Château Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse Beauséjour Duffau Lagarrosse

The 2010 vintage is a more structured, masculine, and steely version of the utterly compelling 2009. It tastes like black raspberry confiture with subtle notes of graphite and crushed chalk, along with enormous floral notes. The wine displays a slightly smoky character but has a voluptuous attack, mid-palate, and finish. It is full-bodied and massively endowed, with every component perfectly etched in this extraordinary wine, which should be drinkable after 7-8 years of bottle age and can last for half a century or more. This is brilliant stuff. Composed of 73% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon from yields of 21 hectoliters per hectare, the alcohol is the highest ever registered at Beausejour-Duffau, coming in at 15%. Remarkably, the pH is modest and the acids are relatively elevated, giving the wine an astonishing freshness and precision that is hard to believe in view of its power, density, and length. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2055.

Anyone who has read this publication or visited St.-Emilion knows that this is a magical terroir capable of great things. It was only fully exploited in the past during the 1990 vintage, but has reached more consistently great heights over the last three or four years. Kudos to the duo of Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt for what they have achieved over the last few years at Beausejour-Duffau.