Bordeaux region
UNION DES MAISONS DE BORDEAUX - The Bordeaux Wine and Spirit Shippers Association
FRENCH TOURIST OFFICE - REGIONAL INFORMATION
BARSAC
BORDEAUX
COTES DE BOURG
COTES DE CASTILLON
COTES DE FRANCS
ENTRE-DEUX-MERS
FRONSAC
GRAVES
HAUT-MEDOC
LISTRAC-MEDOC
MARGAUX
MEDOC
MOULIS EN MEDOC
PAUILLAC
PESSAC LEOGNAN
POMEROL
PREMIERES COTES DE BORDEAUX
SAINT-EMILION
SAINT-ESTEPHE
SAINT-JULIEN
SAUTERNES
WINERIES
Château Belles-Graves
Should the inspired rambler decide to follow the course of the little stream dubbed “La Barbanne” – the Ariadne’s thread of the wine-growing region of the Libournais – he cannot fail to pause and contemplate the magnificent estate of Belles Graves on its sun-soaked hillside. This ancient estate was mentioned in the first editions of “Bordeaux and its Wines”, by Cocks and Féret; at that time it was known as the “Domaine de Drouilleau”.
Situated gracefully on a sunny hillside, far from the noise and bustle of the outside world, Belles Graves possesses a serene, bucolic charm that is all its own. You will reach its harmonious buildings, surrounded by long rows of vines stretching out into the distance, at the end of a long path in the calm shade of hundreds of years old lime trees.
Between the château and the road, there is a flat part, very gravely, with mostly flint and quartz, very similar to the Pomerol famous terroir, just across the river Barbanne.
Then forward to the North, we find a sand and silt soil, colder, but still with rich iron oxyd subsoil. Underground, we find alternately thick drainy layers of stone and sand mixed with red clay, and thin but dense slices of pure blue clay which keep rain water, where the vine will deep its roots during drought periods.
The proximity of the fields, gathered round the château, brings a excellent balance in the wine.
The vineyard spreads over 17 hectares (about 42 acres). It has been planted with two different varieties : Merlot, the most important part with over 85% of the acreage, and Cabernet Franc (also called “bouchet” in the area) for the remaining 15%.
The fields located on the eastern, southern and western slopes around the château have a mixed clay and gravels soil, with huge quantity of iron oxyd in the subsoil, which gives a typical orange rusty color
Château de Parenchère - Bordeaux Supérieur
On this 63 hectares estate situated at the east side of the Bordeaux region, the production amounts to 420,000 bottles in the Bordeaux Supérieur, Bordeaux Blanc Sec and Bordeaux Clairet appellations.
The wines benefit from an international recognition (Robert Parker, Decanter,...), being always full-bodied, with intense fruits aromas and elegant and supple tannins.
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