Tasted in the Château Bellevue with Elodie Rousselot, 19 February 2024.
Château de Bellevue
Lieu-dit Bellevue
69910 Villié-Morgon
Tel: +33 4 74 66 98 88
Domaine Instagram
www.chateau-bellevue.fr/
More reports for Domaine Château Bellevue (2020 & 2021 vintages tasted chez Loron)
Elodie on 2023:
“23 – but it was a complicated year – some hail, particularly in Javernières, then there was the heatwave of the harvesting time. We seem to have a freshness to go with the concentration of the vintage though – the wines resemble the 22s but with the extra freshness…”
Elodie on 2022:
“I arrived for the first time in Château Bellevue in June 222 – just in time to learn all the winery before the vintage! But it was a small vintage of 30–40 hl/ha. We did have a little hail in Corcelettes in June – but it didn’t make a big difference to the volume – it was the heat and dryness combined that did. We had a normal number of grapes – but without much juice. Actually, the fermentations were quite easy, easier than in 23 – it was a calm vintage in the cuverie so I was very happy for my first vintage. Commercially, for the whites we are on the 22 vintage, Charmes the 21 and a bunch of others on 2020. Corcelettes is only 2018 – reserve de caveau – Javernières is 2020 – so it’s quite an early view of the 22s.”
The wines…
As always at this address a super range with some great wines that will be worth a special search.
The 22s are all bottled except for the Javernières – which will be bottled in April:
2022 Morgon Les Charmes
2009 was the first vintage for this cuvée. This is the heart of the domaine; they have 13 hectares in Morgon and 7 are here in Charmes with an average vine age of around 40
Really open today – quite wide – some spice to this fruit, slowly some floral perfume too. Wide, nicely direct and growing with intensity. Some modest bitters in this finish – hmm – this is nice and open – give it 18 months or so – which should work out well in their cycle of commercialising !!
2022 Fleurie Mongenat
Near La Madone a mix of 40-year-old vines and some planted in 2015.
Rather forward and wide but also very expressive with darker red fruit and a little floral. Wide, silken and supple – there is concentration here – the tannin slowly grows but there’s no grain here. Hmm, generous and delicious – give it a couple of years to be even more supple – excellent wine!
West facing – 1 ha on schist – there’s a bit more than 5% barrel elevage but the rest is tank.
A first impression of tobacco but it’s fleeting as the floral notes – and intensity – start to take over – that’s a beautiful nose. Energy, stricture, a growing grainless tannin – but it’s essentially the fluidity that balances the concentration – no impression of generosity. Broad complex and delicious finishing – full of florals too – bravo!
A rounder nose – of large scale – but it’s all tank elevage. Like the others air brings out more floral notes. Panoramic width, the structure perhaps faintly more sophisticated than the Côte du Py – but the combination of intensity and fluidity I find a bit more exciting in that wine. The finish here has more density and will need a bit more time to show itself – but it’s also possibly a great Morgon – but very different in style.
2022 Morgon Corcelette Les Clos
The 70-year-old vines were pulled out after the 23 harvest – it will be replanted in a year or two… 100% barrel elevage – 228s…
A more obvious creamy accent to this wine. In the mouth, it’s concentrated and supple, slightly saline and quite round – more velour texture, given the small grain of tannin – but completely ripe and not drying. Really broad and creamy finishing. I wouldn’t touch one for 5 years by which time the oak will have (hopefully) faded.
This still in barrel and it’s all barrel elevage for this too.
A broader, almost seamless nose – clearly oaked but impressive all the same. Wow – even better texture – mouth-filling, almost spherical wine slowly melting and fading, a beautiful, possibly great, wine. Keep this for at least 5 years, like the last, but here the oak is already better integrated.
Le white:
2022 Beaujolais Blanc Princesse Lieven
First vintage certified AB – vines in the Pierres Dorées at 400m of altitude. The Princess was occupier of the château of this domaine in the 1950s – when it had 30 hectares of vines and 60 of land in total – it’s much less than that today. Manual harvested and with elevage half in barrel and half in tank.
A round and inviting toastiness to this nose – it’s very Côte d’Or-ian. Hmm, that’s mouth-filling, mineral and of very good concentration. Plenty of generosity and the barrel is additive more from structure/texture perspective than flavour. Concentrated but not too generous – that’s a very high-class Beauloais Blanc!