Château Beychevelle: Vineyards
As I have indicated in my introduction to this profile, Château Beychevelle sits overlooking the D2 as you drive up from the marshy lowlands north of Cussac-Fort-Médoc. This places the château at the very south-eastern tip of the St Julien appellation, on the edge of the village of Beychevelle itself. Directly south of the château, running west-east towards the Gironde, is the Jalle du Nord, one of the major drainage channels built by the Dutch engineers during the 17th century, while to the east is the palus, alluvial ground good for grazing and not much else, and then the Gironde. To the west, on the opposite side of the road, is Château Branaire-Ducru and on the far side of the vines, Château Saint-Pierre, while to the north lies Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. Of course, all four estates have their origins in the original seigneurie of Beychevelle.
The vineyards of Château Beychevelle sit in several blocks. There are a couple of small parcels on the opposite side of the road, beneath and behind Château Branaire-Ducru, and also snuggled into the corner alongside the expansive vineyard of Château Gruaud-Larose. The larger part of the vineyard, however, has an exemplary position as close to the Gironde as is possible, in two sections either side of the vines of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. One block is on the right hand side of the D2 as you continue into the village of Beychevelle, while the largest block is just north of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou itself.
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