Beau Sejour Becot 2019 (1.5L)

97 WCI / 96 AG / 96 DE / 96 JS / 96 WI / 95 WS / 95 VM / 94+ WA / 17.5 JR

#11 Wine Spectator Top 100 2022

Deep, dark, rich, full-bodied, concentrated and vivacious, the wine is packed with dark, black and red pit fruits, crushed stones, chocolate, licorice, flowers and forest leaf. The wine is powerful, refined, deep and fresh, with a finish that resonates with all of its ripe fruits and a touch of salinity in the long finish. This is their third vintage with Thomas Duclos as the consultant and each year seems to get better and better here. They are certainly on a hot roll at Beau-Sejour Becot these days! Give the wine a few years in the bottle and enjoy it for at least 2 decades after that.

The 2019 Beau-Séjour-Bécot is a powerful, explosive wine. Dark fruit, chocolate, cured meats and earthy notes lend quite a bit of depth. Compared with its neighbors, Beau-Séjour-Bécot is dark, broad and broodingly tannic, sometimes more power than finesse. There is plenty of character, though. That much is evident. Beau-Séjour-Bécot speaks with authority as it commands attention. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media 

Rich plum colour. This takes its time to open, is pretty subtle at first, but then explodes in juicy fruit. Clear salinity where you can feel the slate scrape of the limestone terroir, alongside well expressed aromatics with touches of peony flowers. Elegant and succulent. Second vintage with Jean de Cournuaud as technical director. A yield of 46hl/ha. 65% new oak, with a mix of barrels and 20hl casks. 3.77pH. Harvest 18-21 September, with all the Merlots in 3.5 days instead of the usual 11 days (and in fact stretched over one month in 2018), with just 20 minutes from picking to vat. Thomas Duclos consultant. - Jane Anson, Decanter

Plums, currants, pine cones, mushrooms and bark on the nose. Some licorice, too. It’s medium-bodied with tightly knit tannins. Tight and fresh with fantastic tension and drive. Refined and focused. Spicy and lightly salty at the end. Try in 2026. - James Suckling

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Beau-Sejour Becot saunters out with easy-going scents of juicy blackberries and plum preserves, followed by hints of cedar, potpourri, and fallen leaves. The medium to full-bodied palate is elegantly styled and refreshing, with very fine-grained tannins and a mineral lift on the finish. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent

This delivers a tumble of ripe raspberry, plum and boysenberry fruit flavors, lined with violet, red tea and sweet tobacco notes that add lift and range. The long, racy, chalk-lined finish leaves a pure feel that’s not easy to achieve in this vintage. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2024 through 2038. 7,700 cases made, 3,080 cases imported.—J.M., Wine Spectator

The 2019 Beau-SéjourBécot just lacks a bit of energy on the nose, dusky black fruit, sousbois and dry tobacco. Old school. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-hewn tannins, very well balanced, lovely purity with a caressing and persistent finish. Classy winemaking. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

The 2019 Beau-Séjour Bécot has turned out nicely, wafting from the glass with aromas of cassis, wild berries, raw cocoa, spices and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it's deep and layered, with a rich mid-palate that's underpinned by succulent acids and powdery tannins. Located opposite Château Canon on Saint-Émilion's limestone plateau, there's some significant restructuring going on in the vineyards here, and in the cellar, foudres, amphorae and once-used barrels complement new oak: the result is the best wines this estate has produced in the modern era. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

Tasted blind. Simple colour. Easy, relaxed, rich and round. Already fun to drink with good balance even without much evolution or nuance. Polished tannins. Sophisticated winemaking. Long. The opposite of showy.-Jancis Robinson