Farr Vintners Logo

Beychevelle 2015

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Beychevelle

Label

Tasting Notes

The 2015 Beychevelle has a fresh blackberry and briary bouquet of impressive delineation and vigor; hints of smoke and pencil shavings emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, wonderful tension and an almost effervescent, nervous finish that leaves a tongue-tingling dash of black pepper in its wake. So much potential here. As I have written before, this is one of Philippe Blanc's great Beychevelles. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.

94
Neal Martin, vinous.com, July 2019

Perfumed red with so much presence and brightness. Flowers, currants and blueberries. Some citrus. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Very fine and vivid. Better in 2022.

94
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2018

The 2015 Beychevelle is composed of 47% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet in color, it struts out of the glass with showy scents of creme de cassis, plum preserves, and black cherry compote, leading to wafts of lilacs, Indian spices, camphor, and dark chocolate. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers a solid frame of chewy tannins and compelling freshness to support the generous, flamboyant fruit, finishing long and spicy.

95
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, November 2022

Tasted blind. Deep blackish purple. Minerally rather than fruity on the nose. Rather intriguing and arresting. Lots of dry tannin but also lots of interesting flavour. Very fresh and zesty. Definitely ticks the St-Julien boxes and is very long.
Drink 2025-2045

17.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2019

With its distinctive label of a sailing boat, Beychevelle is a Bordeaux that is popular the world over. Always one of the most forward and "user-friendly" of the Saint Julien classed growths, this is a wine that is usually made to give relatively early drinking pleasure rather than to win academic blind tastings. We have noticed a significant step-up in quality in recent vintages. The percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon is low for the Northern Medoc and there is always a high percentage of Merlot in the final blend. Always polished and supple, it is in huge demand in China where it is known as "Dragon Boat Wine". The vineyard is 78 hectares. Medium purple in colour. Smoky, toasted red fruits on the nose here. The palate is fresh and approachable with soft tannins and floral, brambly fruit. This is so sumptuous and plump you could almost drink it already! Deliciously approachable.

92
Farr Vintners, March 2016

The nose is quite firm with a mix of fresh black fruits and the palate starts bright and quite fresh. Sweeter in the middle the mix of cassis and black cherry is rich depth at the back with breath of flavour on the finish.

89/91
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2016

One of the best Beychevelles for some time, this is a serious, age worthy wine with plenty of fine-grained tannin, bright acidity and pure cedar wood, cigarbox and cassis fruit. A textbook St. Julien. Drink: 2022-32

93
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2016

Rather good purity and very exciting velocity on the palate making this a superb wine. The texture is delightful with much more stuffing than in past vintages and more length, too. The balance and complexity in this blend is well-judged giving it a seamless character already without any obvious joins between the grape varieties. The tannins are firm but juicy, too, with an impression of a wine with a chance to drink it early and then enjoy it mellowing over a very long period of time. This is a slightly finer wine than the 2014 but only in terms of gloss and integration and I will be fascinated to seem them both evolve.

18+
Matthew Jukes, Matthew Jukes' Blog, April 2016
Read more tasting notes...

The 2015 Beychevelle has a wonderful ripe blackberry, boysenberry and cassis-scented bouquet that is very well defined. There is nascent energy and tension spilling out from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with quite opulent black fruit laced with graphite and a splash of soy, but underneath is embedded a firm structure. There is real vivacity and terroir expression on the finish, a Beychevelle with enormous potential. One for those seeking “classic” Saint-Julien. Anticipated maturity: 2022 - 2045.

94
Neal Martin, March 2018

The 2015 Beychevelle was picked between 22 September and 8 October, a blend of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot that will be matured in 50% new oak. It has quite a high IPT at 81, a pH of 3.72. It has a clean and crisp bouquet, tightly-wound at first, then unfurls with redcurrant, cranberry and raspberry scents, leaning towards the red spectrum rather than black. There is impressive delineation here, no frills, almost clinical in its "aromatic efficiency." The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. This is a suave Beychevelle in the making, harmonious in the mouth, supple even, gently building towards a lightly spiced finish. Among the Saint Julien wines, this is clearly one of the more understated 2015s. It is only when you swallow the wine that its lingering flavors remind you that this could evolve into one of Philippe Blanc's great Beychevelles. While it is not a headline-grabbing wine, a decade in bottle will be handsomely rewarded. Drink: 2025 - 2050.

92/94
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (224), April 2015

This is very pretty with ultra-fine tannins, blueberry, blackberry and mineral flavors. Full body, integrated and balanced. Shows refinement and tension.

92/93
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2016

The 2015 Beychevelle is a blend of 47% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot aged 18 months in barrel, 50% of which were new and 50% second fill. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it's scented of smoked meats, scorched earth, garrigue and new leather with a core of cassis, cherry cordial and plum preserves. The medium-bodied palate is a little firm but delicate, with lovely vibrancy and a bit of grip on the finish. 2020 - 2039

93
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (Interim Fe), February 2018

Bright crimson. Aromatic rather than concentrated. Racy and sinewy. Lots of charm and pzazz without being in the least heavy. Bravo!
Drink 2024-2040

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2016
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.