Château Beau-Séjour Bécot

The history of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot

Château Beau-Séjour Bécot is located in the commune of Saint-Emilion.

The history of this castle goes back to the Gallo-Roman era when Château Beau-Séjour Bécot was already devoted to vineyards. At that time, in the Middle Ages, it was the monks of the Saint-Martin church who produced wine. During the Middle Ages, the area around the church of Saint Martin de Mazerat was dedicated to the polyculture of the vine. For the cultivation of the vine, the vats, the cellars and the wineries were owned by the Cordeliers.

During the 17th century, the monks left the control of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot to the de Gères family. In 1787, Jeanne de Gères married a certain François de Carle de Figeac. The properties of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot are the dowry. Thus, François de Carle de Figeac will own the estate. He was then succeeded by Jacques Comte de Carles, also owner of Château Figeac. Upon his death, his cousin André de Carle-Trajet inherited the estate. He had the château built and decided to increase the yields of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot. The Château Beau-Séjour Bécot preserves the remains of a Gallo-Roman vineyard. Treasure that shows the vocation of the site.

We owe the name of the castle to Jacques de Carles, a general, who decided in 1787 to name the castle Beau-Séjour Bécot in memory of the pleasure he had to live there.

It was only in 1969 that the estate was bought by Michel Bécot. He was the son of winemakers, already established in Saint-Emilion since the 18th century. Until 1985, the château was run by Michel Bécot, then he decided to retire. When Château Beau-Séjour Bécot was purchased, 3 hectares of the estate were transferred to Château Angelus. Michel Bécot invests a lot in this castle, in 1971, all the cellars are renovated with an installation of tanks and stainless steel. In 1996, the château was reinstated as a Grand Cru Classé B after having lost it a few years earlier in 1986.

Today, the two sons of Michel Bécot are at the helm of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot. One, Dominique, is in charge of the management of the vineyards and their maintenance as well as the exterior. And the other, Gérard, takes care of the work in the cellar. In 2001, Gérard’s daughter, Juliette Bécot, decided to venture out with them and offered her help. Her mission is to take care of the marketing of the wines of the domain. Juliette Bécot also manages the Joanin-Bécot estate in Castillon-Côtes de Bordeaux. In 2014, the time has come for Gérard Bécot to leave his place to Julien Barthe. He will be appointed general manager of the vineyards of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot. Finally, after many years of work in this chateau, in 2018, Juliette Bécot takes over the management of the estate.

Château Beau-Séjour Bécot produces its first wine but also a second wine called “Tournelle de Beau-Séjour Bécot” and also with the Gomerie parcel, the wine named Gomerie and a second wine named Mademoiselle La Gomerie.

The vineyard of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot

Château Beau-Séjour Bécot benefits from an exceptional terroir and has a surface area of 18.5 hectares on which 16.5 hectares of vines extend. The climate of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot is oceanic. The domain exploits a reasoned culture. The château practices manual harvesting in two passages. The grapes are then sorted on three successive sorting tables. The grapes are selected by parcel and once picked, they are run off by gravity to preserve the grapes as much as possible. On the vinification side, the wine is vinified in thermo-regulated stainless steel vats according to the parcel selections. There are 30 days of vatting for the wine of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot. Finally, the malolactic fermentation in new barrels.

The wine is stored in new 600L barrels, 80% of the wine is stored in new barrels only the vintage. The aging of the wine varies from 16 to 18 months. The average age of the vines is about 40 years. The planting density is 6,200 plants per hectare.

On the wine estate of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot the soil is clay-limestone on a limestone base. But there is also a part of the vineyard that lies on a soil of sand and iron dross. The Gomerie parcel, which has sand and iron dross soil, is vinified separately from Beau-Séjour Bécot.

Matching and structure of the wines of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot

The grape variety of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot is composed of 70% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot is an exceptional wine with a very beautiful elegance and a great aromatic palette. We find the taste of a bright fruit. The color is medium to deep purple garnet. On the nose, you will find intense aromas of black fruits. In the mouth, a very nice density with a fruit that emerges from the terroir. A very nice work done on the fineness of the tannins.

As a vintage to remember for this château: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2010, 2009, 1998, 1990, 1981 and 1979.

To accompany a bottle of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot wine, we recommend various cold cuts as starters. For the main course you can prepare a white or red meat or a game. You can accompany your meats with pan-fried ceps. For dessert, soft cheese or chocolate fudge. Are you interested in Saint-Emilion wines? See also our wines for the following domains:

• Wine Château Clos Fourtet
• Wine Château Pavie
• Wine Château La Gaffelière
• Wine Château Figeac