A visit to Château Ducru Beaucaillou

Visit to Château Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien Bordeaux

A highlight of our trip to the St Julien Appellation (AOC) of Bordeaux was a visit to Château Ducru Beaucaillou. This is one of the 'super second' labels of Bordeaux, one of fifteen Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growths) as set forth in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.

This label is one of the key holdings in our cellar collection consisting of more than a dozen vintages spanning three decades dating back to 1980 including the birth year vintages of each of our kids, 1981, 1982, 1985 and 1990. We hold many vintages in large format bottles including 3 liter double magnums from which we served son Ryan's 1982 birth year vintage at his and daughter-in-law Michelle's wedding.

In addition to our visit at Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou,  our spectacular week in St Julien also included visits to our other favorite St Julien producers, Second Growth producers Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases,  Gruaud Larose and Léoville-Poyferré, as well as Fourth Growths Château Beychevelle and Château Branaire-Ducru.

Leading up to our visit, we opened a special birth year bottle 1985 Château Ducru Beaucaillou from our cellar for son Sean's birth year vintage of which we acquired a case upon release as part of a horizontal collection of different producer's releasea from the vintage to commemorate his birth year. Upon our return we opened a 1989 release to relive the experience of our visit. 

As I've written in these pages, we reached out to a very small select set of St Julien producers to visit during our trip and Ducru Beaucaillou was on that short list, so we were delighted in their prompt response and invitation to visit. As is our custom on wine region trips, learned from many trips over many years, its important to focus and not over schedule. Too many folks try to see areas that turn out to be far apart, and they spend much valuable time in transit, or worse, arrive late for cherished appointments. As such, we learned to focus on just one appellation per trip, set priorities ahead of time, and schedule only key activities based on objectives for the trip.

Ducru Beaucaillou is one of the oldest wine producing estates in the Medoc dating back to the start of the 13th century. The earliest period of it being a working Bordeaux vineyard, it was owned by the  Bergeron family from 1720. In its earliest days it consisted of the current property as well as the adjacent properties that today make up Chateaus Beychevelle and Branaire Ducru The property was split up over the years following the French Revolution in the early 19th Century.

Ducru Beaucaillou right - Beychevelle left

Like many Bordeaux estates, it is named for one its early owners, Bertrand Ducru, who purchased the estate in 1795. The other part of the name comes the special soils along the Gironde River estuary that are covered with large pebbles or stones. Hence, beaucaillou, which means "beautiful stones" that make up the distinctive terroir on the property, that which defines the place and its effect on growing wine grapes - soil, micro-climate, sun exposure, etc.

As with the case of some of the other similarly situated properties, the stones serve to protect the soil, provide extraordinary drainage, and act to reflect the heat from the sun upon the grapes, and hold the heat into the night so as to extend their ripening time.

Ceremonial souvenir engraved
'ducru beaucaillou'

The vineyards run along the Gironde River and the proximity to the river that created the wide diversity of soils, formed over various geological periods, helps create the terroir that is St Julien. Besides the gravelly soil, the temperate waters of the river estuary and the nearby Atlantic Ocean create a moderating special micro-climate that enables very early ripening of the grapes and protects the vineyards from frost. The incomparable terroir gives St Julien wines their distinctive character and personality.

This proximity to the river with the combination of geology and climatic effects influences the growth of the vines, coupled with appellation compliance restricted water supply and a very low intake of nutrients, all contribute to bringing out the best in the fruit for making highest quality wines.

The origins of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou date back to the early 18th century, when the Bergeron family acquired it in 1720.

Bertrand Ducru purchased the estate in 1795 and added his name to the property that became Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou. Ducru hired the well known Parisian architect, Paul Abadie, who designed the core of the magnificent chateau that remains on the property to this day, and also built the barrel aging cellar. The towers at each end were added later. The vineyards were also upgraded during this time.

In 1866, after more than seven decades, Ducru Beaucaillou was sold to Lucie Caroline Dassier for one million Francs, a substantial sum at the time. Dassier was the wife of Nathaniel Johnston, a  famous Bordeaux wine merchant and negociant. 

Negociants are merchants who buy grapes, juice, or finished wine from growers, then bottle and sell them on the market. Some negociants are known for selling some of the finest wines on the market. In the early days, the role of the negociant was to take on the expenses of bottling so that farmer growers could focus on doing what they do best: growing grapes.

Nathaniel Johnston replanted the vineyards and modernized the cellars with the aid of manager Ernest David.

Catastrophic losses from the 1929 depression forced the Johnston family to sell Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou.  The property was taken over by the Desbarats family, successful Bordeaux wine merchants. They eventually sold the estate to Francis Borie in 1941.

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou was purchased by Francois Borie in 1941 and has remained in the family ever since.

The Borie family had extensive roots in the Bordeaux region dating back to the late 1800’s when they started out as negociants.

Francois Borie was succeeded by his son, Jean Eugene Borie in 1953. His son Francois Xavier Borie began working at the estate full time in 1978, eventually taking over from his father after his passing in 1998.

A new underground cellar for fermentation and aging was built in the late 1990s.

Entrance to new cellar facility

The new cellar barrel room

In 2003, Bruno Borie took the helm and remains to this day proprietor and overseer of Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou and all the associated businesses and brands. Bruno serves as CEO of Jean Eugène Borie SA, which is owned by the family, his mother, Mrs Borie, his sister Sabine Coiffe and him. They serve as the third generation of the Borie family to head the estate.

As a family owned property, the family lives in the Chateau that is the center of the property and iconic symbol of the estate and brand. As is the custom in Bordeuax, the chateau adorns the label of the grand vin, the signature premier wine of the property, reserved only 'estate' wines, those comprised of grape grown on the property. The two branches of the family live in the two halves of the Chateau with its two towers at each end. It has served as the family residence for over sixty years. 

The Ducru Beaucaillou Chateau, bureau and residences

The magnificent Ducru Beaucaillou Victorian-style chateau castle that adorns the label of the grand vin is one of the great symbols of the Médoc. It sits on an exceptional site in the center of a hundred-year-old park with incomparable views over the Gironde estuary below and the surrounding vineyards. It sits back far off the D2 route just outside the village of St Julien-Beychevelle and can be seen from many views from vineyards along the D2 route and beyond across the St Julien appellation. 

 

Beneath the Chateau are the original historic barrel cellars which today also double as an art gallery, along with art gallery display, tasting and hospitality rooms. The tasting room is sheltered from the sun by large rolling steel shutters that when opened reveal views looking out onto the magnificent formal garden and the river in the distance. 

 

The old historic cellar under the Chateau

The Borie family also owns Bordeaux estate Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Château Haut-Batailley in Pauillac, and in St Julien, Bruno Borie and his sister Sabine Coiffe manage Chateau Lalande Borie which takes its name from the family ownership dating back to the elder John Eugene Borie. Chateau Lalande as it is also known is a relatively new estate in the Medoc. The vineyard was initially created when the Borie purchased 44 acres of vines from Chateau Lagrange in 1970, and another 30 acres from various other growers. The vineyards are located in the western part of the St. Julien appellation, situated in the vicinity of Chateau Lagrange, Chateau Talbot and Chateau Gruaud Larose.

Ducru Beaucaillou's vineyards consist of 123 acres of well-drained gravelly soils along the D2 in the village of St Julien-Beychevelle and extending down towards the river. Interestingly, the vineyards  stop several hundred meters from the river, giving way to wheat fields and pastureland, due to the change in soil topology.

The vineyards are planted in Cabernet Sauvignon (70%) and Merlot (30%) with the vines averaging 38 years of age in 2005. Earlier plantings of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot were uprooted and replaced.

Ducru Beaucaillou produces two wines. The flagship grand vin called Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, and Croix de Beaucaillou, a second wine introduced in 1995. This allows the finest lots to be dedicated to the grand vin and lesser-quality lots relegated to the second label. This practice of having two tiered labels in the brand is customary with all the notable producers in the Medoc.

All the Ducru wines are aged for 18 months in 50% to 80% new oak barrels, depending on the richness of the vintage. The batches are racked every three months to remove sediment and to top off the barrel filling in the void of evaporation. These regular toppings-up are carried out during the first six months of ageing. The wines are racked from the bottom of the barrels every three months for a total of seven rackings during the ageing period. They are then fined with egg whites, lightly filtered, and then bottled. Bottling takes place in a sterile atmosphere under inert gas.

During bottling, only the highest quality, all natural corks are used. These are 54 mm long.  The bottles are then engraved with the Ducru-Beaucaillou name, laser etched, and a hologram is embedded into the label, for purposes of maintaining the integrity of the brand, providing enhanced traceability and thwarting counterfeiting.

Racking the barrels - the 2018 vintage

We witnessed them racking the barrels and as a result were able to taste a barrel sample from the 2018 vintage. It was spectacular. The final selection was carried out in the first quarter of 2019. This wine will be aged 18 months in new oak barrels made from certified French oak, dried naturally outdoors.

We toured the lower level of the Chateau, the historic barrel rooms, the new fermentation and barrel room facility, the galleries, hospitality center and tasting room, and the surrounding grounds and gardens.

We were treated to a tasting flight of each of the Borie labels, the flagship grand vin Ducru Beaucaillou 2006, Croix de Beaucaillou, 2012, and Lalande Borie 2014, in addition to the barrel sample of the 2018 Ducru we tasted in the chai.

 

What a spectacular setting and honor to walk the hallowed grounds of Ducru-Beaucaillou.

Big bottle delight - Sovereign - equals two cases

We were reminded of our wonderful visit there throughout the rest of the week as the Chateau seemed to be in the background of so many of our views of the surrounding vineyards of neighboring properties and estates.

 

@DucruB #stJulien #medoc #bordeaux #GrandCruClasse1855

http://chateau-ducru-beaucaillou.com/  

A Visit to Château Beychevelle

A Visit to Château Beychevelle St Julien-Beychevelle Bordeaux

Visitors to the Médoc driving up the historic and legendary D2 Route du Médoc, the arterial wine road up the Left Bank of the Gironde River estuary, come upon the magnificent Château Beychevelle as they enter the St Julien Appellation, and the village of St Julien-Beychevelle. It is considered one of the most impressive châteaux in the whole of the Médoc.

Our visit and tour of the historic estate was another one of the key visits on our trip to the St Julien Appellation (AOC) in Bordeaux.  Château Beychevelle is one of ten Quatrièmes Crus (Fourth Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.

Our spectacular week in St Julien also included visits to our other favorite St Julien producers, Second Growths Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou,  Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases,  Gruaud Larose and Léoville-Poyferré, as well as Fourth Growths Château Beychevelle and Château Branaire-Ducru. 

A tour of Beychevelle begins with a step back in history in a audio video enhanced gallery that goes back five centuries to the founding of the historic estate. Highlighted by graphics, music and historic photographics, it begins back in the reign of Henri III with the story Admiral Beychevelle, the fief of the Dukes of Épernon, the first of that name, Jean-Louis Nogaret de La Valette, who was the admiral in the French navy.

In the earliest years, the property was owned by the Foix Candale family who were well established in Bordeaux by 1446, as they already possessed Château d'Issan in Margaux. In 1565, Bishop François de Foix Candale commissioned the building of the grand chateau at Beychevelle.

Château Beychevelle, due to its classic, stunning architecture of the chateau and beautiful gardens, is often referred to as the Bordeaux version of Versailles.

Eventually, Beychevelle became the property of the Dukes of Epernon. The Duke was a powerful important leader of the French navy. He was so revered that ships sailing in front of Beychevelle were ordered to lower their sails as a sign of respect. Such was how Beychevelle acquired its name since the expression "Baisse-Vaille", meaning "lower the sails", translated into Beychevelle, when translated from the dialect of the time.

The name Beychevelle comes from the Old French Baisse-Voile, meaning “lowered sails”. The lowered sails of the ancient ship serves as the château’s iconic emblem and is the cornerstone of their branding to this day. The logo depicts a ship with a griffin – the guardian of Dionysos’ wine crater in Greek mythology – on the prow.

Beychevelle, or Baisse Voile, 'lower the sails', is memorialized in today's branding, the logo and label design of a galleon of the era with a large sail.

The earliest period of the estate being a working Bordeaux vineyard, it was owned by the  Bergeron family from 1720. In its earliest days it consisted of the current property as well as the adjacent properties that today make up Château Ducru Beaucaillou and Branaire Ducru.  

Map courtesy UGCB - Union des Grand Crus Bordeaux

Beychevelle was sold, bought and sold several times over the years, often due to the enormous cost to maintain the Saint Julien estate. Over time, the Beychevelle estate deteriorated from insufficient upkeep and neglect, until 1757, when the Marquis François-Etienne de Brassier renovated and rebuilt the estate. 

The property was split up in the years following the French Revolution in the early 19th Century.

In 1825, Beychevelle was bought by Pierre-François Guestier, a popular Bordeaux wine merchant who was also the mayor of St. Julien. The Guestier family joined forces with the Barton family, owners of neighboring Leoville Barton, and formed the Bordeaux wine negociant company Barton and Guestier, also known as B & G. that is still in business to this day.

In 1875, Armand Heine, cousin of the famous German poet, Heinrich Heine, purchased Château Beychevelle. He added the north wing of the chateau and replanted the vineyard following the phylloxera epidemic. Château Beychevelle remained in the hands of the same family for several generations into the 20th Century.

In 1970, Aymar Achille-Fould took over Château Beychevelle. In 1984 they formed a partnership with the GMF group. In 1988 the partnership was expanded with the addition of the Japanese giant Suntory, one of the oldest distilling companies in Japan dating back to 1899. In 2014, Suntory acquired iconic America distiller Jim Beam to become one of the largest distilling companies in the world. Since 1997, they are Japan's sole bottler, distributor, and licensee of Pepsi products and have since taken over Pepsi in other countries of southeast Asia. When they invested in Beychevelle, Suntory were already familiar with Bordeaux as owners of the neighboring estate, Château Lagrange.

In February, 2011, Chateau Beychevelle took on new owners when Suntory along with Pierre Castel, the head of the massive company Castel Freres, purchased the Saint Julien estate.

Philippe Blanc was brought as the managing director in 1995.

In addition to Château Beychevelle, the partnership also owns the well known Bordeaux negociant companies Barriere Freres and Oenoalliance, numerous branded wines, and Château Beaumont in the Haut Medoc appellation. They also hold investments in Burgundy, Africa and in China with Changyu-Castel. Today the property is owned by Grands Millésimesde France.

Despite being divided and subdivided over the years, the overall Beychevelle estate covers over 600 acres of land. Only that most suitable for growing grapes is planted in vineyards, the rest, mostly that down near the river, is grassland where Limousin cows graze, and forests of pine, poplar, ash and walnut trees.

The vast property extends down to the river where there was at one time a dock, and still today, a park. The turnoff of the D2 at the estate leads to the entrance to the production facilities, office and hospitality center, and continues down to the riverfront at what is called the Port de Beychevelle.

Below the vineyards are farmland and pastures -
Château Beyechevelle in distant background.

The Beychevelle estate's 210 acres of vineyards are located at the far south edge of the St-Julien appellation, just outside the village of St-Julien-Beychevelle. The vineyards are planted in the appellation sanctioned varietals of  Cabernet Sauvignon, (52%), Merlot, (40%), Cabernet Franc (5%), and Petit Verdot (3%).

The proximity of the Gironde, which can be seen from the front steps of the Château, has a protective, regulating affect on the climate that is vital for the production of exceptional wines.

On average, the vines are close to 30 years of age.

The heart of the vineyard is located on two plateaus. The best vines are said to be the 50 acres planted next to the chateau on the Beychevelle plateau, next to Château Ducru Beaucaillou, and extending down towards the river, and those down near Château Leoville Barton.

Vineyards on the plateau Beychevelle on the left,
Ducru Beaucaillou on the right

The vineyards near the river are comprised of the notable St Julien deep Garonne gravelly soil, deposited over the millennia from the Gunzian period, on the edge of the Gironde. These are the famous gravelly hilltops of the Médoc, close to the Gironde, which offer the best conditions for the classic Bordeaux varietals. They benefit from the moderating effects the river has on the vines, helping to protect them from excessive heat and from the occasional frost.

Like so many of the producer's vineyards in the Medoc, several of Château Beychevelle's vineyards are dispersed across the Saint Julien appellation.

Beyechevelle also have vineyards in the southern tip of the St. Julien appellation located further inland, not far from Château Gruaud Larose.

The estate also owns 55 acres of vines located in the neighboring Haut Medoc appellation that are considered part of the Saint Julien appellation. The vineyard is situated in the commune of Cussac, not far from Château Beaumont. There it is much cooler terrior than in the St. Julien appellation.

Due to the fact that those vines were part of Château Beychevelle at the time of the original classification, even though they are located in the neighboring appellation of Haut Medoc, the estate has the right to include those vines in either their Grand Vin, the second wine, or use them to produce a Haut Medoc wine. Another additional 35 acres of vines in the Haut Medoc are not allowed for use in St. Julien designated wines.

In all there are 14 different blocks of vines, that can be divided into up to 60 different parcels of vines.

In recent years, Château Beychevelle have worked to dramatically improve the quality of the wine through a massive reduction in the effective yields at the property. Earlier vintages such as 1982 were produced with almost no selection. Then, as much as 95% of the harvest went into the Grand Vin.

Today, much greater selection takes place to use only the finest lots in the grand vin, and the rest in a second or lesser label. Now, the average amount of the harvest going into the flagship Beychevelle is closer to 50%.

Starting in 2008, Château Beychevelle began moving closer to organic farming techniques. The estate has been certified for sustainable viticulture.

Beyechevelle took on a new winemaker to assist Philippe Blanc, Romain Ducolomb, who previously worked at Château Clinet in Pomerol. The first vintage for Ducolomb was the 2012, which showed soft tannins and more ripeness.

In 2016, the new partnership made a substantial investment of more than 15 million Euros in the St Julien estate. They completely renovated the wine making facilities remodeling the cellars, vat rooms, tanks and building the hospitality visitor center.

The hallmark of the new Beychevelle was the addition of a large modern high tech production facility with new tanks and a barrel storage facility below. Designed by the noted architect Arnaud Boulain and Atelier BPM, the modernistic building is comprised of glass walls that opens the large tank room to the outside, and bring striking views of the surrounding vineyards inside.

Undulating steel metal bands resembling sails decorate the outside of the building and protect the glass building from the direct sunlight. The sails architectural design elements are also introduced in the modern barrel facility in the waving ceiling, pictured below.

The modern high tech building sits prominently at the front of the property adjacent the historic chateau along the D2 Route de Medoc.

The wine of Château Beychevelle is vinified in 59, gleaming new, stainless steel vats that range in size from 73 hectoliters to 105, 120 and up to 160 hectoliters. This provides for a vat for each plot of the estate to optimize the vinification to each lot. Malolactic fermentation takes place in tank.

Like many of the Château in Bordeaux, and many leading wineries in Napa as well, Beychevelle has introduced artwork throughout their facilities to enhance the atmosphere and the tour experience.

The historic original cellars were renovated and are adorned with artwork. Below the historic barrel storage facilities, Beychevelle maintains a historic library of vintage releases. The collection dates back to the mid 19th century.

Historic barrel facility

Historic library

Depending on the vintage, a portion of the malolactic can take place in barrel. The wine of Château Beychevelle is aged in an average of 50-60% new, French oak barrels for about 18 months before bottling.

Modern barrel facility with sailing architecture effects

Château Beychevelle St Julien grand vin, in good vintages can be powerful and concentrated, yet supple and smooth with complex and finely integrated notes of almost sweet, ultra-ripe Cabernet fruit, accented by notes of cassis, spice, tobacco, cedar and mocha.

Beychevelle's hospitality center features a modern tasting room overlooking the magnificent historic Château and it's beautiful gardens that look out to the vineyards and the pastures and river in the distance.

 

We were served a vertical tasting flight of Château Beychevelle 2012, 2016 and, a special treat, a barrel sample of the upcoming 2018 vintage.

Young vintages are best to be decanted for a couple hours before consuming to allow the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Château Beychevelle is best consumed after 6-12 years of age, and, depending on the vintage can often maintain its prime drinking window for several decades or more. We still hold the last remaining bottles of a case of 1988 that we acquired upon release. Upon return from our trip we enjoyed one of those bottles and it is drinking as good or even better than in its first decade. 

The chateau makes a second label wine called Amiral de Beychevelle. This is produced from the lots that are not deemed suitable for the flagship label. This provides a wine that is approachable at an earlier age at a more affordable price.

We were also served a tasting of the second label, Amiral de Beychevelle from the 2012 vintage.

The second wine, Amiral de Beychevelle, was first released back in the 1950’s. In those days, as little as 4% of the production went into the second wine. In 1996, then general manager Philippe Blanc directed to vastly increase production of and increase the percentage of the harvest allocated to the second wine.

Amiral de Beychevelle is made from the younger vines, but still benefits from the same growing techniques, meticulous sorting, and traditional barrel ageing. It can have the same elegance and finesse as its older brother, but reveals its character earlier in its youth. It can be kept for up to fifteen years, depending on the vintage.

Beychevelle also produce a third label, Les Brulieres de Beychevelle, comprised of the fruit from the vines in the Haut Medoc appellation. Chateau Beychevelle also produces a negociant wine in partnership with their negociant owner, Barriere called Secret de Grand Bateaux. This is sold as a mass market supermarket brand. Secret de Grand Bateaux also displays the estate’s famed Dragon boat logo in their label design for brand continuity. The wine is available as a red wine and white Bordeaux wine.

There is high demand of Beychevelle wines, especially in Asia where it is known as 'the Dragon Boat wine'. Due to significant counterfeiting that takes place in China, Chateau Beychevelle has recently added anti counterfeiting measures to their bottles. The technique adds a unique code to each bottle that is stored in a database that allows purchasers and sellers to check for the authenticity of each bottle along with the name of the original, authorized distributor.

Today, Château Beychevelle produces on average about 25,000 cases per year.

As with all producers in the Medoc, as I often say, as 'all boats rise with the tide', the best vintages of Château Beychevelle are those best vintages in the appellation. Top vintages have been 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2005, 2000, 1989, 1982 and 1961. Notably, several older vintages of Château Beychevelle, dating back to 1906 have been exceptional wines.

Shortly after our return home, we enjoyed a thirty year of vintage release of Château Beychevelle 1988 and it was drinking remarkably well. 

www.beychevelle.com

https://beychevelle.com/?lang=en

A visit to Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases

A visit to Château Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases, St Julien-Beychevelle, Bordeaux

One of the highlights of our trip to the Medoc was a visit to the legendary 'super second' Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases. This is one of the premier labels of Bordeaux and a special part of our collection with holdings or consumed bottles that date back to the 1964 vintage.

We hold a vertical collection of more than a dozen vintages that has consisted of releases from each of our kids' birth years, the vintages of 1981, 1982, 1985, 1990, and numerous other vintages in between or since, several in large format bottles.

We were very selective in contacting but a very few producers to visit during our trip to Bordeaux. As is customary, as we have learned from many trips to wine regions, we focused on but one appellation or growing region for the trip.

Château Léoville Las Cases were very responsive to our request for a visit during our trip to the St Julien Appellation. We celebrated upon receipt of our invitation by opening a bottle of the 1985 vintage Léoville Las Cases.
 This kicked off our spectacular week visiting our favorite St Julien Appellation producers. In addition to Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases, we also visited Second Growth producers Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou, Gruaud Larose and Léoville-Poyferré, as well as Fourth Growths Château Beychevelle  and Château Branaire-Ducru.

Indeed, we served Léoville Las Cases from large format Jeroboams from our daughter Erin's birthyear vintage at her wedding. We served this alongside Grand Vin Latour from the same vintage, the First Growth Chateau whose vineyards are immediately adjacent to those of Clos Léoville Las Cases.

We're holding a case plus several bottles of son Alec's 1990 birth year release that we'll most assuredly celebrate with him, family and friends as part of his wedding festivities in the coming year. We opened one upon our return to see how it is aging and it was spectacular. We several more opon our return at auction to supplement our holdings. 

Las Cases is one of the oldest and most noble Medoc estates dating back to Domaine de Léoville in the 17th century when it was owned by some of the wealthiest and most influential noble French families before it was acquired by the Las Cases family. The estate was split up between 1826 and 1840 as a result of the French Revolution creating Château Léoville Las Cases due to the ancestral birthright, from 3/5 of the original estate and the heart of the domain.

The Grand Vin’s current terroir vineyards were controlled by Pierre Jean, Adolphe and Gabriel de Las Cases who were successive heirs to the property until 1900 when Théophile Skawinski purchased a share in the estate and became its manager.

Léoville Las Cases has now been managed by the same family since the late 19th century and is today represented by Jean-Hubert Delon, sole owner and proprietor of the Château. Additionally, he owns Bordeaux estates Château Potensac in the Medoc and Château Nénin in Pomerol.

The Grand Vin is the product of exceptional terroirs from the former Léoville estate. The estate vineyards are located mainly in the Clos Léoville Las Cases along the D2 route running along and overlooking the Gironde River. They lie at the northern edge of the appellation just outside the village of Saint-Julien Beyechevelle village as you descend the hill heading north toward the appellation and village of Pauillac. There they meet and are adjacent to the legendary First Growth Chateau Gran Vin Latour estate and Pichon Longueville Comtess de Lalande, and Pichon Baron just across the road, in the Pauillac appellation. The vineyards extend over nearly 135 acres comprised of Bordeaux sanctioned varietals Cabernet Sauvignon (66%), Merlot (24%) and Cabernet Franc (10%) with an an average age of 52 year old vines.

The Clos represents a terroir of very great complexity composed of Quaternary gravel ("graves") over gravelly sand and gravelly clay subsoils. The vineyards run along the Gironde River and the proximity to the river has created the wide diversity of soils, formed over various geological periods.

The temperate waters of the river estuary and the nearby Atlantic Ocean create a moderating special micro-climate that enables very early ripening of the grapes and protects the vineyards from frost. The incomparable terroir gives this great wine its distinctive character and personality.

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This proximity to the river with the combination of geology and climatic effects influences the growth of the vines, coupled with appellation compliance restricted water supply and a very low intake of nutrients that all contribute to bringing out the best in the great Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet Francs. The result is magnificent fruit that consistently achieves the full potential of the site, even in modest or the most challenging vintages.

The legendary estate produces distinctive Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc Bordeaux grape varietals that are predominant in the blend resulting in a complex, polished expressive  characteristics which are unique to the Grand Vin of Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases that has been widely recognized as one of the premier producers of the Medoc for decades. 

Another label from Domaine Leoville St Julien is Clos du Marquis, another perfect expression of the Saint-Julien features based on structure, harmony, distinction, complexity and ageing potential.

Clos du Marquis was created at the beginning of the 20th century when the vineyard was planted,  inspired by the Petit Clos adjacent to the Château de Léoville, residence of the Marquis de Las Cases.

Clos du Marquis is a historic brand by the Domaines Delon, a separate vineyard that is across the road from Leoville Las Cases, whose first vintage was released in 1902. The creation of this brand was to allow a clear identification of two completely distinct terroirs of the two estate vineyards.

We hold many vintages of the Clos du Marquis and in error always thought it was a second label of Las Cases rather than a distinctive label in its own right. Upon our return home, we opened a 1989 vintage of Clos du Marquis in tribute to visit there and it was excellent.  

Clos du Marquis is located on some of the finest vineyards with their distinctive terroirs of the Saint Julien appellation, near the Las Cases property and the nearby surrounding prestigious Classified Growths such as Léoville Poyferré and Léoville Barton, and Pichon Lalande across the appellation boundary in Pauillac.

Recently, several vineyard plots in the Clos Léoville Las Cases were uprooted and replanted, and these are now coming into production. To differentiate the fruit from those plots, and to preserve the quality level of the prestigious Grand Vin, Château Léoville Las Cases created a second wine and label, starting with the the 2007 vintage, Le Petit Lion.

 

We had never seen or experienced Le Petit Lion and found it at the local wine merchant just down the street from the Chateau. We purchased a bottle and enjoyed it during our casual dinner back at our BnB that evening. We'll be on the lookout for it in the America marketplace.

The Petit Lion shares the philosophy of its two elder siblings; it is vinified and aged in order to preserve its fresh, ripe fruit flavour throughout its life. However, it is designed as a second wine, and is therefore made to be more accessible and for earlier drinking, with a significant proportion of Merlot used in the blend. It also available at a more affordable price point.

From the Delon property's website, "all the wine-producing estates of the Delon family, regardless of their varying levels of notoriety, are devoted to the same philosophy:

• Wines that are true representations of their Terroir. Another label from St Julien is Clos du Marquis, another perfect expression of the Saint-Julien features based on structure, harmony, distinction, complexity and ageing potential. In fact, its terroir is surrounded by several Second Classified Growths of the Appellation. 
• Wines that are made to be consumed during meals. They can be shared and enjoyed with family or friends. The wines are produced in such a way that they preserve their fresh ripe fruit fl avours throughout their life. Special attention is paid to the balance of acidity, a key element for ageing and the thirst-quenching role of the wine. The empyreumatic aromas given by maturation in new oak barrels must not dominate the grape aromas, but should blend together to offer a refined nose. 
• They must have good ageing potential and be able to improve with age. Precise ripening level of the grapes, balance in the blend and adapted maturation according to the wine's potential, all contribute in obtaining the oenological features which play a part in the wine's ageing capacity. A wine with ageing potential, if composed harmoniously, will overcome with ease certain inconveniences encountered during transport and conservation, which can lead to premature ageing. 
• A continual and incontestable search for excellence. For each vintage and terroir, the capricious sides of nature need to be understood in order to provide healthy and ripe grapes at harvesting, which are then vinified and blended to make fine or great wines.
  Not only is the soil worked traditionally using the age-old knowledge of the terroir but also our integrated agricultural methods show true respect of the surrounding environment. Carefully selecting grafts from our own best plants, mastering the plants' vigour, limiting the number of treatments and introducing hedgerows to encourage biodiversity are all decisions that contribute to our goal: bringing out the best in each terroir for each vintage offered by Mother Nature.
  
  After strict selection, only the most representative batches of each product are chosen for the final blend. The Delon family and its team ensure that the wines are as consistent as possible, by a first blend before barrelling and by re-blending them after ageing. The Delon family considers that each bottle of each wine produced is an ambassador for all consumers who taste them."

We were hosted in our visit by Florent Gentry, Associate Sales Director for the enterprise. He was very gracious and accommodating taking us through the facilities and then treating us to a special tasting of estate labels.

The operations use the most modern equipment and techniques to ensure the highest standards of quality. The grapes are individually sorted by hand and then by electronic optical sorting machines to ensure only the ideal grapes make it into the batch.

We toured the historic production facility with the large oak blending tanks, then the new modern production halls with laboratory command and control center. Florent talked about the tedious and meticulous blending process and the selection of the final cru. He mentioned that the tanks are filled according to each plot in the vineyards. Samples are taken from each tank in small lots and compared in over 100 separate batches by members of the staff in determining the optimal blend. When narrowed to a dozen selections the owners and winemaker and technical advisors determine the final blend.

 

The chai contains a series of connected buildings with production facility, blending halls with laboratory and command and control center, the barrel storage halls, bottling room, shipping and storage room and the historic vintage library storage area.  

The grand vin is kept in the prime tanks while the second wine is produced in the square tanks in the another production hall. The control center has precise control over each tank during all phases of the process.

The blended wine is transferred via underground pipes into new oak barrels in the adjacent barrel facility where it is aged for two years.

The barrels are racked monthly to remove any sediment and top off the level that is lost to evaporation. The aging barrels are kept in a precise temperature controlled facility.

Las Cases have their own bottling and labeling line that etches each bottle with the timestamped batch and lot number for quality control. As is customary, labels aren't applied until the final stage at the latest opportunity to minimize soiling or damage.

It was a great treat to tour the cellars and see the extensive Las Cases library of vintages dating back in the 20th century including historic legendary top vintages such as 1959, 1961, 1975, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1990 and others.

Many vintage bottles had been re-corked as warranted and were labeled with notations accordingly.

The historic Chateau contains lounges, meeting rooms and a elegant formal tasting room. The Chateau overlooks a formal garden and fountain with views of the Gironde River in the distance.

I inquired about a vintage wine from the library and upon our return to Chicago Florent had already contacted our local merchant, Binny's, the Chicago wine super store, about procuring a case of the 1990 vintage in either standard size bottles or magnums. We found a half case in our cellar and are working with Binny's on potentially splitting a case of the standard bottles or the magnums. Extraordinary service and promotion of a very special brand! We eventually acquired another case of this marquis label from a stellar special birth year vintage. Watch for our tasting posts as we celebrate this prized label from our collection or other encounters.