Château Bellegrave (Pauillac)

Château Bellegrave lies in the south of Pauillac, between Château Latour, Pichon-Longueville and Lynch-Bages.
Formerly the property of the late Mr Armand Roux, the estate was purchased in 1901, by his business partner and sole heir, Mr H. Van Der Voort, a trader in San Francisco. It was in 1997 that Mr J.P Meffre, already the owner of Château Du Glana and Château Lalande in Saint-Julien-Beychevelle, bought it.

Originally from the Comtat Venaissin in the Vaucluse region of south-eastern France, it was in 1954 that Gabriel MEFFRE, a renowned nurseryman in search of places to sell his plants, discovered the Médoc and bought several estates in Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac and Saint-Julien. Today, his grandsons, Ludovic and Julien, run this new estate.

“We are convinced that Pauillac is the promised land for Cabernet-Sauvignon, the ideal spot for its strength and elegance to express themselves. Our passion for our art drives us on in our search for the most judicious balance between modern methods and the respect for tradition, to ensure that Bellegrave expresses its potential to the full.”

The vineyard is certainly one of the oldest in this privileged region and is surrounded by plots of the greatest classified growths in the Pauillac appellation. 

The Vineyard
Surface area: 8,35 hectares
Average Age of the vines: 25 years
Density: 8,333 vines / hectares
Soil and subsoil: Garonne gravel

Grape Varieties
62% Cabernet Sauvignon
31% Merlot
7% Cabernet Franc

Work on the Vines
Removal of excess buds, leaf-stripping and thinning by hand
Harvest picked by hand and transported
in small trays
Management plot by plot
Rational pest control

Winemaking

Temperature controlled
Maceration in cool conditions, from 24 to 48 hours
Duration of vatting: 3 weeks
 

Maturing in barrels
12 months of which 45% new oak (French oak)
Selection of cooperages

Production
Around 22.000 bottles of Château Bellegrave
2nd wine: Les Sieurs de Bellegrave