Château Bellevue: Vineyards
The vineyard is situated at the heart of the St Emilion appellation, on the slopes of the limestone plateau just to the west of the town. The vines themselves, which are being replanted at a density of 7,500 vines per hectare, are surrounded by those of illustrious neighbours, including the aforementioned Château Angélus and Le Dôme to the south, Château Canon, Château Beauséjour and Château Beau-Séjour Bécot to the east. These are illustrious neighbours.
The château sits on the edge of a westwards projection of the Saint Martin plateau; even an examination of standard aerial maps (rather than geological ones) hints at this, the arc of trees in front of the building marking out the rim. On the plateau behind the château the soils are dominated by a clay-rich mix also incorporating elements of sand and gravel. Moving down the slope, to the south but also to the west of the château, and also a few hundred metres behind it, there is limestone first, in particular Calcaire à Astéries, and then further down the slope there are Oligocene deposits of sand, gravel, galets and sandy clay. The drainage is good, thanks not only to this terroir and the slope, but also to field drains installed under the direction of Thienpont and Derenoncourt.
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