Chateau Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse - Chateau Beausejour Duffau Lagarosse 2021

JAMES SUCKLING: "A complete wine for the vintage, with blackberry, stone, black-licorice and light walnut character. Medium-to full-bodied and linear, with very fine tannins running the length of the wine."

WEINWISSER: "73% Merlot and 27% Cabernet Franc. Delikates Bouquet, reife Waldhimbeere, frischer Schattenmorellensaft und verführerischer Iris-Duft, dahinter rote Johannisbeerdrops und helles Graphit. Am subtilen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, beeindruckender Souplesse, perfekt balancierter Rasse und Astralkörper. Im katapultartigen Finale rotbeerige Konturen, alles in grandioser Balance, pure Frucht trifft auf tiefer Terroirwürze. Fast auf dem gleichen Niveau wie letztes Jahr – Bravo Joséphine!"

DECANTER: "An exceptional wine from this estate in 2021. So aromatic and beguiling on the nose - pure, lifted, completely captivating in the intensity of fruit and the liveliness of aroma with tiny touches of milk chocolate and perfumed blackcurrants. Supple, agile and sappy on the palate, but also so delicate and elegant in terms of the overall profile. Tannins are fine and gentle, persistent but with the limestone terroir coming through in the mineral, saline, graphite elements which linger at the end. There is definite concentration, you feel they got the maturity of the fruit and didn't push extraction. It's not super opulent, but expands on the palate and changes after a few minutes in the glass and as it warms, gaining in aromatic complexity. Really very juicy and pristine with cherry, strawberry and blackcurrant fruit as well as liquorice and dark chocolate. Excellent quality with freshness and appeal, balanced and harmonious with the slight lift and peak of clove, vanilla, cedar bramble suggesting a bigger frame that will age well. A success and extremely likeable. 58% new oak. First full vintage for Josephine Duffau-Lagarrosse since she took the helm of her family estate."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2021 Beauséjour (Duffau Lagarrosse) shows considerable promise. Bursting with aromas of inky berry fruit and plums mingled with notions of violets, rose petals and burning embers, the wine is medium to full-bodied, layered and sensual, with a rich core of fruit, lively acids and beautifully refined tannins, concluding with a long, mineral finish. The first vintage made by Joséphine Duffau Lagarrosse since she took back control of the family estate, the 2021 is a blend of 73% Merlot and 27% Cabernet Franc—the highest percentage of Cabernet since the early 2000s (when some Cabernet Sauvignon was included in the blend too)."

VINUM: "Viel versprechende, besonders blumige Aromatik; erstaunlich voller Ansatz, entwickelt Dichte, Tiefe und besondere Mineralität, das alles sorgt für fruchtige Länge; toller, so stilvoller wie eigenständiger Wein, der lange reifen kann."

JEB DUNNUCK: "A blend of 73% Merlot and 27% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) is slightly shifted toward Cabernet Franc, and you have to go back quite some time to find a blend with this much Cabernet. It saw a softer maceration than usual and is aging in 56% new French oak. Gorgeous cassis, graphite, chalky minerality, and a Pomerol-like damp earth note all emerge from this wine, and it's medium to full-bodied, has a rounded, supple texture, ripe, present tannins, and a gorgeous finish. It's an undeniable success in the vintage and will drink well right out of the gate yet also evolve for 20 years if well stored. This estate is now managed by Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse, who took over the reins of this brilliant estate from Nicholas Thienpont starting in 2020. Located between Canon and Beauséjour Bécot, the soils here are more on the south-facing slopes and include slightly more clay, so the wines always have slightly more density and power compared to its neighbors."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Right off the bat you notice all the crushed rocks and stones from the deep limestone terroir before moving on to the oyster shell, espresso, blackberries, black cherries and plums. There is an intense mineral essence that comes through on the palate accentuating the red fruits in the mid-palate. There is tension, with supple-textures, creamy tannins and a sweetness to the fruits in the finish. This is quite successful for the vintage. The wine blends 73% Merlot with 27% Cabernet Franc, 13.5% ABV. The harvest took place September 30 - October 14. Yields were low at only 28 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2025 - 2055. 93-95"

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Zarte Kräuterwürze, schwarze Waldbeeren, frische Herzkirschen, ein Hauch von exotischen Gewürzen, zart nach Lakritze. Saftig, elegant, rote Beerenfrucht, frisch und mineralisch, feine, reife Tannine, salzig-zitronig, delikater und leichtfüßiger Wein mit sicherem Reifepotenzial."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "The 2021 Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse is a blend of 73% Merlot and 27% Cabernet Franc, with only 58% new oak this vintage. Deep purple-black colored, it slowly emerges from the glass with profound notes of licorice, eucalyptus, violets, and sandalwood with a core of ripe juicy plums, cherry pie, and raspberry coulis. The medium-bodied palate is graceful and tightly knit with a refreshing backbone and fine-grained tannins, finishing long and mineral-tinged."