Château Belle-Vue La Renaissance 2014

Merlot in the foreground, with dark fruit, woodland notes and cocoa.

Renaissance is Château Belle-Vue’s flagship red. Its blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon gives the 2014 vintage a different character from Le Château: less focused on spice, with greater emphasis on fruit and earthy nuances. The nose brings together ripe red and dark fruit, orange peel and toasted almond. On the palate, supple tannins and well-integrated oak frame notes of cocoa, with a mineral hint reminiscent of flint.

The mountain setting is an important part of this wine’s identity. The Merlot grows on west-facing terraces, while Cabernet Sauvignon is planted at higher elevations, mainly on northeast-facing sites. This division allows the estate to combine Merlot’s breadth with Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure. Twenty-four months in French oak barrels bring the elements together without overwhelming the fruit.

In Bhamdoun, high in the Mount Lebanon mountains, Naji Boutros set out to revive his family’s vineyards in the early 2000s, planting the first vines in April 2000 among the ruins of his great-grandfather’s former hotel. Château Belle-Vue farms terraced vineyards at elevations of 950–1,250 metres, on clay-limestone soils in a climate characterised by dry summers. The estate follows organic farming practices, avoids herbicides and pesticides, hand-harvests its grapes and relies on indigenous yeasts for fermentation. Its three principal wines explore distinct blends of international grape varieties, shaped by Lebanon’s mountain conditions.