Château Beychevelle: New ratings and why it’s one to watch

A quiet revolution has taken place at this St-Julien fourth growth, reports Jane Anson, who recently tasted a decade of its vintages. Premium members can read Jane's full analysis and tasting notes on recent vintages below.

Now I hate to torpedo a good story, but you know the one about Château Beychevelle being named because of the ‘baisse la voile’ legend, when all ships passing in front of the estate in the 16^th century had to lower their sails in honour of then-owner Duc d’Epernon?

Well it’s been slightly… ruined for me by two second-hand bookshop finds (I have an ever growing collection of dog-eared French books on Bordeaux).The first is a biography of Jean-Louis de Nogaret de la Valette (the full name of the Duc d’Epernon) in which it’s hard to find any suggestion that the duke himself ordered the sails to be lowered (although he sounds like he would have been extremely happy that the story was being promulgated).

And the second is by Bordeaux négociant Bernard Ginestet on the appellation of St-Julien in which he suggests that the name Beychevelle had been attached to the estate at least 200 years before the grand old duke of Epernon came along.He says that it was being used back in the 1300s, when Guyenne was a duchy of the English crown because, most likely, boats entering the port at this particular bend of the river needed to lower their sails simply to manoeuvre against the prevailing winds that can be particularly strong at this point – something that perhaps also explains why the entire commune is called Beychevelle, not just the château.

Anyway, I guess whichever version we believe, there is no doubt that the boat on Beychevelle’s label does have a bonafide story attached, even if it is not quite the one that we have been told.

And the ship is still taking pride of place in the newly-renovated estate, proudly displayed above the door to the cellars that were unveiled for the 2016 harvest and that represent a château that is one of the most vibrant in Bordeaux right now.

Beychevelle was one of the few to find a market during the recent en primeur campaign, without causing too much anguish along the way.

Its new vat room suggests a confidence that is hard to ignore. It faces the busy D2 Route des Châteaux and has floor to ceiling glass windows that allow passing motorists to see the inner workings of the winemaking.

The 1855 4^th Growth is shaking off its ‘reliable but uninspiring’ reputation, making this a fascinating time to do a vertical looking at both the first wine of Beychevelle, its second wine Amiral de Beychevelle and the Haut-Médoc Château Beaumont.

This is a property that has sometimes fought to be recognised as truly typical of St-Julien, because it has the highest proportion of Merlot of any of the classified estates in the appellation at 40% in the vineyard.

As of 2018, following field grafting of Cabernet Franc vines over to Cabernet Sauvignon, the rest of the vineyard is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot.

And it’s still true that Beychevelle doesn’t always shout the loudest, but it is now showing the benefits of incremental changes under director Philippe Blanc and technical director Romain Ducolomb.

Originally from Burgundy, Ducolomb studied at Dijon university and joined Beychevelle in 2012 fresh from Château Clinet in Pomerol.

Together they have introduced a raft of softer vinification and greater precision techniques. These include:

• malolactic in barrel;
• gravity-fed winemaking;
• manual punching down;
• keeping the wine on the lees throughout ageing;
• and far more precise plot work in the vineyards, where no herbicides have been used since 2005.

Worth noting perhaps that Beychevelle, like Lafite Rothschild further north, has a few vines that are located outside of its appellation; along with neighbouring estates Ducru Beaucaillou and Branaire Ducru.

The Beychevelle plot is located in Cussac, just over the border in AOC Haut-Médoc, and goes entirely into Amiral.

The new cellar has doubled the amount of vat space available, and the 2016 wine stands as a brilliant testimony to what is possible, with the 2017 not far behind.

A new wine? 

There is also a third wine on the horizon, even if it is not yet bottled under that name.

As of 2013, Beychevelle has gone the way of several other estates, such as Latour, Margaux and Montrose, in being extra selective for its second wine. We can expect the policy to become official soon.

An inevitable development perhaps, but I would suggest that we should not let it overshadow the Beaumont, which is likely to be similarly priced and offers some brilliant drinking.

How Jane Anson rated recent Beychevelle vintages

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