Château Belles-Graves

Le Château Belles-Graves, Grand Vin de Lalande de Pomerol
et chambres d'Hôtes aux noms prestigieux

 

A nice surprise is waiting for you in Néac, a little village 5 km far from Libourne. Indeed, the Belles-Graves castle watches out for your coming from the top of the hill, ready to show in a waking dream setting its cellar, its bed and breakfast rooms and its history told with passion by its owner

 

Xavier Piton was born on august, 19th 1966 and is the host of the place. Since 1989, he is in charge of the management of the castle, that’s why he quickly stopped is literature studies in order to study oenology and wine marketing. But on-site experience and meetings with people from the profession gave him a far more efficient apprenticeship. As soon as he arrived, he started a restauration work of the winery and he modernized the wine-making equipements. However, he remains concious that Belles-Graves benefits from a peerless land which requires to respect the traditions.

Let’s listen to Xavier for a while: “In 1938, my grandfather started to look for a house that could enable him to escape from the sweatiness of the summer in Libourne, and which would be located in a quality vineyard. He finally choose Belles-Graves” . Xavier Piton is now the general manager of the domain. He is also administrator of the Lalande de Pomerol viticultural syndicate, of which he has been president in 1995. He is also part of the Baillis de Lalande de Pomerol fellowship.Finally, he’s also administrator of the Cousteau team ( Jean Jacques Cousteau was his grandpa’s cousin)among his passions: music, food, and…wines!

Respect of tradition and of the place are the two main commitments of Belles-Graves. Man stramp mustn’t be more than a help, respectful of Nature’s giving. The recipe is pretty easy: hand-picking, rigorous sorting of the harvest, storing in traditional casks, which gives a nice flavor, but also slowly provides oxygen to the wine through its walls thanks to oak wood that is selected for its softness and its fibre density.