Château Bel Air
M. Jean François Braquessac
Saint Estephe
5 hectares

Saint Estephe is the most northern of the four “great” Medoc appellations, and offers the greatest number of Cru Bourgeois chateaux. Chateau Bel Air, although not included in the 1932 classification of Crus Bourgeois, would fit well into this classification today. The owner M. Braquessac descends from a long line of Bordeaux vignerons. Presently he is leasing his vineyards which are somewhat spread throughout the appellation. The varietal mix is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc and the planting is very dense. The average vine age is 30 years. Harvesting is done manually and the wine is aged in barrels ( of one year) for thirteen months. The wine is fined but not filtered.