Château Bélair-Monange

Château Bélair - Monange (until the 2008 vintage Château Belair ) is a French vineyard in Saint -Emilion in Bordeaux. The 12.5 -acre estate is located next to the famous Château Ausone. It has been classified in the classification of the INAO in 1954 as a Premier Grand Cru Classé B ( see also the article Bordeaux wine (classification) ) and has been ever since confirmed in this rank. Currently, the wine is made from 80 % Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc ( 2007).

In the 19th century Château Belair one of the famous Saint -Emilion wines ever was. The estate was heavily affected by the phylloxera plague, and has since fallen far behind behind other 1er Grand Cru Saint -Emilion. Nevertheless, the Belair is now a typical soft and elegant Merlot dominant Saint -Emilion, which can be in contrast to the now-famous neighbors at acceptable prices purchase in a good performance ratio.

The estate is one of the Moueix family and is headed since 2008 by Edouard Moueix, of Château Magdelaine board previously.

History

Already in the 15th century is the land of present-day Château in the hands of Robert de Knolles ( different spelling Robert de Knollys ). Over time, the name Knolles walked in Canolles. The Canolles family retained the estate until the beginning of the French Revolution, when they had to flee. As Bien national acquired presumably Auguste chaperone for 60,450 francs almost the whole property and the daily operations was further directed by former technical director Goudicheau. Probably chaperone was merely a straw man, because already in 1802 the family Canolles again took over officially in control. By Victor de Canolles the estate went to his daughter Léontine, the Baron de Marignan married Théophile de Seissan. The couple donated the estate to her only child Lucie, Paul Baron de Montbel married in 1881. However, the time of the acquisition was extremely unfavorable because only five years before the Bordeaux vineyards by phylloxera disaster and shortly thereafter by the fungal diseases Real - and downy mildew was going through a deep crisis. The throughout the 19th century esteemed winery was particularly hard hit and was qualitatively trumped by Château Ausone.

In 1916, took over Edouard Dubois Challon the neighboring Château Ausone the winery. As Edouard died already in 1921, inherited by his son Jean Dubois Challon Château Belair. Jean married very late in the much younger Helyette. When Jean died in 1974, his widow tried to influence the Vauthier family (see Château Ausone ) narrow and engaged with Pascal Delbeck a technical director. Heylette bequeathed the technical director after her death in 2003 the estate. However Delbeck had great difficulties in raising the inheritance tax payable and sold in 2006, already has a 31 percent stake in the trading firm JP Moueix. In June 2008 the trading house finally took over the remaining 69 percent.

In addition to planned investments in the wine cellar, the family Moueix renamed the winery Château Bélair - Monange. Anna- Adèle Monange was the mother of the founder, Jean -Pierre Moueix and grandmother of Christian Moueix.