“Strike the Sails” — The Niece of the Château’s Builder Who Married a Legendary Duke

The name Beychevelle carries a ring that makes one want to trace its origin first. In Gascon, it means “strike the sails.” The story goes that ships passing along the river were required to lower their sails as a mark of respect before a certain nobleman — and it is said the name derives from that legend.

But treating this legend as an isolated anecdote obscures something important. The niece of the bishop who built the château in 1565 was, in fact, the very woman who later married the duke at the center of the “strike the sails” story. The château’s founding family and the protagonist of the maritime legend are connected by a single thread: marriage. At this château, legend and historical fact were continuous from the very beginning.

The Château the Bishop Built, and the Legend the Niece Bound Together

In 1565, the bishop François de Foix-Candale built a château on this site. The official website follows this fact immediately by noting that his niece later became the wife of the first Duke of Épernon, thereby “laying the foundation of the legend.” That duke was Jean-Louis de Nogaret de La Valette.

In 1587, it is said that ships passing before this duke were required to lower their sails as a sign of loyalty. In Gascon, “Bécha Véla” — strike the sails. This is said to be the origin of the château’s name. No contemporary source confirming the ship anecdote itself has yet been found, but the fact that the founder’s bloodline was joined by marriage to the protagonist of the legend remains unchanged. The protagonist of the legend said to give the château its name, and the founder’s family, were bound together by this marriage.

Renewal After a Harsh Winter, and a Port for the Wine Trade

In 1709, Jean-Baptiste Dabadie inherited the estate and replanted the vineyard. This period would later be spoken of as a year of “renewal.” In 1717, Étienne-François de Brassier built a private port to expand the wine trade. One master remade the vineyard; another built the port through which the wine was shipped out by boat. Together, these two proprietors grew the château from “land” into a “business.”

In 1787, the Baroness de Brassier preserved the integrity of the estate throughout the turmoil of the French Revolution. In 1825, Pierre-François Guestier acquired the château and reorganized the vineyard. Thirty years later, at the 1855 Paris Exposition, Beychevelle was classified as a Fourth Growth. In 1875, Armand Heine and his wife Marie-Amélie Cohen added the north wing to the château, and in 1890, Marie-Louise Heine and Charles Achille-Fould succeeded them.

A Wine That Carries the Admiral’s Name, and a Neighbor in Saint-Julien

In 1974, under the leadership of Aymar Achille-Fould, the second wine was created. Its name, “Amiral de Beychevelle,” translates literally as “the Beychevelle Admiral.” The story that began with the 1587 maritime legend of “strike the sails” left its trace on a wine label nearly four hundred years later. In 1990, the “Fondation Beychevelle,” dedicated to contemporary art, was also established.

In 1989, Suntory joined this château. But this was not Suntory’s first move into Bordeaux. Six years earlier, in 1983, Suntory had acquired management control of the neighboring classified Saint-Julien château, Lagrange, becoming the first non-Western company to take part in managing a grand cru château. Beychevelle was, in that sense, a second château — an extension of the experience Suntory had built up in Saint-Julien. In 2011, the Castel Group also joined, establishing the current structure. In 2014, the château obtained ISO 14001 certification for environmentally responsible farming, and in 2016, a new cellar designed by architect Arnaud Boulain was completed. The vineyard covers 90 hectares, producing 240,000 to 260,000 bottles a year. The blend is 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot, aged for 18 months before it is shipped.

Three Facts Worth Knowing

• The protagonist of the legend said to give the château its name, and the founder’s family, were bound by marriage. The niece of the bishop who built the château in 1565 later married the first Duke of Épernon, the protagonist of the “strike the sails” legend. Legend and historical fact are connected, from the very start, by a single family line.
• The name of the second wine preserves the memory of the maritime legend. “Amiral de Beychevelle,” created in 1974, translates literally as “the Beychevelle Admiral” — a name that evokes the story of “strike the sails.”
• For Suntory, this was its second château in Saint-Julien. Six years before joining Beychevelle in 1989, Suntory acquired management control of the neighboring Château Lagrange in 1983.