Chateau Bellefont-Belcier

About the producer

The history of the estate dates back to the 17th century, but the estate acquired its current name from Count Louis-Francois de Belcier who took ownership of the property at the end of the 18th century. He named the property Bellefont (“beautiful fountain”) after the many underground natural springs that existed under the vineyards of the estate that made cultivation possible. The Château has a fantastic circular vat room with a huge steel framed roof, reportedly designed by Gustave Eiffel.

In more recent history the winery was the first Château to be bought by a Chinese investor, in 2012. Since then the property changed ownership on numerous occasions before most recently being bought by Peter Kwok in 2017. Kwok is the founder of Vignobles K which owns a number of prestigious estates in Bordeaux including Château Tour Saint-Christophe in Saint-Émilion and Enclos Tourmaline in Pomerol.

Peter Kwok who initially earned his fortune in banking is a great lover of French culture. Growing up in Saigon in Vietnam he developed a love of French architecture and dreamt of owning properties in France. He made his first acquisition in 1997 when he purchased Château Haut-Brisson. Since then he has continued to buy up properties around Bordeaux, the new flagship being Château Bellefont-Belcier, situated on the south facing Pavie slope next to Château Larcis Ducasse.

Château Bellefont-Belcier was awarded Grand Cru Classé status in 2006. In 2019 the French government awarded Peter Kwok their most prestigious distinction, appointing him an Officer of the Legion of Honor.

In the vineyard

The vineyards cover 12.5 hectares and are planted 72% merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon. Whilst the vineyard consists of just one continuous plot, there are distinct varying terroirs within the vineyard with the different varieties planted to best suit each of the terroirs. Part of the plot sits on the limestone plateau, then moves to the south-facing Pavie slope of clay and limestone before lower down becoming more sandier clay soils.

Newer vines have been planted at a higher vine density of 8,000 vines per hectare with a major restructuring of the vineyard taking place in 1994. The average age of the vines is 30 years old.

In the winery

The wines are vinified in a mix of concrete and stainless-steel tanks with no use of sulphur used in the fermentation / vinification process and with only a little used prior to bottling. The élevage in barrel depends on the vintage; with the 2017 aged in just 40% new oak, the 2016 in 80% new oak. Whether this is vintage variable or a change in winemaking since the change in ownership remains to be seen.

It is worth noting the last three vintages under the ownership of Peter Kwok have seen dramatic improvement in the wines according to critics.

A second wine called Marquis de Bellefont is also produced at the estate.