Domaine Belle Crozes Hermitage Rouge Les Pierrelles 2020

Domaine Belle has an interesting history. In the 1600’s, vines were grown in vineyards around the Chateau de Larnage and all the land and produce belonged to the Lord of Larnage. Each villager had to give three days unpaid corvee labour (one for pruning, one for ploughing and another for the grape harvest). Passionate about vines and wine, Albert Belle started to make wine for himself and his friends. In 1990, under the impetus provided by Albert’s son Philippe, who had recently returned from studying œnology, winemaking moved to the forefront with the creation of Domaine Belle. Together Albert and Philippe built a modern, functional winery, giving them the means to produce great wines which respect the terroir of the individual appellations. From then the Domaine’s wine-growing land expanded rapidly, including various soil types (galets and granite) and different appellations (St Joseph), to arrive at 20ha in the 2000s. Since Albert’s retirement in 2003, Phillipe has continued alone; passionate about his work, committed to protecting his terroirs and about making the wines from Larnage known around the world. In 2006, the purchase of a small neighbouring vineyard in the commune of Crozes-Hermitage led to the enlarging and modernization of the Domaine’s winery, which took place in 2007. The Domaine has always been a family holding, passed on from generation to generation, promoting the special Larnage terroir with its white clays, often called ‘Les Terres Blanches’.