Château Rochebelle: Vineyards
As already mentioned Château Rochebelle sits on the limestones of the Saint-Christophe plateau, in the eastern section of the St Emilion appellation. Looking at its location, and putting aside all the arguments made in the opening paragraphs of the previous page, it is perhaps not unreasonable to question why this property is not better known. The château and vines sit well up on the plateau, just above the vineyard of Château Tertre-Roteboeuf, in the shadow of the Église Saint-Laurent. Almost directly below it, on the limestone côtes, there also sits Château Bellefont-Belcier. Surrounding it on the plateau we find Château La Croizille, Château Tour Baladoz, La Mondotte and Château Troplong-Mondot. It is a roll-call of famed St Emilion properties, all either already renowned, or at the very least ‘on the up’.
The vineyard is directly related to the château, the estate accounting for just 3 hectares of the plateau, at altitudes between 85 and 95 metres above sea level. Of these 2.8 hectares are planted to vines, which are 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. Plantings of the latter are much lower than they were in the 1980s, but – unsurprisingly in the current climate – the percentage of Cabernet Franc in the vineyard is of course on the rise again.
