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Bellevue-Mondotte 2010

Tasting Notes

The wine is not as powerful as one might expect, given the owners and winemaking team, coming in at 14.3%. A sensational, rather massive example for a 2010, this opaque purple wine offers up notes of subtle barbecue smoke, blackberry and cassis as well as a hints of lead pencil shavings and a confiture of red and black fruits in the mouth. Full-bodied, unctuously textured and excruciatingly tannic, this is a big, blockbuster style of wine meant for 10-50+ years of cellaring.

This miniature 5-acre vineyard, beautifully situated in St.-Emilion, has produced a blend of 90% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Yields were 24 hectoliters per hectare.

95+
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (205), March 2013

A blend of 90% Merlot and 5% each of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, this has a very intense, backward bouquet that despite leaving it five minutes in the glass, stubbornly refuses to open. The palate is very structure with a touch of graphite interlacing the ripe blackberry and liquorice tinged fruit (possibly from some very ripe Cabernets.) Very dense and powerful towards the finish, this is your quintessential vin de garde that will need long-term cellaring. Drink 2025-2040+ Tasted March 2011.

92/94
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, April 2011

This just takes off with amazing combination of drark fruits and insane acidity. Citrusy and wild. Full bodied and powerful yet it's delicate and finesse. Owner Gerard Perse calls it sweet power! I agree

95/96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2011

Very dark purple. Attractive aroma on top of very ripe fruit notes and a definite skein of minerality. Some lift with a bit of currant aroma. Very drying finish. Will this eventually soften into a wonderful partner for food? It seems difficult to believe. Currently SO angular! I thought the Perse wines were calming down a bit but now I'm not so sure.

16
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2011

This 5-acre vineyard, purchased by Chantal and Gerard Perse in 2001, is planted with 90% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. It sits on the plateau above Pavie Decesse and Pavie Macquin. Yields in 2010 were 24 hectoliters per hectare and the alcohol percentage is 14.3%. A dense purple hue is followed by aromas of crushed rocks, acacia flowers, boysenberries, kirsch and blacker fruits in the background. The wine possesses great ripeness, a dense, full-bodied mouthfeel, sweet tannin and a massive style. It appears to be more evolved and forward than most Bellevue Mondotte vintages have been under the Perse administration. Give it 4-5 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 20-25.

93/95
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (194), May 2011
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.