Château Belle-Vue (Lebanon)

Centuries ago, our ancestors worked tirelessly to prepare their fertile valley lands for farming on hillside terraces of Mount Lebanon.  They tamed the difficult but rich mountainside below Bhamdoun village with a maze of handmade stone terrace walls, allowing farmers to plant the fruit and vegetables which sustained their existence.  Of all the crops cultivated across generations, it soon became clear that the soil and climate of this particular valley were best suited to growing grapes; thus a legacy of viticulture began.

Belle-Vue itself was originally a beautiful hotel which stood commandingly high on the mountain facing the Mediterranean Sea and the snowcapped mountains to the north.  The hotel was owned and run by Naji Boutros’ maternal grandparents.  When war broke out in 1975, Hotel Belle-Vue closed its doors and became the family’s main residence—though guests who came knocking were always offered a bed for the night.

Hotel Belle-Vue no longer exists, but symbolically, this was the first vineyard planted with vines in April 2000.  Years later, we now cultivated 30,000 vines on dozens of plots in and around the village. After decades of disuse and neglect, our valley is again green and bountiful.

Naji and Jill used to joke that when they moved from London to Bhamdoun in 1999 with their four children, they doubled the population.  It wasn’t so far from the truth.

Planting vines and making the valley green again after so many years of neglect seemed to many like idealistic folly.  But for Naji and Jill, it was a risk worth taking, especially at a time when greedy developers were eyeing the fertile mountainside so close in proximity to overcrowded Beirut.  In April of 2000, Naji and his team put the first new vines in the soil, parallel to ancient stone walls built with the sweat of his ancestors.  He vowed this land would remain used for agriculture.

Many growing seasons later, as they watch these original vines and thousands more produce amazing fruit year after year, Naji and Jill compare the process of making great wine to their similar dedication to family life. Just as Chateau Belle-Vue wines reflect the terroirs in which they are raised, their children enter the world as young adults, equipped with the values instilled in them over time—hard work, sacrifice and the satisfaction of helping others.

They couldn’t be more proud.

We cultivate 24 hectares (60 acres) of terraced mountainside stretching from our lowest vineyards at 950 meters to the highest at over 1200 meters of altitude.  The vineyards wrap around the valley under Bhamdoun village from NE to SW, enjoying snow and rain from November to April followed by a dry warm summer. 

The vines are dry-farmed from year two.  No pesticides or herbicides are used. Cover crops help maintain soil structure, avoid erosion and balance water availability.  Grapes are hand-picked by varietal in cases of 20 kg at the moment of optimal balance between potential alcohol and acidity.

The vineyard manager, Esperanza Geara, joined the Belle-Vue team in May 2012.  She joined us from Spain with the intention of returning to her Lebanese roots.  She had earned a degree in agricultural engineering with a specialty in horticulture and gardening before studying enology at the University of Cadiz. Esperanza then worked as a winemaker in Chile and New Zealand before returning to Spain to work in Ribera del Duero.

Esperanza assumed a variety of roles with Belle-Vue, but found her true calling when she became vineyards manager in the autumn of 2013.  In addition to tending the vines, she and her team maintain our olive groves and plant organic fruit and vegetables in our valley to supply the restaurant with locally grown produce.  Our guests in the vineyards may enjoy a tour and tasting under her guidance, and for those wine club members who support our charity Christmas hamper sales, Esperanza plays a major role in their organization and development.

Our organic vineyards are carefully pruned to yield just over one ton of grapes per hectare, an unheard of amount which necessarily reflects the demands of our mountain terriors.  We’ve elected to practice dry farming, opting for small, thick-skinned grapes of wonderful color and concentration.  Our focus on excellence begins in the vineyards.

All fruit is hand-harvested by varietal in cases of 20 kgs when an optimal level of potential alcohol and acidity is attained. Natural fermentation, with no added yeast, lasts three to four weeks and takes place in stainless steel tanks.  Wine is then pressed and stored until malolactic fermentation is complete.  Barrel aging, again by varietal, extends over 24 months in new French oak.  Blends are then selected using the clean, finished wine.  The blended wine is bottled and aged again for at least two years before release.

The winemaker Diana Salameh joined to our team as the 2006 growing season began.  She brings a wealth of experience to the project in all aspects of wine production--a knowledge base she began to develop at an early age in her family vineyards.

Diana's interest in viticulture led her to study in France, where she received her degree in oenology and a Master of Science from et L'Institute Universitaire de la Vigne et du Vin in Dijon.  Choosing to remain in Europe for her first work experience, Diana spent time at Puligny-Montrachet, at Boccard in Sardinia, and with Jeanjean.

Diana works closely with the vineyard team to ensure that all our fruit has the opportunity to ripen to perfection.  She ferments every vintage using only natural yeasts -- just one indication of her technical prowess.  Diana’s wines are known by wine afficionados around the world for their elegance and longevity.  Her work allows each varietal to display its utmost character within the blends we select.

How to find our winery:

Follow the Damascus Highway to the Bhamdoun roundabout.  Exit to the right, towards Bhamdoun village, when you see Bank Audi.  Look for a sign in black and white which says "Le Telegraphe de Belle-Vue".   Pass the Hotel Sheikh (on your right), pass the army post (and also the first possible right turn), and turn right at the second right turn on the main road to Bhamdoun village.  There is another "Le Telegraphe" sign at that corner, so you'll know you are on the right track. This is the road to Le Telegraphe.  It curves a bit, but when you pass the Lalipco petrol station (on your right), you'll see Le Telegraphe ahead about 100 meters on the left.