A Beautiful Stay: Beau-Séjour Bécot 1970 – 2015
BY NEAL MARTIN |
Since June 1955, Saint-Émilion’s decision to reclassify its châteaux approximately every ten years has been both a blessing and a curse. Unlike the 1855 classification, it accounts for change. But it is not without controversy. Case in point, the 2006 classification prompted legal action that successfully overturned the proposed new ranking. It is impossible to exaggerate the positive effects of official promotion: a validation of time and investment, a mandate to increase prices but above all, the right to stand alongside châteaux that up until that point, occupied a higher station. To put a pecuniary slant on it, promotion instantaneously adds million of euros to a château’s real estate value. On the other hand, not unlike the English football league, relegation can be catastrophic and recovery prolonged over many years, if at all. There is no chance of “bouncing back” next season unless you take legal recourse and even then, your reputation risks being blemished. What happens when demotion is conceded, and what about the human impact? The most high profile case is that of Beau-Séjour Bécot. Although given its consistently high performance in recent vintages, it is almost forgotten about.
I recently spent a crisp sunny morning at the estate in order to undertake a long-discussed vertical of Beau-Séjour Bécot from the first releases by Michel Bécot until the recently bottled 2015. I wanted to discover more about the estate’s terroir, the family and their winemaking ethos with proprietor Juliette Bécot and her husband Julien, and Juliette’s father, Gérard. This is the story of Beau-Séjour Bécot’s genesis and traumatic loss of status from a human perspective. It is a story of how the estate regained classification as a Premier Grand Cru Classé “B” and how a new chapter is opening.
Beau-Séjour Bécot – History
I ask co-proprietor Juliette, granddaughter of its founder, about the origin of the estate because it is a recent arrival compared to its peers. That might be surprising because its roots date back to 1787, the year that Jacques de Carles de Figeac, a military man in the Bourbon army, christened his land “Beau-Séjour”. The name translates as “lovely stay” and you can understand when you take in its panorama from its highest point. The property was first divided in 1869 whereupon the southern half eventually became Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse. In the 18th century Château Beauséjour was rated highly by the Féret guide. In the 1898 edition for example, it is ranked behind only Ausone and Belair, then owned by one Léopold Ducarpe and producing 18-tonneaux per annum. You can also find amongst the 1er Crus a “La Carte” that was owned by Pierre Nouvel, who also owned Château Mazerat over towards Angélus. It would be exactly a century before the present incarnation of Beau-Séjour Bécot came to be.
“Beau-Séjour Bécot was founded by my grandfather Michel Bécot who was born in 1921,” Juliette Bécot tells me. “His job had been in the city of Bordeaux selling parts for cars and scooters. After the Second World War he inherited a small 4.45-hectare vineyard called La Carte. It was too small to support his wife and four children, so he continued his job in Bordeaux. But he had a passion for wine and every weekend he would come to work in the vineyard. In 1969 he borrowed some money so that he could expand the estate and acquired another seven hectares from Château Beau-Séjour [then called Beau-Séjour Dr. Fagouet after its owner Dr. Jean Fagouet] to create an 18.5-hectare vineyard (incidentally, the other three hectares were absorbed into Château Angélus). He was aware there were many crus called “Beau-Séjour” and so he appended the family name to create “Beau-Séjour Bécot”.”
This is Trois Moulins, one of three châteaux within Beau-Séjour Bécot
“In 1978 he bought another estate called “Trois Moulins” and he decided to put the fruit into the Grand Vin of Beau-Séjour Bécot because he was convinced that the terroir was high in quality. Around this time he had a lot of enemies, mainly local winemakers, though he received support from journalists and négoiants who told him that it would improve quality. He was sure that the authorities would agree when they tasted the wine. In fact, in 1985, on the day of the new Saint-Émilion classification, my grandfather had a bottle of Champagne ready to celebrate.”
Before recounting the consequences of his decision to blend Trois Moulins into the Grand Vin, I would draw attention to the 1874 edition of the Féret guide to châteaux. On page 288, just below Clos-Fourtet, one finds Trois-Moulins, then owned by Duplessis-Fourcaud, attesting its high ranking amongst cognoscenti. Féret notes how it occupies one of the highest points of the plateau with a mamelon or a knoll in the middle of the vines where the view stretches to the horizon. The guide continues promulgating the virtues of the wine. Reading this tract of text, I can easily understand exactly why Michel Bécot would see no reason why it should not be part of his Grand Vin, if anything, to improve the wine. Michel had submitted his wine to the appellation syndicate each year and it had been accepted. However the INAO, doubtlessly piqued that Michel had never officially applied to certify the entire vineyard Premier Cru and determined to uphold the stratification of Saint-Émilion, took a punitive stance.
“I remember the following day my father took me to school,” Juliette continues wistfully. “Nobody would look him in the eyes. He bought a newspaper. That is how he found out the news that Beau-Séjour Bécot had been declassified...because of Trois Moulins. My grandfather was devastated and he retired. The property was taken over by my father Gérard and my uncle Dominique and it was a difficult time for them. We did not have much money. My father said that on one occasion his bank asked to come and visit him on the weekend. The bank managers told him that we were in red but that they would write it off, implying that the bank would take a stake in the property. He refused. He told them that if he accepted their offer then his children would never inherit Beau-Séjour Bécot. At this time the journalists supported him, plus the négociants also neighbours such as Pierre Bourotte (owner of Clos du Clocher) and Jean-Marie Chadronnier (former head of négoçiant CVBG). Gérard and Dominique worked hard to make the estate come back. In 1985 they introduced green harvesting and cagettes a year later. In 1988 they introduced sorting tables and a new cellar was constructed in the mid-1990s. We also purchased La Gomerie in 1995, a vineyard that touches part of “Trois Moulins” (La Gomerie was amalgamated into Beau-Séjour Bécot beginning with the 2012 vintage). The investments and improvements paid off, and in September 1996 Beau-Séjour Bécot was reclassified as a Saint-Émilion First Growth. It was a special day. We celebrated with friends, courtiers, people who had supported us such as the de Böuard family at Château Angélus. We went to dinner at Logis de la Cadenne, as it belonged to part of my family, and we had a great dinner that lasted all day. We even had some friends who made t-shirts with “Beau-Séjour Bécot First Growth” printed on it.”
