Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse)
Château Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse
Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse split with the rest of the Beausejour estate in the late 19th century. The winery remained somewhat under the radar for most of a century until the 1990 vintage became a cult hit when it scored 100 points with Robert M. Parker Jr and he called it was his “desert island wines”. But the 1990 was largely considered a bit of a one-hit-wonder until the last decade or so.
The small 6.75 ha vineyard is 80% Merlot with Cabernet Franc and a tiny amount of Cabernet Sauvignon. The estate is gradually increasing the percentage of Cabernet Franc. The vineyard is well positioned in a single plot on top of the Saint-Émilion plateau. The average age of the vines is close to 35 years of age, with some vines being much older. The elevations on the hillside terroir range from 45 meters to 70 meters at its peak. The vineyard is managed using sustainable techniques with the goal of naturally low yields.
Fast-forward to the present and 2009 can be seen as the beginning of a new era for this tiny Saint-Émilion property. They issued one successful vintage after another hitting 100 points in 2015 and firmly establishing themselves in the highest echelon of the region. Indeed, in his note on the 2016 Jeb Dunnuck refers to the estate as now being “legendary”.
