Chateau Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse Premier Grand Cru Classe B, Saint-Emilion G_ 2018

Aromas of blackcurrant, ripe blackberry, black olive, oyster shell and black tea. Some ash and dried flowers, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, tight-grained tannins. Sleek and compact with a savory, mineral finish. Great length and depth. Wonderful texture. Such precision. Try from 2026.

Nicolas Thienpont has been director here for 10 years now, and the changes that he has brought have had a stunning and important effect, firmly placing this as one of the best estates in the appellation. Everything feels a little deeper and darker than its sibling Pavie Macquin in this vintage: the tannins are a little less pliant and a little more serious. This is clearly going to age well - you can feel the scrape of the limestone, the concentration of the cassis and tight tobacco flavours, the lift of the spices through the finish, and the tannic mass that's undeniable. 2018 saw half the normal yield, down in the mid-20hl/ha, and you can't miss the concentration it lends to the wine. The vines come from the slopes with clay over limestone, and with such natural power allied to these low yields I am sure this will take a full 10 years to become drinkable, but watch it really come into its own in 40 or 50 years! 98-100 points.

The 2018 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is a huge wine that is going to need a number of years to come into its own. A wine of unreal concentration and pure power, the 2018 takes over all the senses with its commanding presence. Black cherry, chocolate, licorice, gravel, cured meat and cloves all scream out of the glass. This wild, untamed Saint-Émilion needs cellaring. I imagine it will still be a spectacular wine many decades from now. As was the case from barrel, the typically imposing tannins are nearly buried by the sheer concentration of the fruit.

A brilliant follow up to the thrilling 2016, the 2018 Château Beausejour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) is a mix of 80/20 of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. As seamless and sexy as they come, with brilliant cassis, blueberry, violets, and background spicy oak, this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, beautiful mid-palate depth, ultra-fine tannins, and a finish that won't quite. It's another magical wine from this estate that will be enjoyable with just 3-5 years of bottle age and cruise for three decades or more.

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Beausejour Heritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse comes prancing out of the glass with the most gorgeous perfume of plum preserves, kirsch, redcurrant jelly and red roses, followed by suggestions of molten licorice, raspberry leaves, oolong tea and iron ore, with a waft of forest floor. The medium to full-bodied palate is laden with black and red berry preserves layers, framed by fantastically plush tannins and a seamless backbone, finishing long and earthy. A wine of impeccable poise and polish, it is delicious now, but allow it 3-4 years in bottle to really fan its feathers and drink it over the next 20 years or more.

The 2018 Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse showed what I felt was a soupçon of overripeness on the nose when I tasted it from barrel. Now in bottle, there is still a scintilla of that trait in the plush, high-toned black cherry and crème de cassis scents, very opulent but at least pure. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe, saturated tannins that lend a fleshy, succulent mouthfeel. It is less viscous than I anticipated, though I still feel it needs more complexity toward the finish. As I remarked a few months ago, between Nicolas Thienpont’s Pavie-Macquin and this, I find the former is imbued with more tension and terroir expression, although I still enjoy this Saint-Émilion and appreciate the black pepper note that lingers on the aftertaste.