Château Belle-Brise

Wine has been made at Château Belle-Brise since the 18th century but until 1991, it was never commercially available (only sold to family and friends). Henri-Bruno de Coincy, 20th generation of a Cognac-producing family going back over 700 years, purchased the property in 1991.

The two hectares of Château Belle-Brise are planted to about 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, and at each harvest time, it takes a team of just 50 people to pick all two hectares in one day. Only a case or two breach the Château’s cellar doors each vintage.

The Merlot and Cabernet Franc vines (with the oldest vines having been planted between the two World Wars) are co-planted and all work is done by hand or by horse. Grapes are picked and sorted by hand. Both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations take place in cement tanks, and after a month, the wine is racked to 400-litre barrels (a third new, second-fill and third-fill) for one year. The intent here is avoid any overt oak influence on the wine.

With production levels similar to to Château Le Pin (also of Pomerol), the wines are very untraditional for Bordeaux. Stylistically, this artisan Pomerol is silky with tremendous depth – that kind of finesse and power you expect from the best red burgundies.