Chateau Villa Bel Air Graves Rouge 2000

On December 24th, 1777, Louis Dufaure, Marquis de Lajarte, bought an important property situated in the parish of Saint-Morillon called Bel-Air de Bellevue. In 1791, he undertook a very fine charterhouse of great architectural finesse that can still be admired to this day. On April 28th, 1794, the Marquis de Lajarte was imprisoned and rapidly executed. Bel-Air was sold as a national property.

After those years of glory, the property was to undergo a long period of negligence on behalf of the various owners who followed, and the vineyard was left to abandon. Only the last owner, Gaston Duthuron, brought the house back to life during the shooting of the "Sagouin" a film made for television in 1972.

In 1988, the Cazes family, owners of Chateaux Lynch-Bages in Pauillac and Les Ormes de Pez in Saint-Estèphe bought the estate. Jean-Michel Cazes undertook an important renovation program at the property. Daniel Llose, general manager of the properties run by Jean-Michel, along with Guy Delestrac, began by improving the vineyard: the old parcels of land were planted again and the property was entirely equipped with an efficient draining system. The vines were once again well kept, the pruning was regular and tight and the yields well controlled. Since 1992, the white and red wines from the property, the result of strict selection, have been acknowledged for their quality.