We know that the Protestant Beaucastel family were living in Courthezon by the middle of the sixteenth century. In 1549 "Noble Pierre de Beaucastel" bought "a barn with its plot of land extending to 52 saumées at Coudoulet". Later, the manor house that we know today was built here and you can still see the arms of the Beaucastel family sculpted in stone in one of walls of the drawingroom. The Beaucastels were among the more notable families of this little town and in 1687 Pierre de Beaucastel, in recognition of his conversion to Catholicism after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, was appointed "Capitaine de la ville de Courthezon" by Louis XIV. Two centuries later at the time of the phylloxera, the owner of Beaucastel was Elie Dussaud, companion of Ferdinand de Lesseps who constructed the Suez Canal. At that time the vineyard went out of production and it was not until 1909, when Pierre Tramier bought the property, that planting began again. Beaucastel then passed to his son-in-law Pierre Perrin, a scientist who made great progress with the vineyard. His efforts were built on by Jacques Perrin, who lived until 1978. Today the torch is carried by the sons of Jacques.“We try to place the vine in its universe, that is to say relate it to the earth, the animal life and the stars, by which it is influenced.” If a wild strawberry has more flavor than one grown in a hothouse, it is that the former, even if smaller and less attractive to the eye, has grown naturally. It represents natural perfection in fragrance and taste whereas the latter, grown by man, has these characteristics diminished in favour of visual appeal in the fruit. For grapes, the same argument applies. To make a wine of character, grapes must have distinctive flavor. All that we do or do not do in the vineyard is motivated by this consideration. This method of culture is clearly not consistent with producing high yields, but we have the satisfaction of harvesting healthy, balanced grapes, intrinsically capable of producing a wine of great quality. Chateau de Beaucastel / France
