Quantity limited to 3 bottles per order.
Located at the entrance to the Saint-Julien appellation, Château Beychevelle, by its architecture having earned it the nickname "Versailles of the Médoc", leaves no one indifferent. It was the stronghold of the Dukes of Epernon, and notably of the first of them, Jean-Louis Nogaret de La Valette, Grand Admiral of France. The strategic position of Château on the banks of the Gironde river allowed them, according to the legend, to force the boats going up the river to pay a octroi, a kind of toll. The ships had to lower their sails as a sign of allegiance. Beychevelle thus derives its name and emblem, a ship with a griffin bow, from the old Gascon name Bêcha Vêla, which means "Lower Sail".
Built in the seventeenth century, rebuilt by the Marquis of Brassier in 1757, the Château was restored to its original splendor at the end of the twentieth century. In the meantime, it will have obtained the title of Fourth Grand Cru Classé in the prestigious 1855 classification, published for the Paris World Fair. The property now belongs to the Grands Millésimes de France.
The Château Beychevelle vineyard is planted on deep Garonne gravel soils, covering an area of 92 hectares of vines planted with 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. The wines are aged for 18 months in oak barrels, 60% of which are new.
The property produces a Second wine, Amiral de Beychevelle, and a third wine classified as Haut-Médoc, Les Brulières de Beychevelle.
The wines of Château Beychevelle are harmonious and racy, concentrated and fine, matching the beauty of its surroundings.
The year 2022 started with a rather dry and cold winter which resulted in a bud break on 25 March.
Capricious weather set in at the beginning of spring with an intense frost episode on 3rd and 4th April which, this time, impacted the early terroirs.
This was followed by a month of record temperatures in May, resulting in early and rapid flowering.
The stormy rains of June were not sufficient to replenish the water reserves.
The heat wave that began in the spring continued with July being the driest month ince 1960.
The mercury went crazy with temperature peaks of 40°C and maximums regularly above 30°C.
But our old vines showed their resilience by adapting to a particularly hot and dry summer.
