Bellevue Mondotte 2021 (3.0L)

95-96 JS / 91-93 VM / 92 JA / 90-92 WI

An intense, full-bodied red with lots of fruit and dark chocolate. Round and juicy tannins. Flavorful finish. Very rich. Salt and minerals. Pure merlot. -James Suckling

The 2021 Bellevue Mondotte is 100% Merlot, picked on October 4 and matured in 90% new oak. It has an initially rather sultry bouquet that requires encouragement, eventually revealing macerated small black cherries mixed with light iris flower petals. The palate is very structured and typically broad-shouldered, quite firm in the mouth but more pliant toward the finish, and currently showing a little more grace than its neighbor, Pavie Decesse.- Neal Martin, Vinous Media

Lots of coffee and oak, set against brambled fruit that has juice and character. Highly charged, with character. 90% new oak. Now entirely Merlot after pulling up the old and no longer productive Cabernet vines. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

The 2021 Bellevue Mondotte is 100% Merlot, aging in 90% new oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, it charges out with vibrant scents of black raspberries, plum preserves, and wild blueberries plus wafts of tobacco, dried sage, and underbrush. Medium-bodied, the palate is tightly wound, with firm, grainy tannins supporting the vibrant black fruits, finishing long and earthy. Yields were only 26.56 hl/ha because of the very old vines (64 years old). pH 3.62. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, the Wine Independent