2023 Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France (750ml)

WINEMAKER NOTES:

Blend: 77% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc

TASTING NOTES:

The 2023 Beau-Séjour Bécot has turned out beautifully in bottle, revealing a perfumed, fresh and finely detailed bouquet of rose petals, dark cherries, wisteria, lilac and dark berries. Medium- to full-bodied, it is layered and seamless, suave in texture, built around a pure, vibrant core of fruit framed by powdery, velvety tannins and concluding with a chalky, ethereal finish. The estate’s long-standing commitment to precision—most notably its block-by-block harvesting and increasingly precise viticulture—now places Beau-Séjour Bécot among the most compelling addresses on the Right Bank.

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 98 pts. 

The 2023 Beau-Séjour Bécot is fabulous. Rich, opulent and explosive to the core, the 2023 offers up a heady mélange of dark red/purplish fruit, spice, lavender, rose petal, blood orange and bright saline notes. As always, Cabernet Franc plays an important role in shaping the aromatic and flavor profile. The 2023 is an absolute stunner. It’s the first vintage made in the new cellar. That's of course not enough of a track record to make any definitive assessments, but in the 2023, I see a wine with more aromatic presence, greater precision and more refined tannins than any recent vintage I can recall. In a word: magnificent. Tasted two times.–Antonio Galloni

- Vinous, 98 pts. 

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 part of massale selection Cabernet Franc in the blend. 39hl/ha yield. 3.5pH, 68 IPT.

- Decanter, 97 pts. 

Floral notes on the nose. Tangy and sharp, lively and bright straight away, sweet and sour, so energetic and lively with a mineral grip from the fine, firm, grippy tannins. Lovely precision and almost delicate presentation of fruit. You really feel the mineral, salty, tangy aspect of the fruit, nothing feels overworked, all in balance, really quite thrilling and electric. Great purity and focus. Scintillating yet still with a lovely volume and roundness accented by tobacco, clove, liquorice and cinnamon touches. Really well worked and fresh - this feels very modern with such control to the fruit, tannins, acidity giving overall depth and complexity. Elegant but confident, taking the best density from clay density and freshness from limestone. A very singular charm with this wine. 3.55pH. 10% press wine.

- Decanter, 96 pts. 

A wine with very bright and al-dente fruit. Aromas and flavors of redcurrants and minerals with lavender and chalk. Medium to full body and a solid core of tannins integrated with the dark fruit. Toned-muscle quality to the tannins. Fresh and vibrant at the end. Pure fruit. Energy. 77% merlot and 23% cabernet franc.

- James Suckling, 97 pts. 

Based on 77% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Franc and aged 14 months in 55% new French oak with the balance in one-year-old barrels, foudres, and amphoras, the 2023 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot is a beautiful 2023 that's incredibly classic as well as very much in the style of the vintage. Pure black raspberries, spring flowers, graphite, and crushed stone all emerge from the bouquet, and it's concentrated and medium-bodied on the palate, with a pure, juicy, seamless mouthfeel, nicely integrated acidity, and fine tannins. It's all about elegance and finesse. I suspect it's going to gain some weight with 4-5 years of bottle age and will keep for 30 years. It reminds me of an improved 2001.

- Jeb Dunnuck, 95 pts.