Bellet

G

Greg Hirson

Greg Hirson
I'm opening a bottle of wine from Chateau de Bellet tonight (probably next to a Scholium wine or ESJ Syrah, both of which were promised) and was looking to see if anyone has had experience with wines from this part of Provence or this property. I believe the red wine is a combination of folle noire, braquet, and grenache. Information online is quite sparse.
 
I bought a few bottles of these when I was in the area many years ago and even kept one of them so it had a little bottle age. They were nice but nothing worth seeking out--at least 25 years ago. I have no recent experience. Given how small the AOC is and how little of it one sees (I don't know that I've ever seen it again), it's certainly worth trying as a curiosity.
 
Never tasted it. Online info isn't so sparse:
- the importer's list (see p.6)... click,
- a visit report that gives a lot of detail about hectares, facing, altitude, and so on... click,
- lovely video of the property (and a report that it was sold last year to a group of investors)... click,
- regional boosterism for AOC Bellet (the Ch. is mentioned in the PDF)... click.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Never tasted it. Online info isn't so sparse:
- the importer's list (see p.6)... click,
- a visit report that gives a lot of detail about hectares, facing, altitude, and so on... click,
- lovely video of the property (and a report that it was sold last year to a group of investors)... click,
- regional boosterism for AOC Bellet (the Ch. is mentioned in the PDF)... click.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I did see those and I amend my statement: Information online is relatively sparse. I did get in touch with the owner of Blue Coast about the apellation when I acquired the wines.
 
I think they can be quite nice food companions for the typical food of the area. In that context they can really shine.
 
I have enjoyed the wines a great deal, and often recommended them when the opportunity has arisen, in both white and red. I have not had the pink, which I suspect would be quite good.

What is it that you might like to know?
 
When I first visited Tempier in 1986, I asked Francois Peyraud what white grape he might favor in his terroir, if he could choose one without the restrictions of the AOC, and he said he wished he could plant Rolle, and told me if I wanted to taste a good one I should try to taste Chateau de Bellet. I spent some time trying to find it, without any luck. Four years later I was at the domaine again, and Jean-Marie Peyraud called to try to get me an appointment, and they weren't accepting any visitors, and seemed uninterested in selling me any wine. Who imports it here?
 
Steve,

I believe it is still Blue Coast Wine Imports for NY and NJ.

See http://oxia.lunarpages.com/~bluec12/Blue_Coast_Portfolio.pdf

One of the things that has drawn me to the Bellet white Cuvee Baron G is the connection with Italian Vermentino of my experience. I think if you like Giacomelli Boboli you also would like Cuvee Baron G. Capichera also might come to mind as a possible cognate. Admittedly there is some oak to contend with, which shows up in more or less prominence at different moments.

The Bellet white is one more way to get a handle on a grape that I am pretty fascinated with/happy to drink.
 
I was looking for a little bit of context for the wine, but I'm happy (as always) to try it and see how it goes! Georg's comments are in line with what makes sense to me for wines like these - drink them in culinary context.
I have a bottle of the Cuvee Baron G (Rolle) and a bottle of the Rosé, as well.

Yes, Blue Coast is the importer.

There is a passage in Thomas Jefferson on Wine by where he calls red wines from Bellet "the finest everyday wine in the world" which is what initially piqued my interest in these wines.
 
I feel that the wines are pretty flexible. I don't think that they necessarily ask for the local style of cuisine. Which is not to say that the red "Rose de Bellet" (not pink, but rose as in the flower) wouldn't go well with a roast chicken, because it would, but to say that where you might use an Etna Rosso you could also use that wine.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
I feel that the wines are pretty flexible. I don't think that they necessarily ask for the local style of cuisine. Which is not to say that the red "Rose de Bellet" (not pink, but rose as in the flower) wouldn't go well with a roast chicken, because it would, but to say that where you might use an Etna Rosso you could also use that wine.
Click to expand...

Definitely, they do work with other food as well. Of all places, the sommelier at Gordon Ramsey in NYC is a big fan (I think resulting from time spent in the Ducasse empire) and paired it quite successfully with a trout and with a scallop dish that were in no way mediterranean. But I do think they go most wonderfully with provencal dishes eaten on a terrace.
 
I've only had Bellet in Nice, where a glass seems to arrive automatically when you order Socca.

Speaking of Rolle: François Collard at Ch“teau Mourgues du Grès told me he was calling the grape vermentino "because rolle is too hard even for French people to pronounce."
 
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