Bordeaux wine

The origins of the estate are ancient and lie in the seigneurie of Lamarque, this being one of the locations Of the numerous fortified houses that lined the Gironde. It is said that it was the Duc d’Epernon, Jean-Louis Nogaret de la Valette, that was responsible for the renaming of the estate as Beychevelle. As well as ruling the locals with an iron rod as Governor of Guyenne, the Duke also became an admiral of the French navy, and French ships sailing on the Gironde.

The deep Garonne gravel vineyards at Beychevelle currently account for 90 ha of the 250 ha estate, planted with 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

Average vine age is 25 years, planted at 10000 vines/ha. Fermentation is temperature controlled, staying below 30ºC, and is followed by a period of eighteen months in oak, of which 50% is new each year. The wine is fined but not filtered. The grand vin is Chateau Beychevelle (typically 25000 cases per annum), there is a second wine Amiral de Beychevelle (typically 12500 cases per annum), as well as an AC Haut-Médoc made from a few vineyard plots bordering St Julien, Brulières de Beychevelle.

 In the 20th these wines have not been held in high repute by those knowledgeable about the commune of St Julien. Lack of investment, lack of interest, poor selection and high yields resulted in disappointing wines. The 1993, although from a difficult vintage, typified this; in the past few decades only the 1989 revealed a little of what Beychevelle may be capable of, the wine comparable with many other from Beychevelle’s neighbours that year. But with investment from GMF and Suntory it’s change, for the better. The 2000, 2001 and 2004 vintages are good evidence of this, although the 2002 and 2003 suggest that there is still room for improvement.