Chateau Beychevelle was established by the Foix Candale family in 1446 Eventually, Beychevelle became the property of the Dukes of Epernon, which the winery is named after.
The name of Chateau Beychevelle comes from the words ” Baisse Voile” , means lower the sails. The boat on the label has their sail lowered and the story is that boats had to lower the sails in deference to the Dukes of Epernon. In 1825, Beychevelle was bought by Pierre-François Guestier. In went through a number of ownership changes throughout the years. In modern times, in 1970, Aymar Achille-Fould purchased Chateau Beychevelle and in 1984, Achille-Fould partnered with the GMF group. Then in 1988, the GMF group partnered with the Suntory company. In 1995, Philippe Blanc was brought in as the managing director and he still holds this position today. In 2011 Chateau Beychevelle was purchased by the Suntory group and Pierre Castel, of Castel Freres.
The winery has 90 hectares of vines of which 54% is Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% is Merlot, 4% is Petit Verdot and 2% is Cabernet Franc. The winery is slowly replace their Merlot vines with more Cabernet Sauvignon. On average, the vines are over 30 years of age.
Chateau Beychevelle’s vineyards are dispersed throughout the Saint Julien appellation. For a great youtube channel showing the location of the vineyard, see
In 2015, the upgraged their chateau and the vat room. They have stainless steel vats that range in size, giving them the ability to ferment different grapes from the different plots of lands separately. On average, the wine is aged in 50% new, French oak barrels for about 18 months before bottling.
One of the reaons for the improvement in the quality of the wine is better selection. As an example,
close to 95% of the harvest was placed 1982 Chateau Beychevelle. Now, closer to 50% of the harvest is put into the first or flagship wine of Beychevelle. On average, 25,000 cases of Beychevelle is produced each year.
2014 Vintage
51% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Wine Spectator rating is 92 pts and I purchased the wine from Marquis Wine Cellars for $273 + tax
2018 Vintage
50% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon 6% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet. Wine Spectator rating 95 pts. I purchased from B.C. Liquor stores for $200 + tax
For more information about this winery, please visit their website at