Château Beauregard: Every vintage tasted back to 1998

When you see a bottle from a neighbouring château on a Bordeaux table, you almost always know something is afoot.

There’s an apocryphal story that Baron Elie at Lafite Rothschild would serve his cousin’s Mouton with dessert, to ensure that it never outshone its neighbour.

So when I saw a bottle of Petit-Village on the table alongside Château Beauregard wines I did a double take – until I was told that a sale had just been closed.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Château Beauregard wines

This next-door estate, literally on the other side of the road and owned by AXA Millésimes, was joining the small group of châteaux owned by the Moulin family, of Galleries Lafayette.

My feeling is that this bodes well for Petit-Village. The Moulins don’t have long-time experience in running châteaux, having bought Beauregard only in 2014.

But they are smart and proven business owners, behind the 100% family-owned Galleries Lafayette, majority shareholders of La Redoute and in charge of the few remaining Marks & Spencer shops in Paris.

As of 2019, according to the annual Challenges magazine listing, the Moulin family was worth around €4 billion.

The Moulins also have form in taking Pomerol estates into private ownership, having bought Beauregard from the banking group Crédit Foncier.

The head of the family is nearly-90-year-old Ginette Moulin, whose grandfather Théophile Bader founded Galeries Lafayette in 1896.

But the wine and property arm is run by Augustin Belloy, working alongside Beauregard’s director, Vincent Priou, and technical director, Guillaume Frédoux.

Florence and Daniel Cathiard, owners of Smith Haut Lafitte in Pessac-Léognan, also have a minority stake in Beauregard.

The Cathiards, and their technical director, Fabien Teitgen, focus more on strategy and consultancy rather than day-to-day management.

They have, however, unquestionably deepened the feeling of confidence and buzz around Beauregard in the last few years. I would expect them to do the same for Petit-Village, even if they are somewhat distracted by their new purchase in Napa Valley.

‘Brilliantly located on the Pomerol plateau’

But even without this new addition to the portfolio, I was already looking forward to going to Beauregard to taste a 20-year vertical of wines from 1998 through to 2019.

I tasted three en primeur wines from 2019, although these scores will not be released until later, along with the rest of the Bordeaux 2019 ratings on Decanter Premium.

Beauregard is brilliantly located on the Pomerol plateau, right next to Clos de Clocher, and opposite Petit-Village.

Its has one of the highest levels of Cabernet Franc in Pomerol, in some years right up to 40%, and also one of the most attractive 18th-century estates, complete with formal gardens, dovecote and a moat.

This was reportedly an inspiration for the Guggenheim family to build a copy of it at Port Washington on Long Island.

How Beauregard has changed

There’s been plenty of keep an eye on in recent years.

Among the immediate changes brought in under the new owners have been later picking dates, which are now two weeks beyond the average harvest dates under previous owner Credit Foncier.

Yields have also been cut, down to around 35 hectolitres per hectare across the 17.5ha estate. Around 40% of production is reserved for the first wine.

Organic conversion of the Beauregard vineyards began in 2009 and full certification was achieved in 2014.

Soil studies have further refined plantings and knowledge of vineyard sites.

For example, the second wine, Benjamin de Beauregard, now comes from the sand-gravel soils found on the lower part of the estate’s vineyard.

Incidentally, that wine was introduced by consultant Michel Rolland back in the mid 1980s, making it one of the first ‘second wines’ in Pomerol.

Horses now also plough sections of the vineyards where the vines are particularly young, for the least possible soil compaction.

The Moulins also made Vincent Priou overall estate director; he has been at the property since 1991).

They also brought in the highly talented Frédoux as technical director. He was previously Ets JP Moueix, where he worked alongside Todd Mostero at Dominus in Napa Valley.

This tasting showed the clear progression that has been made at Beauregard over the past decade.

It’s a château that is often underestimated but is very clearly one to watch.

It’s hard to stand out on the Pomerol plateau, of course. But I’m betting that a bit of friendly competition with nearby Petit-Village, where the brilliant Diana Berrouet-Garcia is winemaker, will benefit all of us.

See Jane’s tasting notes and ratings for Château Beauregard wines

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