| Bélair 2007 • March 2008 | BÉLAIR
1st Great Classified Growth
2007 Vintage
Situation and surface area:
12 hectares of which 45% are on clay-limestone slopes and 55% on the asteria limestone plateau, facing south-east/south.
Grape varieties:
80% Merlot:
∑ 20% on clay: giving power,
∑ 20% on molasse: giving breed,
∑ 40% on the limestone plateau: giving finesse.
20% Cabernet Franc:
∑ on silt, sand and limestone.
Density of plantation:
6,000 plants per hectare.
Average age of the vines:
35 years.
2007 vintage:
After a winter marked by relative drought conditions and high temperatures, the almond tree flowered on about February 19, a month earlier than in 2006. One month later, the vines budded, and mid-flowering point was on May 20, which promised an early harvest. However, the mid-colour-change point was only on August 1, indicating a delay because of the latent drought in the soils.
Heavy rain during the 3rd week of August relieved the situation and enabled the harvest to be carried out at the end of September and the beginning of October.
The Cabernet is excellent with very complex red berry fruit characters. The percentage of wine run off into new barrels was much lower (around 40%).
This is a vintage in which careful viticulture was key, since vigilance at every level was de rigueur: there was a lot of downy mildew, some powdery mildew and some botrytis. The necessarily strict selection process meant a low production at around 33 hectolitres per hectare.
Necessarily careful and attentive wine-making gave wines with lovely tannins, an especially attractive aromatic complexity and a structure that has good overall pedigree, is elegant and very classic Bordeaux.
Our limestone soils reacted very well to the particular weather conditions and offered us wines of which we can be proud, since they reflect the great typicity of Bordeaux wines.
Contact:
Château Bélair – 33330 Saint-Emilion
Tel: +33 (0) 557 247 094 – Fax: +33 (0) 557 246 711
E-mail: belair@chateaubelair.com
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