Under Henri III, Beychevelle was the fief
of the Dukes of Epernon, particularly the first of them:
Jean-Louis Nogaret de la Valette. This Admiral and Governor
of Guyenne was all-powerful; according to legend, the boats that passed before his Château had to lower their sails
as a sign of allegiance.

Hence the name "Baisse-Voile" (lowering of sails),
which was to become Beychevelle, and the emblem
of the Château, the ship with a prow in the shape
of a griffin guarding Dionysus' cellar.