Château Belle-Vue

The History
Centuries ago, our ancestors worked tirelessly to make their fertile valleys suitable for agriculture. They tamed the challenging yet rich hillside below the village of Bhamdoun with a maze of handcrafted stone terrace walls, allowing farmers to grow the fruits and vegetables that sustained their livelihoods. Among all the crops cultivated for generations, it soon became clear that the soil and climate of this particular valley were best suited for growing grapes; thus began the legacy of winemaking.
Belle-Vue itself was originally a beautiful hotel, majestically perched on the mountain with views of the Mediterranean Sea and the snow-capped mountains to the north. The hotel was owned and operated by Naji Boutros's maternal grandparents. When the war broke out in 1975, Hotel Belle-Vue closed its doors and became the family’s main residence, although guests who arrived were always offered a bed for the night.
Hotel Belle-Vue no longer exists, but symbolically, it was the first vineyard planted with vines in April 2000. Years later, 30,000 vines are now cultivated across dozens of plots in and around the village. After decades of disuse and neglect, our valley is once again green and abundant.

THE WINE
They cultivate 24 hectares of terraced mountainside, extending from their lowest vineyards at 950 meters to their highest at over 1200 meters above sea level. The vineyards wind around the valley beneath the village of Bhamdoun, stretching from northeast to southwest, and benefit from snow and rain from November to April, followed by a dry, warm summer.
The vines are grown dry from the second year onward. No pesticides or herbicides are used. Cover crops help maintain soil structure, prevent erosion, and balance water availability. Grapes are hand-harvested by variety in 20 kg crates at the moment of optimal balance between potential alcohol and acidity.

