Château Beychevelle is a renowned winery located in the Saint Julien appellation of Bordeaux, France. The history of this estate dates back to the 16th century when it was owned by the Bishop of Bordeaux. The name "Beychevelle" is derived from the French words "baisse voile," which means "lower the sails." Legend has it that passing ships would lower their sails as a sign of respect to the château, which was once a prominent landmark on the Gironde estuary.
The winery is known for its elegant and complex red wines, which are made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot grapes. The vineyards are situated on gravelly soils, which provide excellent drainage and impart a distinctive minerality to the wines. The grapes are hand-harvested and carefully sorted before being fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The wines are then aged in oak barrels for up to 18 months, depending on the vintage.
Château Beychevelle produces several different wines, including its flagship wine, the Château Beychevelle Grand Vin. This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, and is known for its rich, full-bodied character and complex aromas of blackcurrant, cedar, and spice. The winery also produces a second wine, the Amiral de Beychevelle, which is made from younger vines and is designed to be more approachable in its youth.
In addition to its red wines, Château Beychevelle also produces a white wine called the Brulières de Beychevelle Blanc. This wine is made from a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes and is known for its crisp acidity and citrusy aromas.
Overall, Château Beychevelle is a producer of some of the finest wines in Bordeaux. Its wines are highly sought after by collectors and wine enthusiasts around the world, and its history and reputation make it a must-visit destination for anyone interested
The 2016 Beychevelle spent 18 months aging in 50% new and 50% second use barrels. Medium to deep garnet-purple coloured, it is a little broody to begin, opening slowly to reveal subtle savoury notes of dried herbs, charcuterie, and black olives before breaking through to a profound core of warm cassis, baked black plums, red currant jelly and candied violets.
The palate is medium-bodied and delicately played with a quiet intensity of tightly wound nuances and fantastic freshness, finishing with a lingering savoury lift. This latent beauty will require a bit more time than most 2016s, but it promises to overdeliver to those prepared to wait.
The 2014 Beychevelle has a very comely, pure bouquet with heightened dark cherry, blackcurrant and wilted violet scents rendering it almost more Margaux-like than Saint Julien. The palate is medium-bodied, svelte in texture with light tannin. It is a nimble Beychevelle, light on its feet with wonderful freshness and tension towards the finish. This is a very well-crafted wine from Philippe Blanc and his team, a St. Julien that is nimble on its toes.
The grand vin, the 2012 Beychevelle, is one of the stars of St.-Julien. Opaque purple, with beautiful crème de cassis notes, the wine has floral underpinnings, sweet tannin and a nice layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel. This is elegant and powerful, rich and intense, but light on its feet. This is a great Beychevelle and certainly seems to exceed the vintage’s character and expectations. Give it 4-6 years of bottle age and drink it over the following 25-30 years.
Beychevelle appears to have handled the 2011 vintage in an intelligent manner, producing a soft, round, attractive, medium-bodied wine that, while not terribly deep or powerful, is well-balanced with excellent equilibrium and lots of dusty, loamy soil notes interwoven with black cherry and plummy fruit. This pretty St.-Julien can be drunk over the next decade
Deep garnet coloured, the 2010 Beychevelle comes roaring out of the glass with bombastic scents of baked blackcurrants, plum preserves and Black Forest cake plus touches of potpourri, cedar chest and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has evolved black fruit flavours and a firm, chewy texture, finishing with nice freshness and a spicy kick.
Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Beychevelle begins a little closed, slowly revealing notes of iron ore, tilled soil, fungi and underbrush over a core of blackberry preserves, warm plums and cassis with touches of mocha and camphor. Full-bodied and richly fruited in the mouth, it has a firm texture of ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with a compelling mineral lift.
Tasted at Bordeaux Index's annual 10-Year On tasting in London.The 2006 Château Beychevelle has a more open and more complex bouquet compared to the 2006 Talbot. I appreciate the clarity and detail here with briary, cedar and touches of forest floor, suggesting that it has both feet planted on its drinking plateau. The palate is medium-bodied with a firm grip in the mouth. This is clean and fresh with a fine line of acidity: brambly red fruit, white pepper, cloves and a touch of fennel on the finish. This surpasses previous bottles that I have tasted.
Despite the extreme heat of June, July and August, this beautiful wine’s terroir shows through. A dense plum/purple color is accompanied by sweet cassis and black currant aromas, broad, round, juicy fruit flavors, medium body, and hints of figs, spice box and cedar. This complete, juicy, fully mature, impressive wine can be consumed over the next 7-8 years.
Deep ruby/purple in color, with a sweet nose of black currants, earth, licorice, and mineral, the 2000 is relatively powerful and dense for the normally restrained and elegant Beychevelle. Medium to full-bodied, dense, and chewy, it is showing even better out of bottle than it was from cask. While it appears to be the finest example made at Beychevelle since the 1989 and 1982, patience will be required. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020.
This elegant, stylish, well-delineated Beychevelle offers finesse and beauty in a medium-bodied, firmly-structured, flavorful format. Red and black currants, licorice, minerals, spice, and tar notes are subtle, but persuasive. While it does not cut an enormous swath across the palate, the wine's acidity, alcohol, and tannin are well-balanced
Although better than I initially rated it, the 1990 Beychevelle remains an insipid wine, exhibiting a certain dilution and shallow character. It offers herbal, earthy, raspberry, and red currant fruit followed by elevated tannins in the austere finish. It is an atypical effort for the 1990 vintage.
The 1986 Beychevelle, which I tasted from magnum at the château, has what you might describe as a light-hearted nose with joie-de-vivre. Even from a larger format, among many 1986s tasted, this is one of the most approachable with wild strawberry, mulberry, cola and graphite aromas that unfurl in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with spice and clove on the entry. It comes across as fleshier than I was anticipating and atypically for the vintage, tapering towards the finish. Arguably rustic compared to some of its Saint Julien bedfellows, it nonetheless has charm and a sense of classicism.
