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THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The first vintage produced in the estate's highly functional new winery, the 2023 Beau-Séjour Bécot has turned out beautifully and looks likely to rival or surpass the brilliant 2022. Unfurling in the glass with notes of raspberries, dark berries and minty cherries mingled with notions of iris, wisteria and lilac, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and velvety, with a suave attack that prefaces a cool, complete core of fruit that's pure, perfumed and mineral, concluding with a long, saline finish. It's a blend of 77% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Franc that was harvested from September 7 to October 4, sub-block by sub-block."
97
DECANTER: "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."
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THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "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 estates new cellars, which allowed for precision wine making, which was needed in this difficult vintage. The aging is different starting with the 2023 as well, now the wine is aged in 55% new, French oak barrels, with 20% of the harvest aging in foudres. The wine blends 77% Merlot, with 22% Cabernet Franc. 14.1%, ABV, 3.5 pH. The harvest took place, September 7 - October 4. Drink from 2029-2060."
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JAMES SUCKLING: "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."
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97+
LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "A blend of 77% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2023 Beau-Sejour Becot has a pH of 3.5. It is ageing in 55% new oak barriques, 20% one-year-old barrels, and 25% in a mix of amphorae and 20 hl oak casks. It has a deep garnet-purple color and comes galloping out of the glass with notes of crushed plums, black raspberries, and Morello cherries, opening out to a delicate undercurrent of garrigue, crushed rocks, violets, cranberry sauce, and pencil shavings. The medium-bodied palate is breathtakingly elegant and racy, with intense red and black berry layers and a fine-grained texture, finishing with energetic mineral sparks."
96
VINUM: "Tiefdunkel und tiefgründig; steinig, rote Frucht, untermalt von kreidiger Mineralik; straffer Gaumen, delikate Frucht, federleicht und doch mit Konzentration, viel Dynamik; frisch, salin und würzig im Abgang auf Sauerkirschen. Ein tänzerischer Beau-Séjour Becot!"
18+
WEINWISSER: "77 % Merlot, 21 % Cabernet Franc, 2 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 14 Vol.-%, pH 3.5, 39 hl/ha. Delikates rot- und blaubeeriges Bouquet, erkalteter Waldfrüchtetee, zarter Iris-Duft, Sandelholz und rote Johannisbeerdrops. Am komplexen Gaumen mit engmaschigem Tanningerüst, geradliniger Rasse und dicht verwobenem Körper, straff und sehr präzise, wie ein Pfeil. Im konzentrierten langanhaltenden Finale ein Korb roter Kirschen, helles Graphit und feinkörnige Adstringenz. Punktet dank dieser genialen Präzision und gehört zu den Besten seiner Klasse."
95
FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Floral, dunkelbeerig, sehr klar. Geschmeidig im Ansatz, aber nicht im Übermaß weich, dann entfaltet sich ein griffiges Tannin in mittelhoher Menge, Saft und Säure geben Eleganz, eine gut ausgeprägte Mineralität gibt Spannung und Energie. Die Stoffigkeit kommt ohne Härte aus, sehr gute Länge, sicheres Reifepotenzial."
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JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2023 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot checks in as 77% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Franc, made all in the new facility and brought up in 54% new French oak, with the rest mostly in oak casks and a kiss in amphora. It has the vintage's bright, almost racy style in its notes of black raspberry, chalky minerality, and tobacco and floral aromatics, and it's medium-bodied on the palate, with juicy acidity, fine yet building tannins, and outstanding length. It's a beautiful, elegant yet structured wine that will age gracefully. Tasted twice with consistent notes."
