Un château historique, des jardins à la française, bienvenue dans le « Petit Versailles » du Médoc.
History
To find the first traces of wine production on the estate it is necessary to go back to the Middle Ages, where wine was exported by boat to England, Flanders and Germany. In 1525, a castle was built on the property by Bishop François de Foix-Candale.
Having no descendants it is his niece who will inherit, then married to Jean-Louis de Nogaret de la Valette, better known as the Duke of Épernon. An influential man of that time, legend has it that every ship passing in front of the castle had to lower its sails as a sign of allegiance, hence the name "drop veil" which will become Beychevelle.
A property that, at that time already, was among the best in the region, which will justify its accession to the rank of 4th Cru classified within the classification of Médoc wines established in 1855 at the request of Napoleon III.
Over the years multiple owners succeeded, until a certain dynasty took control in 1890, the Achilles-Foulds. Three generations will take turns and succeed in maintaining the course despite the various crises they will face.
It was in 1986, on the death of Aymar Achille-Fould, that the castle became the property of an insurance company, which saw the arrival of the Suntory family as a partner in 1989.
Today the property is owned by the company Grands Millésimes de France which is equally owned by the Castel and Suntory groups. The castle has been run since 1995 by Philippe Blanc, an agricultural engineer, who leads the boat with a master’s hand.
The vineyard and its terroir
Like its Médoc neighbors, Château Beychevelle sees its vineyard spread over nearly 90 hectares (AOC Saint Julien and Haut Médoc), making it one of the largest in the appellation, at the foot of the podium behind the no less famous castles Lagrange (118ha), Talbot (107ha) and Léoville Las Cases (98ha).
The grape varieties are 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot.
The plots are planted on the two plateaus of the appellation, the vast majority being on Beychevelle and about 10 hectares, on Saint-Julien adjoining the vineyards of the castles Léoville Las Cases, Poyferré and Barton.
The soil is composed of Garonne gravel with deep clay subsoil, for the majority, and sandy-clay on some plots. Gravel typical of the region that allow the different grape varieties grown to flourish.
A winery at the forefront of modernity
It does not go unnoticed. That is how, at first glance, we could describe the new winery delivered in 2016. It must be said that this huge structure built along the Médoc wine route proudly imposes.
As soon as you return home, you understand that this is the ideal setting for the production of an exceptional wine, where the decoration is an ode to travel and the maritime world.
The vat room is composed of 59 thermo-regulated truncated conical tanks with double walls, perfect to have a more precise work during winemaking. A platform upstairs, at the top of the tanks, allows employees to work both safely but also with more comfort. An essential awareness today about the well-being of employees.
Mais que serait un cuvier flambant neuf à la pointe de la technologie sans un chai à barriques à son image ?
The castle raises its wines in two separate cellars. One per vintage in the process of aging, moreover, at the time of the visit the first welcomed for almost a year already the 2022 vintage while the second was ready to receive the 2023 vintage.
Here, the 225-litre barrel, an iconic container of the region, gives pride of place. For Château Beychevelle, 70% are made of new French oak wood and 30% have already been used for a vintage. They come from a dozen different coopers, where each will confer a singular profile to the wines matured within, and this, always in the quest for detail and precision. Each year about 800 to 850 barrels are bought.
Le second vin pour sa part, l’Amiral de Beychevelle, est élevé pour environ 35% en barriques neuves, le reste étant dans des barriques de 1 et 2 vins. En fonction des millésimes, en moyenne, le château Beychevelle produit 500 000 bouteilles entre ses premier, second vin et le vin en Haut Médoc.
A daily dedication
The title is not insignificant. From January to December, the work, both in the vineyard and in the winery, is a real dedication to the daily life of the employees. Each season has its share of hassles, where the experience and efficiency of the teams are paramount.
The work of the vineyard is always more respectful of the environment, the castle having moreover the qualification of reasoned agriculture. The objective is to adapt the methods of cultivation in order to work the vineyard and its ecosystem with even more respect than in previous years, but also to face the current climate issues increasingly demanding.
Daily there are 55 employees within the property, the peak being during the harvest where there are a hundred pickers who gravitate around the castle. A two-week period where the teams are mobilized to manually harvest grapes at perfect maturity, while maintaining a certain freshness.
Arriving from the vineyard, the grapes are destemmed and then sorted by an optical sorter, where only the best will be placed in tanks, in a gravity way. A novelty since the delivery of the new vat room.
Throughout the vinification, the juices will be wound with automatic aeration or drawn with a pneumatic pigger. The goal is to get the best out of each vat with as much sweetness as possible, in order to promote the extraction of tannins, but also to preserve the freshness and fruitiness of the grapes.
Once the vinifications are finished, the wines are put in barrels to begin their aging which will last about 18 months. The bottling is done at the castle, before shipment to the merchants.
S’en est suivi une superbe dégustation, en compagnie de Philippe Blanc, que je vous laisse découvrir dans la Tasting Zone. Petit avant-goût, nous avons commencé par une dégustation du millésime 2020.
