| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This 22 hectare vineyard is situated close to Canon and Clos Fourtet to the west of the village of St Emilion. It is planted with 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is aged in 65% new oak. The Becot family have owned it since 1969.
The 2022 Beau-Séjour Bécot is a total stunner. What a wine! The 2022 was magnificent en primeur, and it is all that from bottle. The aromatics alone are mesmerizing. Crushed rose petal, mint, blood orange, new leather and cedar meld into a core of pliant red-toned fruit. More than anything else, I am so impressed with the wine's precision and finesse. I have never tasted a Beau-Séjour Bécot like this. 2030 - 2062
The 2022 Beau-Séjour Bécot has turned out brilliantly in bottle. Wafting from the glass with a complex bouquet of sweet wild berries mingled with rose petals, orange zest, violets, gentian and espresso roast, it's full-bodied, supple and suave, with a deep core of cool, layered fruit, beautifully vibrant flavors and polished structuring tannins, concluding with a saline finish. As I wrote when I tasted it from barrel, this is a Saint-Émilion of breathtaking perfume and harmony that will be worth a special effort to seek out. 2027 - 2055
This year Beausejour Becot has made a very impressive wine, which is super fragrant, floral and high-toned on the nose. There is remarkable freshness for the vintage, but the wine is by no means thin. Crunchy, lithe and set by notes of graphite, the fruit is cool but ripe, red cherry and plum mingling with some darker fruit tones. The finish has real lift and elegance, it has a stony, lightly spiced quality together with blood orange and an almost Pinot-like red fruit purity. Just a lick of wood spice on the finish only adds to the impressiveness here, spicy yet fleet-footed and very moreish.
A blend of 76% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2022 Beau-Sejour Becot has more Cabernet Franc than any previous vintage. The pH is 3.55 pH and it has a deep purple-black color. Notions of blackcurrant jelly, blackberry pie, and warm plums jump from the glass, followed by suggestions of cedar chest, Sichuan pepper, and garrigue. The medium to full-bodied palate is chock-full of juicy black fruit flavors, with bright acidity and ripe, rounded tannins, finishing long and earthy.
This has double the amount of Cabernet Franc in the blend as of this year after vineyard restructuring, and the chalkiness of the limestone helps underline the curling peony and violet floral character on the opening beats, balancing the intensity of the vintage. Plenty of blueberry and damson fruit, with bitter cocoa bean and coffee, saffran and smoked dried herbs. Highly successful. No irrigation, instead used cover crops, and reduced the height of the canopy by 15cm to limit the transevaporation. Cold maceration for 10-15 days, 55% new oak, 30% oak casks, and amphoras. Jean de Cournuaud technical director. 33hl/h yield after frost impact, harvest September 5 to 23. The new cellar will be ready for the end of August for the 2023 vintage.
76% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. Cask sample.
The change to a more refined style clearly marked. Juicy, fresh and floral with a feather-light touch to the palate. Substance and structure, though, the tannins plentiful and long. Clean, refreshing finish, the limestone terroir apparent. (JL) 14.5%
Drink 2030– 2042
With the 2022 Beau-Séjour Bécot, this estate has taken another step up the ranks in Saint-Émilion, producing a wine of breathtaking perfume and harmony that will be worth a special effort to seek out. Wafting from the glass with aromas of wild berries, violets, lilac, raw cocoa and forest floor, it's medium to full-bodied, seamless and complete, with an ample and enveloping core of weightless fruit, beautifully powdery tannins and a long, saline, resonant finish. Recently planted massale selection Cabernet Franc is now producing meaningful yields at this address, so this cépage now represents 22% of the blend, complemented by 2% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Merlot. The team harvested only in the mornings, picking Merlot from 5-18 September and Cabernet from 13-23 September, sub-block by sub-block.
