Red Wine

Château Bélair-Monange

Premier Grand Cru Classé 2019, 75cl

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Château Bélair-Monange

An unstable spring resulted in small yields, but the glorious summer ensured a harvest of exceptional quality. The wines are concentrated, powerful, long.

After a mild winter, spring alternated between sun and rain. Narrowly escaping a frost on April
13th, it was the rain in early June that first influenced the vintage. Indeed, the flowering suffered as
a result and Merlot grapes counted an average of just 120 berries (instead of 200 usually).
Confirming global warming trends, the summer was exceptionally sunny and warm, just missing
the historic record for hours of sunshine set in 2018.
Saint-Émilion was spared from the hydric stress that set in as early as mid-July in some areas
thanks to its limestone soils. Happily, we received gentle, favorable rain on July 26th (1.3 inches)
that set off a quick and even veraison. This moment marked the qualitative turn of the vintage. At
the end of August, Merlot grapes weighed 1.2 grams on average (instead of 1.5 grams in a normal
vintage), heralding exceptional concentration but low yields: -10% in Saint-Émilion. Graced by fine weather, we harvested optimally ripe grapes at Château Bélair-Monange from September 19th until October 3rd.

SOIL TYPES Asteriated limestone on the plateau. Blue clay on limestone in the slopes
AVERAGE VINE AGE 25 years
VITICULTURE Certified HVE3. Soil tilling (4 ways). Vine growth management adapted to the climatic conditions
HARVEST Manual harvest. Double sorting: optical and manual
WINEMAKING: In thermo-regulated concrete and stainless-steel vats. Gentle, controlled maceration and extraction
AGING 16-18 months in French oak barrels (50% new)

Allergens information

Contains sulphites.

Château Bélair-Monange

Château Bélair-Monange, the iconic vineyard of Saint-Émilion adjacent to the village and overlooking the Dordogne River valley, embarked on its remarkable winemaking journey in the 17th century: by 1691, the estate was already renowned for its wines.

Owned for over 200 years by the Canolle de Lescours family, the vineyard began to flourish effectively in the 18th century. On the eve of the French Revolution, Bélair’s wines were sold at two or three times the price of other “grands vins” of Saint-Émilion. By 1802, a portion of the wine produced was bottled at the Château, an extremely rare practice at that time.

In the 19th century, the distribution of Bordeaux wines continued to formalize. Official and unofficial classifications emerged to catalog wines recognized at the time. Thus, in 1850, from the first edition of the Cocks & Féret guide, Bélair crowned the list of Premier Crus of Saint-Émilion.

In 1916, the property was acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Dubois-Challon, who pledged to maintain the natural elegance and lineage of the wine.

In 2008, Christian and Edouard Moueix realized the ambition of their ancestor, Jaen-Pierre Moueix, by acquiring Château Bélair, renamed Bélair-Monange in honor of Anne-Adèle Monange, Jaen-Pierre Moueix’s mother.

Currently, the Moueix family owns and produces several highly acclaimed wines in Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, and Napa Valley, a family legacy born from a passion for expressing the finest fruits of the world’s great terroirs.

Their philosophy is simple: to produce exceptional wines, one must start with excellent fruit, achievable only by cultivating impeccable vineyards and exercising the utmost respect for nature.

Address

Établissements Jaen-Pierre Moueix
54, quai du Priourat, BP 129 – 33502 Libourne CEDEX – Tel +33 (0)5 57 51 78 96 – Fax +33 (0)5 57 51 79 79
info@jpmoueix.com – www.moueix.com