Chateau Villa Bel-Air Grave 2016

Description

Château Villa Bel-Air is located in Saint Morillon in the heart of the “Graves” appellation. In the 18th century, Louis Dufaure, marquis de Lajarte, a councillor in the Bordeaux Parliament, built a beautiful classic mansion on the site of the Bel-Air property.  The company was bought in 1988 by Jean-Michel Cazes and his family. They restructured the vineyards and renewed winery equipment. The vineyard is 50 hectares and vines are 18 years old on average.

The location of Villa Bel-Air is close to La Brède in the village of Saint Morillon, on a magnificent gravel brow overlooking the Gatmor Valley. The soil is composed of Garonne gravels and lies on a subsoil of clay-limestone, partly ferruginous. The 50-hectare vineyard forms one block. The Cabernet Sauvignon is planted on the warm gravels of the plateau, while the Merlot is planted on the cooler slopes.

Permanent grass cover is a technique used in the vineyards of Villa Bel-Air. As a result, the grass absorbs water and nutrients from the top layer of the soil and forces roots to go deeper into the subsoil. Throughout the year, de-budding, leaf-plucking and crop thinning are performed by the technical team to ensure perfect health and maturity of bunches. The harvested grapes are then transferred onto a modern sorting table to remove all remaining vegetal matter and then put into a vat room that contains 15 stainless steel thermo-regulated tanks.

Today Chateau Villa Bel-Air produces red and white wines which perfectly illustrate the finesse and complexity of Grave wines.

Villa Bel-Air is 40% Cabernet, 50% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The wine spends 12 months in new oak barrels and is bottled in Spring, on the second year following harvest.

Super smart medium bodied offering. Excellent for quality and value.

“.. Bright, crunchy cherry fruits on the nose with a hint of all spice and cedar. The palate is brambly and juicy, with forward red and black fruits, toast and vanilla bean. Clean, juicy, soft and approachable, with early drinking pleasure clearly in mind.” Farr Vintners

“Owned by the Cazes family, this is a classic Graves that offers excellent value. The 2016 is a deep, rich ruby colour and attractively rustic in expression. It opens well in the glass, with a good balance of freshness and enticingly ripe plum fruits, kept in place by tannins that offer just the right amount of tension for a wine that is aimed at medium term drinking.” Jane Anson, Decanter.com

RRP $60  **Our Price $51.99**

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