Once in the glass, it is truly a beautiful sight …. This Château Bellevue from St. Emilion.

Bellevue is a beautiful small vineyard just above Château Angelus in Saint-Émilion. The soils here are clay/limestone, and it is planted with 100% Merlot. Deep purple-black in color. The Chateau Bellevue St Emilion Grand Cru Classe 2019 Bellevue rolls sensually from the glass with seductive notes of preserved plums, blueberry compote, and Black Forest kirsch cake, plus hints of cinnamon powder, clove oil, candied violets, and star anise. Full, concentrated, and utterly seductive on the palate, the decadent black and blue fruits are well supported by firm yet velvety tannins and tons of freshness, with a very long and delightfully opulent finish. A truly beautiful, seductive Bellevue. Château Bellevue in Saint-Émilion is indeed known for its magnificent terroir. The ancient Romans already knew that. The rebirth of Chateau Bellevue begins in the 17th century. Meanwhile owned by the Boüard family of Château Angélus since 2007 (their first vintage was 2008), this is a relatively small estate of only 6.8 hectares. Château Bellevue is always made from 100% Merlot, because that is all that exists in the vineyard.

This is yet another Bordeaux that performs well both in the cellar and on the table. Château Bellevue is better with at least 8-10 years of aging in good vintages. This allows the wine to soften and open up its aroma. This calls for grand dinners on special occasions. They will definitely be coming in the near future!

Just a quick note about the latest Saint-Émilion classification from 2012.

The wines of the Right Bank were entirely overlooked in the 1855 classification of the Médoc. The Saint-Émilion appellation therefore introduced its own classification in 1955. A distinguishing feature of this classification is that it is periodically reviewed. The current classification dates from 2012. The classification consists of three quality levels: Grand Cru Classé, Premier Grand Cru Classé B, and Premier Grand Cru Classé A, with the latter being the best. Incidentally, there are also wines from Saint-Émilion bearing the title Grand Cru (without Classé): these wines use a term from the AOC legislation but have nothing to do with the classification.

There are more than 250 of the latter. You sometimes find the last “grand crus” on sale at the Shell petrol station. Just a fun fact… in contrast, the Premier Grand Cru Classé A and B actually fetch around €400.00. The Chateau Bellevue St Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2019 is a Grand Cru Classé.

This wine still needs to mature in the bottle. From 2024, this wine will be ready to drink and can be stored until 2040. And patience is rewarded.