Chateau Haut Beausejour St. Estephe, Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Haut Beausejour St. Estephe with wine tasting notes, wine with food pairing tips. Learn the best vintages, a history of the property, information on vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other Bordeaux wine producers: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Haut Beausejour Overview and History

Chateau Haut Beausejour, located not far from Chateau Phelan Segur in Saint Estephe, was purchased by Jean Claude Rouzaud, the owner of the famed Roederer Champagne house. The Rouzaud family have extensive interests in Bordeaux as they also own Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande in Pauillac as well as 2 other estates in the Saint Estephe appellation, Chateau Bernadotte and Chateau de Pez.

While the majority of Bordeaux chateaux have long histories in the Medoc, that is not the case with Chateau Haut Beausejour. In fact, Chateau Haut Beausejour was created after the vineyards were obtained by the Rouzaud family in 1992 when they purchased two St. Estephe properties from the Brossard family, Chateau Picard and Chateau Beausejour.

The new owners created one large estate from both chateaux, thus, Chateau Haut Beausejour was born. A few years later, Chateau Haut Beausejour sold 17 hectares of what they considered to be their less desirable vineyard land to the negociant Mahler Besse. The property is one of the few estates without a chateau. Instead, here you find simple buildings used as a cellar.

Following the purchase and creation of the Left Bank estate, Chateau Haut Beausejour enjoyed significant improvements from its new owners in the vineyards and wine-making facilities. In an effort to produce the best wine possible, they declassified their entire first vintage, the 1992, due to a lack of quality in the grapes.

They use the same technical wine-making team and philosophy as their sister property in St. Estephe, Chateau de Pez. Some of the changes include manual sorting, green harvesting and most importantly, increasing the percentage of Merlot as well as the amount of new oak Haut Beausejour is aged in.

All of this has clearly boosted the quality of Haut Beausejour. All these improvements are easily seen when tasting the wines from vintages 2009 forward at Haut Beausejour.

Chateau Haut Beausejour Vineyard, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 10 hectare vineyard of Chateau Haut Beausejour is planted to 56% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. Previously, the vineyard was more than 20 hectares in size, but parcels have been sold off. Also, you found up to 5% Malbec in the plantings, but those vines have since been removed. The terroir is gravel and clay with some limestone in the soil. They have old vines, some of which are close to 60 years of age.

The wine of Chateau Haut Beausejour is vinified in traditional, large, oak vats. Malolactic fermentation takes place in tank. The wine is aged in about 35% new, French oak barrels for about 12 months before bottling. On average, close to 5,000 cases of Chateau Haut Beausejour are produced every year.

The Best Vintages of Chateau Haut-Beausejour are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2010, 2009, 2005 and 2003.

When to Drink Chateau Haut Beausejour, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Haut Beausejour can be enjoyed early. However, the wine is often better with at least a few years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage. Chateau Haut Beausejour is usually best enjoyed in the first 10-15 years of life.

Young vintages can be decanted for 1-2 hours. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Serving Chateau Haut Beausejour with Wine and Food Pairings

Chateau Haut Beausejour is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.

Chateau Haut Beausejour is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Haut Beausejour is also good with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, pasta, and a wide variety of hard and soft cheeses.