Clos Beauregard: Vineyards
As is perhaps already clear from my introduction, Clos Beauregard is situated in the southern part of the Pomerol appellation, quite close to Libourne. To the west is the aforementioned Château Taillefer, today under the direction of mother-and-daughter team Catherine (Bernard Moueix’s widow) and Claire Moueix. The Taillefer vineyards come right up to those of Clos Beauregard. Also to the west, north of Château Taillefer, are Château Ferrand and Château Plince. To the north of the estate are the vineyards of Château Beauregard and Clos du Clocher, while such is the proximity of the appellation boundary that to the east, directly adjacent to the Clos Beauregard vines, is Château La Tour Figeac, and beyond that the vineyards of Château Figeac and Château Cheval Blanc, all in St Emilion of course.
Having kicked around in the vineyard it is obvious that the soils here are very sandy (as illustrated above), superficially at least, but at a deeper level there is clay and the crasse de fer that typifies the vineyards of Pomerol. This is, as Bernard Ginestet wrote in Pomerol (Jacques Legrand SA, 1984), exactly what is also to be found in the vineyards of Château Taillefer, so this is perhaps not surprising. The vines cover 6.5 hectares all told, and they sit in a single block stretching up to the north. The varieties planted are 95% Merlot with just 5% Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Some of the vines are currently between 40 and 60 years old, while a section is 20-25 years old, while some recently planted vineyards (pictured) are very young; overall, the average age of the vineyard is probably about 40 years. This seems likely to decline a little in future years as sections of the vineyard are uprooted and replanted under the direction of Grands Chai de France, but with only a small section due for replanting every few years it should not change dramatically.
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