Chateau Belrose is most famous for its silver-prized Bordeaux Clairet, an excellent Bordeaux superieur Red wine and a fairly good White wine grown on 53hectares at only 10 miles East of Bordeaux. The 3 winemakers live there in a most pleasant 19th century mansion of pure Bordeaux style built on top of a hill that overlooks the nearby vineyard and forest. The estate is planted with 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc. The 20-year old vineyard has a density of 4,000 to 5,000 vine stocks per hectare. Mechanized maintenance is the rule here, with a special care for integrated farming and the newest methods applied for wine growing : grape harvest is done by machine and the breeding in barrels lasts for 8 months in barrels made of French and American oak. During the process, natural fermentation goes on with periodical decanting every 3 weeks at a regulated temperature of 82.5°F (28°C). The wine watcher in charge of the ageing insists on checking the constant maturing of wine through a tasting of the macerating grapes at least twice a week. To be short, the special care brought to achieve "green harvesting" and carried on in the storehouse with a step of cold prefermentation maceration has enabled this Chateau Belrose to progress towards an ever improving quality vintage (his Bordeaux Clairet has won a Silver Medal at EuroVidalies for the year 2005). In the storehouse,the experience acquired for many years by the owners and producers, allied to the expertise inherited from a local family involved in wine for several generations have enabled them to adopt the newest techniques successfully and achieve a sustained quality of their products in the same time. Congratulations to Carol & Claude and their son Florian ! read more