

Winemaking

The start of the harvest is determined by a combination of physiological and subjective criteria — tasting the berries is a crucial step in the decision‑making process. Harvesting teams work plot by plot, with assignments determined the day before. After careful selection both in the vineyard and in the cellar, the sorted grapes are transferred into concrete vats.
Fermentation takes place without the addition of sulfur; only a minimal amount is added at the end of ageing. Fermentation lasts around thirty days, and extraction is carried out gently — through pigeage in the vats and bâtonnage in oak barrels. The juices are tasted daily. These tastings determine the moment when the wine is removed from the skins and pressed.
The resulting wine is transferred (or re‑transferred) into oak barrels for malolactic fermentation. Château Bellefont‑Belcier wines are aged in the same barrels for 15–18 months at a stable temperature in our cellar. The proportion of new oak varies from 30 to 40% depending on the year, with the remainder being one‑ and two‑year‑old barrels. After ageing is complete, the wine is bottled on the estate.

Tasting notes

The initial aroma reveals crushed stone and minerality, followed by floral notes, then red berries and liquorice. On the palate, wild raspberry, chocolate, walnut, and mushrooms emerge. The terroir expresses itself clearly through a refreshing limestone tension. The tannins are polished and elegant; the wine is refined, powerful, expansive, and vibrant.