Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot 2023

Inky dark and profound; stony, red fruit, underpinned by chalky minerality; taut palate, delicate fruit, featherlight yet concentrated, lots of drive; fresh, saline and spicy finish on sour cherries. A dancing Beau-Séjour Becot!

A brilliant wine from this estate in 2023. Gorgeous bright purple rim. Fresh blueberries and black cherries on the nose with crayon, pencil lead, tapenade, olive and liquorice. Tangy and so alive on the palate, crystalline and pure, really clean and clear. The limestone comes through strongly in the wet-stone aspects, a metallic coating of the mouth. This has a touch of tension, with mouthwatering acidity, as well as some subtle fleshiness that really expands towards the finish, where the wine settles and grows. A lovely, very singular style. Great juiciness, almost salty strawberry juice with cranberry and raspberry that really lingers. This will grow into a beauty. Tannins are flawless, there’s density but no heaviness. One of the best! The second year with a significant share of massal-selection Cabernet Franc in the blend. 39 hl/ha yield. 3.5 pH, 68 IPT.

The intensity, length, and purity are impossible to ignore this year. The wine offers strong floral characteristics coupled with sweet, ripe red cherries, licorice, black raspberries, and a hint of cocoa. The wine is silky, elegant, long, and refined. The fruit is incredibly soft, sweet, and pure. The key point in the vintage was their water-retentive limestone terroir that nourished the vines during the dry part of the growing season. 2023 is the first vintage produced in the estate’s new cellars, which allowed for precision winemaking, needed in this difficult vintage. Aging also changes starting with 2023: the wine is now aged in 55% new French oak barrels, with 20% of the harvest aging in foudres. The blend is 77% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc. 14.1% ABV, 3.5 pH. The harvest took place September 7–October 4. Drink from 2029–2060. 96–98 pts.

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, delicate edge brightening. Floral, dark berries, very clear. Supple at the start, but not excessively soft, then a grippy tannin unfolds in medium-high quantity, juice and acidity give elegance, a well-defined minerality gives tension and energy. The texture is without harshness, very good length, secure and certain ageing potential.

Ruby red, glass-staining, peony and violet flowers on the nose, plush velvety tannins cushioning plump damson and pomegranate fruit through to a juicy salinity on the finish. Estate identity in full effect here, shot through with the sheer pleasure of limestone. Harvest from September 7 to 28 for the Merlot, with Cabernet Franc through to October 4. Yield of 39 hl/ha. 55% new oak for ageing. First year in the new cellar, Jean de Cournuaud technical director.