Réserve Monbazillac 2024

This Monbazillac comes from Château Belingard, in Pomport, in the Dordogne. The estate, which has been producing wine for two centuries, is located on the slopes of the left bank of the Dordogne valley, south of Bergerac. The autumn morning mists rising from the river, followed by sunny afternoons, encourage the development of noble rot, which concentrates the sugars and aromas of the grapes.

This Réserve blends Sémillon, Sauvignon and Muscadelle, the traditional grape varieties of the sweet white wines of Monbazillac. The vineyard is farmed using environmentally friendly methods, from pruning to harvest, under Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value) certification. As the appellation requires, the grapes are harvested by hand, at full ripeness, to obtain rich, concentrated musts.

This wine reveals notes of acacia honey, quince, yellow peach, mango, candied orange, pineapple, beeswax and saffron. The gourmand nose combines candied fruit and honeyed notes, characteristic of noble rot. The palate is unctuous and broad, balanced by a freshness that lightens the sweetness and extends the finish on candied citrus.

The cradle of wine culture in Western Europe, France owes its first vines to the Greeks of Phocaea, who settled around Marseille some twenty-six centuries ago, before the Romans spread viticulture along the Rhône and the Garonne and as far as Champagne. In the Middle Ages, Cistercian and Benedictine monks cleared the slopes of Burgundy and patiently mapped out the climats, laying the foundations of the notion of terroir. The 19th century brought the glory of the classifications, then the disaster of phylloxera, which wiped out the vineyards before they were rebuilt on American rootstocks; the creation of the appellations d'origine contrôlée in the 1930s then set the rules that would inspire the whole world. Today, France vies every year with Italy and Spain for first place in world production by volume and remains the ultimate benchmark of the Old World, as much for its age-worthy wines as for its winemaking models. Vineyards cover almost the entire country, from the cool north of Champagne and Alsace to the Mediterranean shores of Languedoc and Provence, by way of the oceanic climates of Bordeaux, the Loire and the South-West, continental Burgundy, the steep slopes of the northern Rhône and the high-altitude valleys of Savoie and the Jura. This mosaic of soils – limestone, schist, gravel or rounded pebbles – explains the extraordinary diversity of styles. As for grape varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate Bordeaux and produce structured reds, Pinot Noir is the signature of Burgundian finesse, Syrah of the depth of the Rhône, while Grenache, Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Mourvèdre cover every register, from easy-drinking wines to wines for long ageing. Among the whites, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin, Riesling and Viognier offer expressions ranging from lively and mineral to unctuous, all the way to great sweet wines. A land of benchmarks and constant discoveries, France remains the compass for wine lovers the world over.