Classically Saint-Emilion
By Victor Rabot | January 2018
The historic estate of Château Belair, located on top of the hill of Saint-Emilion on the famous limestone plateau next to Château Ausone, was purchased by the Moueix family in 2008 and was renamed Château Bélair-Monange. In 2012, following the classification of Château Belair-Monange, the family decided to merge the historic Château Magdelaine into the Bélair-Monange Estate which now covers 23.5 hectares.
In June, during Vinexpo, I had the chance to attend a vertical tasting from 2009 to 2016 in the troglodyte cellars of Bélair-Monange. I was extremely impressed by the quality of each and every vintage with characteristic finesse and tension, along with fresh black fruits and great length.
In addition to the superb first wine, a surprise was their second wine called Annonce de Bélair-Monange, which was produced for the first time with the 2014 vintage. It is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon: well balanced, with an impressive range of aromas, red fruit driven with a well-integrated touch of oak.
Both wines are a perfect balance between a classic and a modern style Saint-Emilion. Both can be enjoyed now, however the Grand Vin has decades ahead of it.
This is an estate that may be lesser known today, but the quality is extremely high and it will become much better known in a very short time.
