Château Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse

First Grand Cru Classé of Saint-Emilion since the beginning of the classification, the history of Château Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse, jewel of the Saint-Emilion vineyard, dates back to 1847 when it was bought by the Duffau-Lagarrosse family. For nine generations, the Duffau-Lagarrosse Heirs have been keen to perpetuate this vineyard to enable it to maintain its reputation. Château Beauséjour Héritier Duffau-Lagarrosse goes through time, in a spirit of family open to modernity and progress, without giving way to fashions. The two cousins and co-managers, Vincent Duffau-Lagarrosse and Christophe Redaud, rely on an experienced team to, in turn, lead the necessary evolutions and bring to the highest level, vintage after vintage, the quality of the wine. this property. It is in this spirit that they asked Nicolas Thienpont and Stéphane Derenoncourt to accompany the Château since the 2009 vintage.

The château also offers several vintages of its excellent second wine, Croix de Beauséjour. In addition to our rolling vineyards, we invite you to visit the town of Saint-Émilion, one of the most beautiful villages of France and listed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. An excellent destination for a holiday or professional stay in the Bordeaux region.

Surrounded by other Premiers Grands Crus Classés, Château Beauséjour hDL is situated on the upper south/southwest-facing hillside of Saint-Émilion. This ideal location allows the vines to benefit from an exposure and slope that are especially favourable to the growing of quality grapes. It optimizes the vineyard's runoff, drainage, aeration and amount of sunshine.

To reach the château proper, one must climb up to the small Saint-Martin Church. There, one discovers a Girondin-style manor house of blond stonework built up against the church on a promontory. Its terrace affords a breathtaking 360° panoramic view encompassing the isthmus of the Dordogne River and the surrounding vineyards and pigeon houses. At night, even the lights of Bordeaux are visible. 

 

Below, a small shady park overlooks the road leading to the town of Libourne. Vestiges of the old wash house can still be seen, but only the very oldest can remember back to the days when this lovely lawn was grazed upon by the horse used to work the vines. 
The property, which once also included the Beau-Séjour Bécot vineyard, today covers 7 hectares. Here, as well, the limestone is riddled with old stone quarries, which serve as natural cellars for the storage of the château's bottles. This old manor house, in which each room and object evokes the memory of past generations that toiled to establish Beauséjour as a reference in Saint-Emilion, remains the common link between the various members of the Duffau-Lagarrosse family, extremely attached to the vineyard and to their common history. Their shared desire is to preserve, improve and pass down to their children this so aptly named château.

The grape variety is made up of 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet (16% Franc and 3% Sauvignon) which bring aromatic power and structure. There, the average age of the vine is between 35 and 40 years old. In the maintenance of the vineyard and the cultivation of the vine, from the size to the harvest, everything is done to obtain the most beautiful grapes.

Each year, Château Beauséjour hDL takes into consideration the quality of the harvest and adapts its vinification accordingly. A subtle balance between the frequency and intensity of the "pumping-over" process must respect the wine's maceration, which varies in duration, in order to extract the best tannins.

For over thirty years, the Michel Rolland Laboratory has accompanied Château Beauséjour hDL during the vinification of each vintage. During the vegetative cycle, the climatic hazards are followed with a lot of attention in order to bring the necessary care at the best time. Grassing, disbudding, green harvesting, leaf removal are options that are decided each year. The earlier Merlots will be picked first, while the Cabernets will have a few extra days to reach full maturity. Each year the Château Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarosse takes into account the quality of the harvest and adapts its vinification accordingly. A subtle balance, between the frequency and the intensity of the pumping, respects the maceration, of variable duration, in order to extract the best tannins. The wine is then refined for 16 to 18 months in oak barrels “merrain”, renewed 50% each year, then aged in bottles, at constant temperature, in quarries in the rock.