On the lands surrounding Rully
The History
Birth of Domaine Belleville
Domaine Belleville was born at the beginning of the XX century in Rully. Since its creation it is one of the better-known Domaine of this appellation.
The village of Rully is steeped in history since many relics of Gallo-Roman houses have been found in the most well-known Climats, Cloux and Raboucé, which is the original site of the village.
The name of Rully appears on the cartulary of Saint-Marcel of Chalon in 838 and on the cartulary of the powerfull Saint-Bénigne Abbey of Dijon in 853, which owned vineyards in the village of Rully.
The wines of Rully have always been highly appreciated and King Louis XIII was particularly fond of them.
It is in this historical context that the Belleville family created the eponymous Domain in Rully at the beginning of the XX century and then extended their property with vineyards in the neighbouring village of Mercurey.
The village of Mercurey also enjoys an extensive history, since humans first settled there more than 40,000 years ago.
During the Gallo-Roman period a temple dedicated to the god Mercure was constructed and after several linguistic evolutions, gave its name to the village of Mercurey.
The name of Mercurey appears on the cartulary of Saint-Marcel of Chalon in 561.
The wines of Mercurey were very appreciated by the Duke of Burgundy in the XIV century.
At a later stage, the Domaine Belleville extended its property ownership to include certain appellations located to the north of Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, Puligny-Montrachet and Santenay.
Following a number of issues, the domain was sold to a Swiss family in 2002 and 2008 and was acquired by its current owners in 2017, an American couple who are passionate about the French way of life, and its director, Jean-Luc Vitoux.
Since this acquisition, the Domaine Belleville stopped to farm 8 ha of less qualitative vineyards and began in 2023 the farming of 4,5 ha of vineyard in the village of Monthelie.
Monthelie was known in the Gallo Roman period with the name of Monticulus.
The name Monthelie appears in the cartulary of Saint Symphorien of Autun in 855 with the name In Montelio (on the small mountain).
Monthelie belonged to the very powerful Abbey of Cluny from the X century to the XV century and the wines coming from this village were very famous.
The Domaine Belleville owns now a beautiful portfolio of vineyards on terroirs which are not very well-known and undervalued and Domaine Belleville will make all its efforts to reveal the quality of these Terroirs.