Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot Premier Grand Cru Classe B, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2015

Just as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel, the Beau-Séjour-Bécot is superb. Expressive plum, grilled herb, lavender and spice flesh out in the glass. Voluptuous and racy, with no hard edges, the 2015 has much to offer. This is in an especially dense, explosive style, and yet all the elements are wonderfully fused together. I would give the 2015 a few years in bottle to start showing at its best.

Very perfumed with crushed berries and blackberries. Wet earth and great intensity. Decadent. Full-bodied, layered and very velvety and intense. Extremely long and intense. A sexy and opulent wine yet poised and tight. One of best ever. Needs at least three to five years bottle age.

The 2015 Beau-Sejour Becot is composed of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 85% new and 15% one-year-old French oak for 17 months. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the nose opens with blackberries, black cherries and crushed black plums with touches of spice box, lavender and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, it's rich, velvety and decadent in the mouth with a firm backbone and long, spicy finish. Yum!

Deep and reserved on the nose but a fragrant palate. Powerful but refined tannic base. Beautiful smooth texture with the freshness from the limestone terroir. Persistent finish.

The 2015 Beau- Séjour-Bécot is a sensational powerhouse of a Saint-Emilion that does everything right. Mostly Merlot, with 20% Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, it’s a ripe, voluptuous effort loaded with notions of cassis, ripe plum, and black cherry fruit intermixed with incense, spring flowers, and damp earth. It has enough tannin to warrant short-term cellaring, but it’s still undeniably delicious today. It will drink nicely for two decades. This cuvee comes from 19.5-hectare vineyard sitting on the upper, limestone dominated plateau, from vines averaging 40 years in age, was harvest between October 5th to the 9th and was aged 17 months in 85% new French oak.

The 2015 Beau-Séjour Bécot was picked between 5 and 15 October. It has a very pure and almost heady bouquet, perhaps because of the higher alcohol than in 2014 at almost 15.0° in alcohol. Rich and decadent, you just want to put a leash on its exuberance. The palate is sweet and candied on the entry, very fine tannin and well judged acidity, layers of luxuriant red berry fruit laced with mineral and that alcohol is neatly disguised on the sensual finish. With bottle age the aromatics will hopefully just calm down and then you should have a fantastic Saint-Émilion. Tasted at the château.