Chateau Belair-Monange 2019

This captures the richness of the vintage wonderfully, with long, caressing waves of cassis, plum reduction and boysenberry compote flavors gliding through. Laced with subtle red tea, floral and mineral hints through the lengthy finish, this is really well done and augmented by a level of purity most don't have in this vintage. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2040. 3,200 cases made, 550 cases imported.

96–98. Barrel Sample. Perfectly situated on the Saint-Émilion slope, this estate's wine is performing with great panache. This vintage shows richness while also having plenty of freshness and structured tannins. It has immense potential for aging.

A textbook example of wine that combines the saline freshness of the limestone plateau with the dark fruit depth of clay over limestone slopes, this 2019 exhibits an extra dimension of richness with bright plum, juicy blackberry and violet aromas introducing a gorgeously textured palate where the 15% alcohol is balanced by a sensation of high acidity. Do properly aerate this young wine, because it truly came together on the next day, when the tannins felt smoother.

Wonderful aromas of fresh flowers, blackberries and cherries. Licorice and lilacs, too. Full-bodied, yet so tight and refined, translucent and weightless. Incredible purity and excellence. This is the heart and soul of the property in a glass. Really pinpointed at the end. Enchanting and thought-provoking. Needs time to open and soften. Try after 2028.

The 2019 Bélair-Monange opens with an attractive burst of fruit. Some of that initial intensity tapers off rather quickly, leaving the 2019 feeling a bit one-dimensional. This showed much better from barrel. The jury is still out for me on Bélair-Monange. I don't see the same quality as is found in neighboring estates nor in the other top properties in the Moueix family's stable of châteaux. I admit I expected a bit more here.

Showing off its spring flowers, wet earth, spice-box and red with black fruits easily, the wine hits all the right marks. Vibrant, elegant, rich, and silky, the finish continues down the same path with its sublime display of crushed rocks, spice, black and red pit fruits and sensuous, velvet drenched textures. The salty endnote caps everything of nicely as the fruits glide across your palate. Drink from 2031-2055.

Dark ruby, violet tints, delicate bright rim. Ripe cherries, fine dark berry confit is underlaid with delicate nougat and noble wood, fine bouquet. Complex, elegant, pleasant sweet extract, silky tannins, fine acid structure, balanced, as if from one cast, already well developed, promising potential, a delicate, already in youth, immensely seductive wine. Almost perfect.

Dense dark garnet with a ruby rim. Pure and intense aromas - chalky with some truffle, wild berries, sweet plum and a gentle oak derives spiciness with mild toast and butterscotch. The palate is concentrated and powerful, yet finely rounded with plenty of powdery tannins, intense red fruit flavours with fine tobacco and mild spice, great sense of freshness, with a very long, pure and intense finish.

The flagship 2019 Château Belair-Monange checks in as 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc from 25-year-old vines and raised in 50% new French oak. It's a magical wine in the vintage and offers more depth and richness than just about every other Saint-Emilion out there, all while holding onto a gorgeous sense of finesse and elegance, which would almost have me guessing Pomerol in a blind tasting. Deep red and black fruits, truffly earth, tobacco, and spring flower notes all emerge on the nose, and this puppy is full-bodied, has a layered, seamless mouthfeel, gorgeous tannins, and one heck of a great finish. It's stunning, and while it offers incredible pleasure today given its purity and flawless balance, it deserves 7-8 years of bottle age and will evolve for 30 years or more.

Purple with ruby-red highlights and a violet rim. A wonderfully delicate bouquet with an intoxicating violet note, blueberries, red-berry compote and a hint of violet. Very feminine, almost Burgundian, especially when tasted after the more powerful Pomerol heavyweights. On the palate, a silky texture, an ultra-fine cloak of tannins, beautifully intricate with great elegance and finesse. It virtually dances weightlessly like a ballerina. Coming right after the Moueix Pomerol trio, it is a fabulous finesse-driven wine, a refined lady in a Dior dress. Christian Moueix always saves this wine for last at the Primeur tastings; this year, however, it’s clear that technically it would be better placed before the three Pomerol heavyweights, but neither we nor the wine mind. Chapeau, Edouard Moueix!

A powerful, dense, velvety, fruity bouquet with raspberry jelly, strawberries, blueberries, white pralines, currants, and gingerbread. A tightly knit, elegant, fresh palate with intense, finely defined fruit, plenty of fine tannin, a silky, subtly muscular structure, a complex, sweet-leaning aromatic profile, and a very long, fine, fresh finish with many lingering echoes. 19/20 2026 - 2050

Such a lesson in limestone terroir with its precision, knife-spliced and restrained violet flowers, raspberry and redcurrant fruits. You need to chisel through the austerity to get to the creamy, fleshy side of these fruits but it is very definitely there. So good, enjoy, take your time, give 6 to 8 years to fully let that creamy raspberry puree and deeper black cherry side come out to join saffron, sage and slate minerality. Love it. Harvest September 19 to October 3. 50% new oak.

The 2019 Belair-Monange is made from 96% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a lot of coaxing to unleash aromas of baked black plums, blackberry compote, and dark chocolate, leading to suggestions of lavender, crushed rocks, and black truffles. The full-bodied palate is full-on hedonic, delivering a refreshing backbone and grainy tannins, finishing long and earthy.

This Saint-Emilion long-distance runner unleashes juicy energy right from the attack. The limestone texture provides just the right length, and the wine finishes on a noble, deep tannin, all in freshness. A wine still in the making, yet already in great shape.

The sleek, racy silhouette of the 2019 defines the style of Merlot on limestone: textured, finely powdery, precise, and bursting with energy over a saline core. The harmony between the warm vintage and the heft of the limestone, along with the remarkable clays of the hillside, shapes a truly vinous personality. Yet the wine’s fleshy contours never lose their metronomic precision. Above all, we appreciate how the tannins tighten on the finish, suggesting flawless ageing potential for this vintage.

A truly elegant nose, like a jewel-adorned queen striding majestically down a long corridor lined with flowers. A saline, flavoursome, mineral, dazzling wine, with striking clarity and surprising freshness. Elegance personified.

Bélair-Monange immediately stands out for its freshness and complexity, drawn from its remarkable terroirs. So much finesse, detail and precision. On the palate, the wine builds in intensity, first with delicacy, then with conviction. It combines power and roundness, supported unwaveringly by its tannins. The acidic structure reveals itself later on: sharp, incisive, it completes the tannic drive with great energy. A Bélair-Monange that confirms its outstanding En Primeur showing and clearly ranks among the elite of Saint-Emilion.

The nose is elegant and intense, offering a lovely fine-grained texture, an airy touch, great precision and a real sense of detail. It reveals notes of vibrant boysenberry, small black berries and, more lightly, strawberry, combined with subtle hints of blueberry, small blue fruits and lily, along with delicate touches of grey pepper, camphor and very discreet nuances of nutmeg/sweet spices. The palate is elegant, fleshy and delicate, with lovely finesse, a good sense of proportion, tension, and a fine, silky richness, as well as precision, delicacy, a subtle airy character and nuance. On the palate, the wine expresses notes of juicy, fleshy blackcurrant, raspberry and, more lightly, small black fruits, alongside touches of bright small blue fruits, blueberry and violet, as well as delicate hints of toasted almond, caramelisation, chocolate, Bourbon vanilla and violet. The tannins are elegant, refined and enveloping. A very discreet chewiness on the finish. A long, appetising and savoury finish.

Dark, intense, purplish color. Very aromatic nose with subtle fruit, both fresh and ripe. A little discreet on the attack, though caressing, the wine develops a fruity character through the mid-palate, with a melting, full-bodied texture. It moves forward with savory appeal, yet remains a touch restrained in its expression, as it has been in the past. Good, sappy length with fine-grained tannins. Final blend: 96% merlot, 4% cabernet franc.