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Louis Roederer in St Estèphe
In 1992, Champagne Louis Roederer discovered two properties in the heart of the St Estèphe region – Château Picard and Château Beauséjour – both of which received Cru Bourgeois status in 1932. Together, the pair formed an estate of nearly 31 hectares, including 27 hectares of vineyard. It was an estate that had great development potential and this appealed to Roederer. After the purchase of the estates a fresh challenge arose. The most promising slopes covering about 20 hectares were called Haut-Beauséjour and intense work was carried out in these vineyards. Roederer restructured the vineyards by limiting plant density and drawing up a quality charter for Château Haut-Beauséjour covering vine size, debudding, green harvesting, a return to manual harvesting and double grape selection. In 1993 the cellars and cuverie were entirely renovated and the Château was kitted out with top of the range equipment.
Château Haut-Beauséjour is made from a selection of grapes from the finest slopes of St-Estèphe combined with an expertise that brings the balance and distinction of the finest Médoc wines. With its fine tannic structure and rich colour from the Cabernet Sauvignon (40%) it also expresses a roundness and finesse of fruit from the Merlot (52%). Also present in the blend is Petit Verdot (3%) and Malbec (5%) which bring personality and complexity to the best vintages. Haut-Beauséjour drinks well when young but has a capacity for ageing for several years.
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