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Château Belgrave

Château Belgrave is located in Saint Laurent, to the west of the commune of St Julien, not far from Camensac and La Tour Carnet. Few accounts give any great detail on the history of the property, a trend no doubt reinforced by the prevailing opinion that the wines before the modern era, under the management of Dourthe, were of no interest. David Peppercorn's comments, writing in Bordeaux, are typical; "The wines before the change of ownership are hardly worth speaking of. They were pedestrian and rather common, quite unworthy of a cru classé". Nevertheless, it would seem that the property once produced wines of quality, sufficiently so for their prices to merit a place as one of the fifth growths of the 1855 classification of the Médoc. But this earlier era of which Peppercorn writes, before the Dourthe takeover, lasted for just a few decades, a deterioration in part a consequence of the wars and vine diseases that ravaged the vineyards of Bordeaux in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Before the slide into mediocrity began Belgrave has been a very successful estate.

To explore Belgrave's history in a little more detail takes us back to 1740 and the construction of an attractive hunting lodge, to take advantage of the copious game that can be found in the woods of this region; this little piece of Belgrave's story is still commemorated today by the presence of a small ferret, beneath a crown, on the label. At this time the property was known as Coutenceau, and it was still so named when in the ownership of Bruno Devez in 1855, when the aforementioned classification was drawn up. It was in later years that it was christened Belgrave by an English owner, who purportedly named it so in honour of Belgravia, London.

In 1902 the estate was acquired by Marcel Alibert, a retired banker who owned a number of properties here, including nearby Camensac, and Les Ormes de Pez in St Estèphe. Alibert was a very significant figure locally, a one-time treasurer of the Syndicat des Grands Crus du Médoc, and under his aegis the estate was certainly well kept, as judged by reports from American troops billeted there during World War I (one of whom married his daughter, Simone). Opinions on the wines of the era, however, are difficult to come by, but I assume that they were good. Nevertheless by the late 1920s he had sold the estate to Albert Spee, and it was perhaps here that Belgrave began its decline. With economic depression and World War II, during which the property was damaged, the quality of the wine is said to have tailed off. In 1956 it was acquired by a gentleman named Gugés, but after his death a protracted dispute between his potential heirs saw the estate, by now in a ruined and dilapidated state, sold. This was the beginning of the turn around, for the property was acquired by Dourthe, with financial support from the Banque Française de l'Agriculture in 1979.

Belgrave Today

Today Belgrave is run on behalf of Dourthe by Olivier Gayrard, vineyard manager, and Frédéric Bonnaffous, estates manager, whilst in the cellars Antoine Gonzalez oversees the fermentation and subsequent work. Advice was once taken from the late Professor Emile Peynaud, although today it is Michel Rolland that consults here.

The 61 hectare estate, the vineyards of which are entitled to the Haut-Médoc appellation, are situated on the border with St Julien, with just a small stream separating the two. Unsurprisingly therefore the soils have the typical gravelly character of the Médoc, with deeper clays. This is particularly true of the sections spread across two gently rolling hills which rise to 23 and 26 metres above sea level, whereas at the foot of the hills there is more sand. Merlot used to occupy 70% of the vineyard but much was replanted to Cabernet Sauvignon under the direction of Peynaud during the 1970s. Thus today Merlot accounts for 42% of the total, and is more commonly found on the more sandy areas. Cabernet Sauvignon covers 50% of the planted land (especially the gravelly portions), with 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. the planting density is an impressive 10000 vines/ha across 34 hectares, whilst 23 hectares are planted at 6500 vines/ha. There have been other changes under Dourthe; the rows are interplanted with grass, the vines are trained higher to improve the exposure of the foliage, and there is manual debudding, as well as green harvesting and leaf-thinning, also carried out by hand. The harvest itself is today declared by Dourthe to be 100% manual, into small trays, although they have toyed with machine harvesting in the recent past.

Dourthe made a major contribution to improving the quality at the fermentation stage in 1982, with the installation of new equipment, including stainless steel fermentation vats with temperature control, and the construction of a barrel cellar. This work was consolidated in 2004, with the addition of a new reception area, new fermentation area and new cellars, and with further renovation in 2007. The fruit is sorted over tables before delivery to the fermentation vats, a mix of 35 stainless steel and 6 wooden, by conveyor belt. The new vats vary in size, with each one matched to a specific parcel of vines, the smaller the parcel the smaller the vat. Some are equipped with an automatic pigeage system, and they are also set up for micro-oxygenation. Thereafter part of the wine will go into oak for 12 to 15 months, before bottling. The grand vin is Château Belgrave, of which there are about 21000 cases per annum, and there is a second wine, introduced by Dourthe in 1987, called Diane de Belgrave (about 9000 cases).

I can offer no opinion on ancient vintages of Belgrave, not even on a wine that would at least qualify as a teenager. I have sampled less than a handful of recent vintages, and my tasting notes are presented below. Suffice to say that these are not terrible wines, and no longer meet Peppercorn's description of "unworthy". They are good wines, and clearly Dourthe's investments must have made a huge difference here. Nevertheless, in quality the wines still lag behind their classed growth peers somewhat, especially with the broad improvements that have swept across the Médoc in recent years, and there is still opportunity for improvement here I feel. But this is certainly an estate to watch. (19/11/08)

Contact details:
Address: 35 route de Bordeaux, Parempuyre, 33295 Blanquefort Cedex
Telephone: +33 (0) 5 56 35 53 00
Fax +33 (0) 5 56 35 53 29
Internet: www.dourthe.com
GPS: 45.151348, -0.780086

Château Belgrave - Tasting Notes

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Château Belgrave (Haut-Médoc) 2008: Dark and slightly plump fruit here, fresh although a little high-toned, sweet and herby. Evident oak too. Very rounded style to the palate, some polished substance, a touch of sweetness, but a little diffuse in the middle. Good substance here though, and some nice extract and tannin. From my 2008 Bordeaux primeur assessment. 15-16+/20 (April 2009)

Château Belgrave (Haut-Médoc) 2006: A nose of sweet, toasty oak, with a nutty edge to the fruit. Soft, fairly supple, rounded, but not a lot of vigour. There are ripe tannins beneath, giving a good grip, but very soft acidity. It has a good flavour, but for my palate it lacks the requisite definition. From a tasting of 2006 Bordeaux at two years of age. 13.5+/20 (October 2008)

Château Belgrave (Haut-Médoc) 2004: Attractive blackcurrant fruits on the nose, sweet and slightly herby, although overall it is not hugely expressive. A nicely structured palate though, with dry and peppery tannins. There isn't a lot of concentration here, and the palate leads through to a firm tannic finish with lots of extract. There isn't a lot of flattering texture here. Rather straightforward. From the 2008 France Under One Roof event. 15.5+/20 (March 2008)

Château Belgrave (Haut-Médoc) 2000: Tasted at the Ban du Millésime in Bordeaux. A mature hue, and dark, slightly inky, meaty fruit on the nose. Certainly appealing, with tea leaf aroma. Fresh on the palate, supple fruit, meaty, with some peppery midpalate tannins. Good substance here, and a freshness behind it too. There is still more to come from this wine, although it is approachable now. And it is rather attractive with it. My only issues are that it does seem to lack a good framework in the mouth, seeming rather loose-knit at present. It may come together more with time, but I'm not sure. 16.5+/20 (March 2010)

Château Belgrave (Haut-Médoc) 1990: A deep red wine, with a mahogany tinge of maturity. The nose here is earthy, more rustic than the following wines, but also quite complex. Wonderful plum and roasted/macerated summer fruit character, with masculine notes of tobacco leaf. A big, rich, mouthfilling palate with great balance and fluidity. The sweet fruit still lies at the core despite this wines age. Correct structure, with fully integrated tannins just showing a touch on the finish. This is fully mature and ready for drinking now. From a Bordeaux 1990 horizontal tasting. 17/20 (May 2003)