Michel Bernard: 'Mass Retail, Never Again!'

Château Beauchêne isn’t just a fairytale castle, the perfect setting for lavish weddings. It’s also a vineyard located in the heart of the Rhône Valley, known for its fruity and delicious wines.

Michel Bernard dropped out of law school and took over Château Beauchêne

Our journey has been a bit unusual: in the early 1970s, I took over the family business following my father’s sudden death. I had to make a choice, so I put my law studies on hold to focus on growing the business. We quickly built up a very large base of regular customers in Paris, and we were running out of wine.

Back then, I was more ambitious than I am today, so I started a wine trading business. I applied my basic knowledge of the law to come up with a structure that allowed us to bring together 40 wineries, which was very innovative at the time. It was the early 1980s, and large retailers were really starting to take an interest in wine, which allowed us to grow very quickly. We became a major wine merchant, but paradoxically, we had lost all our wine shop and restaurant clients. After ten years, I stopped believing in that business, because I no longer believed in mass retail. To survive in mass retail today, you have to aim for mass production and constantly drive down prices… it’s no longer reasonable.

So we returned to wine production, and I purchased the château and the surrounding vineyards in 1988. We made significant investments to improve the quality of our wines, including a modern winery, and put a great deal of effort into the winemaking process for white wines, which we now have fully mastered. However, we will no longer be supplying mass-market retailers.

The fruity wines of Château Beauchêne in Piolenc

The Château Beauchêne vineyard consists of two distinct areas. First, there is the vineyard located directly around the château, which—judging by all the artifacts we uncover while plowing—is likely the site of an ancient Roman settlement. Next to the château is the original estate (about twenty hectares, located between Orange and Châteauneuf-du-Pape), which has belonged to our family since the French Revolution. These two estates are now combined, and the plots are only a few kilometers apart.

We produce red wines in which we emphasize fruitiness. Fruitiness should not be confused with lightness. We destem the entire harvest to allow for longer vinification. Our wines have well-integrated tannins, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t meant to age. This is my style, and the one I try to pass on to my daughter, who will be taking over the business. For our white wines, we stick to the fruit, but these are more gastronomic wines, meant to be enjoyed with a meal. They still have excellent aging potential: try a 15- or 20-year-old white Châteauneuf with a truffle scramble. We make whites that remain relatively full-bodied, so the two pair perfectly.

The Future of Château Beauchêne: More Mourvèdre to Combat Climate Change in the Rhône Valley

For the past 8 years, I have been working to plant grape varieties that are more resistant to potential climate warming. Without being particularly climate-skeptical, we can see that the region is warming, so we are increasing the percentage of Mourvèdre. This grape variety thrives with its head in the sun and its feet in the water, and we are fortunate to have groundwater fed by water from the Alps and the Rhône.

Today, our daughters are taking over the business. Before this, they each had quite different careers. Amandine attended business school. As for Estelle, who will be taking charge of agronomy and oenology, she was a veterinarian. They are now 37 and 38 years old, so for her, this is a true return to the vineyard! I am proud that they can bring their experience to the table and continue the Château’s legacy.

Tasting notes forChâteau Beauchêne’s 2014 Grande Réserve vintage from Gilbert & Gaillard: “A clear garnet color with youthful highlights. Pleasant nose, redcurrant, raspberry jam, a hint of spice. Aromatic attack; one appreciates the naturalness and precision of the fruit, some subtle tannins, a touch of garrigue. It is very pleasant.”