This month I have the distinct pleasure of writing about two of my favorite French vignerons. I feel very fortunate that I will also be able to introduce you personally to André and his wife, Catherine, on Saturday, April 21, here in Berkeley at our Oyster Bliss celebration. André joins us to celebrate what has been a fabulous career at his Château de Bellevue in Lussac-Saint-Émilion, a small town sitting on a vast deposit of white limestone that is as legendary as any terroir in greater Saint-Émilion. André will retire in style on the heels of vinifying a grand millésime, vintage 2015, which will soon be on boats traveling to markets all across the country.
      André does not have a successor, and the wines from his great terroir will never be the same under new, foreign ownership. This is all the more reason to celebrate what André accomplished during his mighty run by raising our glasses, brimming with one of his fine Merlots, and stocking our cellars with as many library wines as we can get our hands on. You can’t put away too much of these beautiful liquid memories that will last decades. André is of Swiss origin and managed Bellevue with painstaking yet unpretentious precision. He was a gracious host and became legendary for the lunch he would prepare for our traveling clients at Bellevue every year: a house-made foie gras terrine served cold followed by local duck breasts grilled over vine cuttings. There is, of course, nothing better with a glass of his wine.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM CHÂTEAU DE BELLEVUE: