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Chateau Beausejour

Saint Emilion - Chateau Beausejour

Château Beauséjour, formerly fully titled Château Beauséjour-Duffau-Lagarrosse, is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Premier grand cru classé B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the commune of Saint-Émilion, in the department Gironde.

History

Château Beauséjour was once a vineyard cultivated by the monks of the Church of St-Martin during the Middle Ages. It was acquired by the Gerès family in the 17th century, the land then named Peycoucou.

By marriage the estate came to the de Carle family, seigneurs of Figeac, and in 1787 General Jacques de Carle renamed the property to Beauséjour. When the historic estate in its entirety came to Pierre-Paulin Ducarpe, it was divided in 1869 between his two children. The son inherited the half which was sold in 1924 to Dr. Fagouet, altering the name to Château Beauséjour-Dr-Fagouet (present day Château Beau-Séjour Bécot) and his daughter who wed Doctor Duffau-Lagarrosse, received what became Château Beauséjour-Duffau-Lagarrosse.

The estate was set up as a non-trading company (société civile) in 1963, and remains owned by the Duffau-Lagarrosse family. Nicolas Thienpont, director of winemaking at Château Pavie Macquin, is in overall charge of a 2009 effort to raise the estate's potential, assisted by consultant oenologists Michel Rolland and Stéphane Derenoncourt.

Vineyards

Château Beauséjour" is situated on the left bank of Dordogne River, at the top of the Montagne Saint Émilion hillside, 2.5 miles (4 km) from Saint Émilion. This estate is the perfect example of the appellation, both due to the imposing appearence prestigious look of the buildings (castle and chai) and to the outstanding location of the vineyard, stretching from outside Saint Martin's church (12th- century Romanesque church, in the heart of Montagne village) to the five mills of Calon (2 of which have been perfectly restored and... are in working order).

In the 7th edition of his book "BORDEAUX ET SES VINS" (Bordeaux and its wines) dated 1898, Edouard FERET describes this vineyard:

"The vineyard is situated on the highest chalky clay hillsides of the area. It is planted with our finest grape varieties grafted onto American rootstock and produces one of the most elegant and full-bodied wines of the village."

Wines

Of the Grand vin, Château Beauséjour there is a total annual production of 25–30,000 bottles. Each vintage offers a few rare flasks, the signature of a terroir equally as precious as confined. The second wine Croix de Beausejour is produced only in certain years and offers an alternative approach of the terroir of Beausejour.