2020 Bellefont Belcier St Emilion Grand Cru Classe

98 Points Jeb Dunnuck
In stock
This is a serious St Emilion for medium term cellaring. Now owned by Peter Kwok, the estate began in the seventeenth century in a location that nieghbours one of the best estates in the appellation, Tertre Roteboeuf. (Indeed, the family ownership in the 1960s saw the fruit sold under the label Le Tertre.) Now rising in esteem under its own label, Bellefont Belcier is gaining rather extreme critical acclaim for the price.
$100.00 in mixed 6+ or $110.00 per bottle

Grape

70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon

Its Origins

Château Bellefont Belcier is a fast progressing St.Emilion property that, under proprietor Jean Labusquière, has come on in leaps and bounds during the last five years or so. Bellefont-Belcier's 12.4 hectares of vineyards are located in the commune of St. Laurent des Combes, south-west of the town of St.Emilion. The wine is typically a blend of 83% Merlot, 10%Cabernet Franc and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats and the wine is matured in oak barrels (80% new) for 18 months. During the last 5 years there has been a move at Bellefont-Belcier towards harvesting later in the season as well as a far more rigorous grape selection at harvest time. This has resulted in richer and riper wines. Louis, son of François Mitjavile of Château Tertre Roteboeuf, has played a key role in the revival of this Château's fortunes.

What The Critics Say

98/100, Jeb Dunnuck

"The finest wine I've tasted from this estate, the 2020 Chateau Bellefont-Belcier is an incredibly gorgeous blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep ruby/purple-hued, it offers a great nose of cassis, ripe black cherries, camphor, dried flowers, cedar, and forest floor. Bringing gorgeous richness, it nevertheless stays flawlessly balanced, with ultra-fine tannins and a great finish. The purity of fruit here is just about off the charts. While it already offers pleasure, it's going to benefit from short-term cellaring and have 20-25 years of prime drinking. This estate uses a five-day cold soak and fermentation, all in concrete, spanning 25 days. Malolactic fermentation occurs in barrel (four months on lees), and the wine spends 18 months in 30% new French oak, with the balance in once- and twice-used barrels. Yields in 2020 were also reasonable at 34 hectoliters per hectare. Best After 2026."

97/100 James Suckling

"Fascinating aromas of plums, peaches, lavender, violets, and other flowers. Hints of fresh herbs, too. So complex. Full-bodied yet so elegant and polished with a curated and focused palate. Hints of chocolate at the end. It’s so subtle and complex. Weightless on the palate. About 30% was aged in 30 hectoliter casks. 72% merlot, 18% cabernet franc and 10% cabernet sauvignon."

94-96/100 Wine Cellar Insider, Jeff Leve

"With a strong touch of minerality, the wine is elegant, fresh and refined with good intensity. The fruit is vibrant, lifted and precise. There is a refinement and purity in the sweet, red fruits. The finish is loaded with flowers, crushed rocks and stones providing you with length, complexity and freshness coupled with the ability to age and evolve. The wine was made from blending 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and is aged in a combination of 30% foudres and 30% new, French oak."

Variety Merlot
Closure Cork
Volume 750 ml
Maturity 2022 - 2042

Taste

4

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