Château Marquis d'Alesme Becker is a winery

Winery

A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...

 in the Margaux

Margaux

Margaux is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Geography:The village lies in the Haut Médoc wine making region on the left bank of the Garonne estuary, northwest of the city of Bordeaux.-Population:-Wines:...

 appellation

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

 of the Bordeaux wine

Bordeaux wine

A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world...

 region of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen Troisièmes Crus (Third Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855

Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855

The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines which were to be on display for visitors from around the world...

.

The estate produces a second wine

Second wine

Second wine is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from cuvee not selected for use in the Grand vin or first label...

 named Marquise d'Alesme.

History

Established by the Marquis d'Alesme in 1585, the estate was originally planted in 1616. The property was acquired in 1809 by Monsieur Becker, who attached his name to that of the estate, and for a period the wine was called simply "Becker" in Bordeaux.

In the early 20th Century, the property was bought by Comte Jean-Jules Théophile Chaix-d'Est-Ange, who had also inherited neighbouring Château Lascombes

Château Lascombes

Château Lascombes is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen Seconds Crus in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855...

 from his father, who intended to combine the two estates, but died in 1923 before carrying out the plan. The original Marquis d'Alesme château

Château

A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...

 became offices for Lascombes, with the original château of Desmirail

Château Desmirail

Château Desmirail is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen Troisièmes Crus in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. -History:...

 taking its place.

The estate saw a succession of owners, including English firm WH Chaplin & Co and the Zuger family, until it was sold in 2006 to petrochemical industry businessman Hubert Perrodo

Hubert Perrodo

Hubert Perrodo was the creator, leader and owner of the oil group Perenco.He was born in 1944 in Larmor-Baden in Morbihan to a family of fishermen and died on December 29th, 2006, in a climbing accident in Courchevel....

 . Apparently with elaborate plans of combining several of his Margaux estates, no changes took place after Perrodo was killed in a skiing accident in late 2006. The estate is currently run by Nathalie Perrodo.

Production

The vineyard area consists of 16 hectares (39.5 acre) of vines, currently planted with 30% Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

, 45% Merlot

Merlot

Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...

, 15% Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...

 and 10% Petit Verdot

Petit verdot

Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen, it is added in small amounts to add tannin, colour and flavour to the...

, an unusual composition of grape varieties for Margaux or the Médoc

Médoc

The Médoc is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the département of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux. Its name comes from Medullicus, or "country of the Medulli", the local Celtic tribe...

.

Approximately 8000 cases of the Grand vin is produced per year, and 1000 cases of the second wine, Marquise d'Alesme.

External links

• Château Marquis d'Alesme official site