Château Beauséjour J. Duffau-Lagarrosse

The Duffau-Lagarrosse family acquired the estate in 1847. Since the creation of the Saint-Émilion classification in 1955, Beauséjour has belonged to the circle of châteaux ranked Premier Grand Cru Classé; as of November 2024 it was a Premier Grand Cru Classé B, with the next classification expected in 2032. In 2021 the estate's full name was Château Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse, 'héritiers' meaning heirs in French; when it was put up for sale, Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse was one of 30 members of the family board of administration, and the majority of the heirs wanted to sell. SAFER, the French land management agency, approved the sale for €75 million: on April 7, 2021 its council attributed the property to the company Beauséjour Courtin, owned by the Courtin family, on condition of securing the installation of Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse as a young farmer. The new owners took possession on 12 April 2021. Since 2021 the estate has belonged to the Courtin-Clarins family, alongside Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse, who reinvested her proceeds from the sale and became a minority partner. The estate now uses the name Château Beauséjour J. Duffau-Lagarrosse.

• 1847: the estate entered the Duffau-Lagarrosse family.
• 1955: placed among the Premiers Grands Crus Classés at the creation of the Saint-Émilion classification.
• April 2021: SAFER approved the sale, for €75 million, to Beauséjour Courtin, owned by the Courtin family, with Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse installed as a young farmer.
• As of November 2024: Premier Grand Cru Classé B; the next classification is expected in 2032.

As of October 2026, Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse and Prisca Courtin are at the helm of the estate. Joséphine, from Libourne, is the ninth generation of the family; she holds diplomas in oenology and agronomy and a master's degree in international wines and spirits business. From 2012 she worked alongside Philippe Bascaules at Inglenook in Napa, then in Hawke's Bay in New Zealand and in Chihuahua in Mexico alongside Stéphane Derenoncourt; in 2016 she became technical director of Château du Taillan in the Médoc, before moving to Group Bernard Magrez at Château Les Grands Chênes. As of November 2024 she was estate manager and winemaker as well as a minority partner. Prisca Courtin, granddaughter of Jacques Courtin, creator of Clarins cosmetics, spearheads the business diversification of her family's company, the Clarins group; Beauséjour is the Courtin family's first foray into winegrowing. Axel Marchal, a professor in oenology at the Université des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin de Bordeaux, began working with the estate during the 2021 vintage, and Julien Viaud, an oenology consultant, has supported the team since 2021. Astrid Arbo is office manager, and Izilda and Christophe Chanloup, grape growers, have worked under three generations of the Duffau-Lagarrosse family. Before the sale, Joséphine's father Vincent Duffau-Lagarrosse had been one of the co-managers since 2006, Nicolas Thienpont made the wine every year from 2009 to 2020, and the family was advised by consulting oenologists Michel Rolland and Stéphane Derenoncourt.

• At the helm (as of October 2026): Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse, ninth generation, and Prisca Courtin.
• Consulting oenologists: Axel Marchal (from the 2021 vintage) and Julien Viaud (since 2021).
• Before 2021: Nicolas Thienpont made the wine from 2009 to 2020; consultants included Michel Rolland and Stéphane Derenoncourt.

The estate covers a little less than eight hectares, of which just under seven are planted with vines, in a single continuous vineyard on the highest slopes of Saint-Émilion. It is set on both the plateau and the hillside, with a south to south-west exposure, between Château Angélus and Château Bélair-Monange, and at one point in the day the shadow of the Saint-Martin de Mazerat church, built between the end of the 11th century and the start of the 12th, falls over it. The estate's practical information gives a surface area of 6.75 hectares, while its 2022 and 2023 technical sheets give 6.2 hectares in production out of 6.8 hectares in total. The vineyard covers three types of terroir: the fossil-rich limestone plateau at the highest point, where the buildings stand (60%, Astéries limestone); south- and southwest-facing slopes of sand and clay on Fronsadais molasse with limestone presence (30%); and the lower slopes, on soils derived from ancient colluvium (10%). Merlot rules over all other varieties, and Cabernet Franc is increasingly present: half a hectare of Merlot was replanted with Cabernet Franc, the vineyard is planted to 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc from 2023, and as of November 2024 Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse aimed to keep Cabernet Franc below a maximum of 35%. The average age of the vines is 45 years, and planting density ranges from 6,500 vines per hectare to 8,800 vines per hectare for the newer plantings.

• 6.75 hectares (practical information); 6.2 hectares in production of 6.8 hectares in total (2022 and 2023 technical sheets).
• Terroir: 60% limestone plateau (Astéries limestone), 30% slopes on Fronsadais molasse, 10% lower slopes on ancient colluvium.
• Planted to 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc from 2023; average vine age 45 years; 6,500 to 8,800 vines per hectare.

Grapes are harvested by hand in small crates. The 2023 vintage was the last made in the estate's historic winery. In the new winery, construction began in January with the demolition of the old vats and was completed in July, in time for the 2024 harvest; the number of vats rose from nine to 16, comprising 14 cement vats from 30 to 60 hectolitres and two stainless steel vats, so that differences within the parcels can be vinified separately. Small cement vats, adapted to the patchwork of plots, allow vinification by gravity flow with precise temperature control. The wine is then matured in barrels for over a year in monolithic cellars carved into the limestone rock, underground quarries that offer consistent temperatures and optimum humidity. The technical sheets give 16 months of ageing with 65% new oak for 2022, 15 months with 55% new oak for 2023, and 14 to 16 months for 2025. The second wine, Croix de Beauséjour, a Grand Cru Classé, is made exclusively from grapes grown in the estate's vineyard; the 2023 was 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc from plots planted in 1976 and 1981 on the lower slopes.

• Hand harvest in small crates; new winery with 16 vats (14 cement, two stainless steel) from the 2024 harvest.
• Maturation in barrels for over a year in monolithic cellars carved into the limestone rock.
• Second wine: Croix de Beauséjour, Grand Cru Classé, made exclusively from the estate's own grapes.

Speaking to The Drinks Business in November 2024, Mathew O'Connell of Bordeaux Index cited 'the 100-point RP vintages of 1990, 2009 and 2010' as always in demand. The Drinks Business's Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay hailed the 2023 as one of the two greatest wines from Saint-Émilion of that year's en primeur season.

Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse sets out the aim: 'We want to create elegant, subtle wines, that have body but, above all, lots of freshness.' The estate calls its approach to vinification a subtle and gentle one, in which a supple and careful extraction is key to respecting the fruit, and therefore the terroir. Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse names the ethos of Burgundy as the main influence on her as a winemaker.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://beausejour-jdl.com/en/the-estate/, https://beausejour-jdl.com/en/the-vineyard/, https://beausejour-jdl.com/en/the-people/, https://beausejour-jdl.com/en/the-wines/, https://beausejour-jdl.com/en/informations-pratiques/, and the estate's technical sheets (PDF): https://beausejour-jdl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/BeausejourJDL_2021_En1.pdf, https://beausejour-jdl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/BeausejourJDL_2009_Eng.pdf, https://beausejour-jdl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/BeausejourJDL_2010_Eng.pdf, https://beausejour-jdl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/BeausejourJDL_2022_En.pdf, https://beausejour-jdl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/BeausejourJDL_2023_Eng-2.pdf, https://beausejour-jdl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/BeausejourJDL_2025_Eng-1.pdf, https://beausejour-jdl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/CroixdeBeausejour_2023_En.pdf. Secondary sources: Decanter (Jane Anson, published 3 June 2021), Wine Spectator (Suzanne Mustacich, 8 April 2021) and The Drinks Business (Arabella Mileham, 27 November 2024). Last verified 2026-10-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.