Did "Becker" Disappear? The Official Website and the 1855 List Use Different Château Names

Open the château's current official website and its headings and contact page say "Marquis d’Alesme." Turn to the current list maintained by the Council of the 1855 Classified Growths and the entry is "Château Marquis d’Alesme Becker." The same Margaux Third Growth appears under two names that both look official.

"Becker" is neither a mistake nor another château. It was added from the name of a Dutch merchant who acquired the estate in the early nineteenth century. The shorter name is now prominent, while the longer one remains in the classification and on historical pages of the official site. One form has not wholly replaced the other; the two coexist in different contexts.

The d’Alesme Name Came First

Specialist history dates the estate's origin to 1585 and its first registration as a vineyard cru to 1616. The current official timeline gives the same sequence: François d’Alesme created the estate, after which the vineyard and cru entered the record. The d’Alesme family passed the property through generations in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and its surname became the name of the land.

In the eighteenth century, Pierre-Vincent de Paule d’Alesme continued developing the estate. Because "Marquis d’Alesme" was already the core, the next owner's name was added behind it rather than replacing it. The current shorter brand can therefore be understood less as a new invention than as a return to the older core.

The origin dates nevertheless require care. The text of the official timeline identifies the founder and the first registration, but the individual years appear as image elements rather than searchable text. The dates 1585 and 1616 were therefore also checked against specialist history, while the creation of the estate and the first vineyard record remain separate events.

In 1810, a Merchant's Name Was Added

According to the current official timeline, the Dutch merchant Jean Bekker-Teerlink acquired the estate in 1810. The official account says that he Germanicised the name as "Becker" and attached it to the estate, creating "Marquis d’Alesme-Becker." Some external biographical sources give 1809 for the acquisition; this page follows the château's current timeline and uses 1810.

He died in 1832, and his heirs sold the property to the Sznajderski family in 1853. Bekker-Teerlink himself was therefore not the owner at the time of the 1855 Classification. "Becker" nevertheless remained part of the estate name, and the Council of the 1855 Classified Growths still lists the Third Growth in that form. A spelling added by one owner survived in an institutional name after he had gone.

This distinction matters. It was not "the Becker family" that obtained classification in 1855. An estate bearing the name added by Bekker-Teerlink became a Third Growth under a different owner.

Under the Perrodo Family, the Shorter Name Moves to the Fore

Hubert Perrodo acquired the estate in 2006 and began restructuring its vineyard and facilities. After Hubert died later that year, his daughter Nathalie Perrodo-Samani continued the work. The current official site says that Nathalie appointed Marjolaine Maurice de Coninck as general director of the estates and proceeded with restructuring the vineyard, cellars, and operation. Official technical material from 2018 identifies the Perrodo family and Nathalie as owners and gives the vineyard as fifteen hectares.

The official website, contact page, image library, and technical sheets from this period mainly use "Marquis d’Alesme." Yet the same site's historical timeline and wine pages also retain "Marquis d’Alesme Becker." No primary source establishing the exact year in which the shortened form began has been found, so this page does not claim that "Becker was officially removed" in a particular year.

The second wine is named Marquise d’Alesme, again keeping d’Alesme at the centre. References to the 1855 Classification, however, retain Becker. Rather than treating either form as an error, separating the present brand from the institutional history gives a more accurate account of the estate's four centuries.

Three Facts Worth Knowing

• The current official site mainly uses "Marquis d’Alesme," while the Council of the 1855 Classified Growths uses "Marquis d’Alesme Becker." Both forms remain in use.
• "Becker" comes from Jean Bekker-Teerlink, who acquired the estate in 1810. It is not the name of the owner in 1855, but a name attached by an earlier owner.
• Hubert Perrodo acquired the estate in 2006, and his daughter Nathalie continued the work. Official material identifies Nathalie and the Perrodo family as owners.