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Betz Besoleil 2010 (750ML)
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Critic Scores, Reviews & Descriptions
91 WA / 93 IWC
Representing the sole Betz bottling to incorporate Grenache (here 67%) and inaugurated in 2003, the 2010 Besoleil incorporates also 18% Mourvedre, 11% Cinsault, and 6% Syrah, its sources ranging from the western Yakima across Snipes Mountain to Red Mountain; and was matured for a year in once-used barriques. A tart-edged expression of strawberry and rhubarb preserves is laced with white pepper as well as lemon and orange rind, which contribute delightfully to the sense of invigoration conveyed by this infectiously juicy, polished blend. I suspect that this will show well for at least another half dozen years.
-David Schildknecht
Bright red. Captivating nose offers strawberry, animal fur, garrigue, black and white pepper and flowers. Wonderfully aromatic and smooth in the mouth, with excellent sappy lift to the raspberry and cherry flavors complicated by wild herbs and pepper. Finishes structured and long, with suave, slowly building tannins. Very Old World in style (and specifically southern French) but with distinctly Washington red fruit flavors. This was the first year Bob Betz added cinsault to the blend, and that variety has certainly added another element of red fruit perfume. (Incidentally, there no Clos du Chapitre in 2010.) . Ò Stephan Tanzer