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Belair-Monange 2016

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot

Chateau Belair is now owned by the Moueix family, and has had a new name since the 2008 vintage. This is one of the best vineyards in Saint Emilion, perched at the top of the slope right next to Ausone. Despite the brilliant terroir, the wine-making here had been mediocre for many years until the Moueix purchase. It is clear that Edouard Moueix is going to transform this Chateau into one of the stars of Saint Emilion. The vineyard is planted with 88% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and the yield is miniscule as many of these vines are 100 years old and there are many gaps to be filled. Of the 23.5 hectares only 14 are currently in production.

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Bélair-Monange

Label

Tasting Notes

Incredibly perfumed aromas of roses and violets, as well as blue fruit and lavender. Full-bodied and powerful, yet so full of finesse and vibrance. The height of elegance! Such depth of chalk and dark berries. It goes on for minutes. Drink after 2025.

99
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (223), February 2019

Deep garnet in color, the 2016 Belair-Monange slowly drifts out of the glass to offer gorgeous scents of black raspberries, boysenberry preserves, and baked plums, plus suggestions of Indian spices, sandalwood, and dried mint with a hint of crushed rocks. The palate is rich and full-bodied, delivering mouth-filling black fruits and exotic spice layers with a velvety texture and seamless freshness, finishing very long and perfumed.

98
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, December 2022

The epitome of St-Émilion plateau power and elegance, this is beginning to rival Canon. It has the deftly worked berry fruits, the creamy caress of cappuccino oak, the dancing minerality that gives focus, and a touch of austerity to the finish. An utterly lovely wine. 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc from 23.5ha consisting of Asteries limestone on the plateau and blue clay over limestone on the slopes.

Drinking Window 2027 - 2050

96
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2017

Mid weight only, and less compelling than the run of top Pomerols tasted just beforehand. No trace of any forcing in the cellar but it seems a little tentative. Nice that it's not flashy. Quite serious intention here.
Drink 2025-2040

16.5+
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2017

The 2016 Château Belair-Monange (92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc) comes from limestone soils on both the upper plateau and the hillside slope just outside of the village of Saint Emilion. This deep, saturated purple-hued effort offers a more primordial style in its ripe black fruits, toasty oak, espresso bean, and spring flower-scented aromas and flavors. With full-bodied richness, solid acidity, terrific purity, and rock-solid underlying structure, this beautiful Saint Emilion needs 4-5 years of bottle age and will keep for two decades. It opens up nicely with time in the glass, so if you feel like drinking a bottle soon, give it a healthy decant.

96+
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, February 2019

Fragrant, fresh, aromatic the nose has lots of charm the start of the palate bright with bramble and red fruits. The mid palate has sweet ripe fruit the back palate lighter quite fresh with ripe fruit showing on the finish. 2025-36

89/92
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2017

Often the most backward wines in the Moueix range - it’s always shown last in the tasting in Libourne - this comes from the St Emilion limestone plateau and it shows on the palate. It’s a very dense, tightly wound wine with masses of oak and tannin supported by acidity. Tricky to judge at this young age. 2026-40

94
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2017
Read more tasting notes...

A blend of 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Belair Monange comes strutting out of the glass like a total rock star with gregarious red cherries, blackberries and warm plums scents plus hints of lavender, rose hip tea, powdered cinnamon, cigar box and camphor. Medium-bodied, it completely fills the palate with vibrant red and black fruit layers, framed by a firm backbone of grainy tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing long and perfumed. 2019 - 2055

97+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (Interim No), November 2018

The 2016 Bélair-Monange is easily the most closed of all of J-P Moueix’s wines when I taste them together. It is stubbornly tight in the glass and then coquettishly unfurls mineral-rich red berry fruit mixed with rose petals; the perfume is captivating. The palate is well balanced, with velvety tannin and perfectly judged acidity, and very, very harmonious. More and more black fruit seems to join the chorus line toward the finish, which fans out gloriously, demonstrating superlative persistence. The best Bélair-Monange to date, and an accomplished, riveting Saint-Émilion. Drink 2025-2055

97
Neal Martin, Vintage Port Book (Jan 2019), January 2019

The 2016 Belair-Monange, the home of Edouard Moueix and his family, is a blend of 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. It has a tightly wound bouquet with red and black fruit, touches of cedar and smoke developing in the glass, reticent at first but unfolding nicely in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin, a more structured and rigid Belair-Monange compared to recent vintages, adorned with fine salinity on the finish. It will require several years in bottle to show its best, but it will be worth waiting for. Drink Date 2022 - 2056

94/96
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (230), April 2017

A very dense and pretty center palate of dried fruit, spices and dried tobacco. Medium to full body, chewy tannins and a savory finish. Linear and racy. Tight and reserved now but wait to see the structure develop fabulously.

95/96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2017
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.