Château Belgrave, Wine estate in Saint-Laurent-Médoc, France

Château Belgrave is a wine estate in Saint-Laurent-Médoc, in the Haut-Médoc appellation. Its two-storey building has a pale, lightly lined facade, three arched doorways with dark glazing on the ground floor and five shuttered windows above; a lower central block with three small square windows and a thin mast rises above the roofline. The 59-hectare vineyard lies on a single block of thick gravel over clay.

The property started as a hunting lodge during the reign of Louis XV in the 1700s and later developed into a wine production site, receiving Fifth Growth classification in 1855.

The name Belgrave does not refer to the gravel soils (graves) but probably to London's Belgrave Square in Belgravia. The second wine, Diane de Belgrave, introduced with the 1987 vintage, recalls the estate's past as a hunting pavilion. The 59-hectare vineyard is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (50%), Merlot (42%), Cabernet Franc (5%) and Petit Verdot (3%).

The estate is a working winery under Dourthe and is not open to the public; visits and tastings must be arranged in advance through the Bordeaux négociant. The 59-hectare vineyard lies in a single block on gravel over clay, with 34 hectares planted at 10,000 vines per hectare and 23 at 6,500. The building is best viewed from the public road; do not enter the grounds without an appointment.

The soil here is rich in gravel sitting above a clay layer, creating specific conditions that benefit the cultivation of grape varieties that ripen later in the season. This natural soil composition is a key aspect of local wine quality.