Tasting notes
Jane Anson · Decanter · 98
Somehow manages to feel understated and yet hard to ignore, with its vivid aromatic spirals of peonies and crushed rose petals, set against raspberry and brambled autumnal fruits. The mid palate is what really grips you here, with a flashy but extremely pure shot of liquorice root, liquorice bud, aniseed and fennel. Slows things down through the palate with pumice stone grainy tannins, and contrasts the concentration of 2022 at this estate with balance and finisse. Harvest September 13 to October 3, Axel Marchal and Julien Viaud consultants. There will be a new wine cellar ready for the harvest of 2024, more concrete vats (from 9 currently up tp 15). Camille de Vigneau the technical director with Josephine Duffau Lagarrosse. Brilliant winemaking, one of the wines of the vintage. 60% new oak.
Georgie Hindle · Decanter · 98
A stellar wine from this newly-named Château Beauséjour estate removing the Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse). Herbal and dark fruit on the nose, blackcurrant with cocoa powder, liquorice, some exotic spices as well as purple floral notes, peonies and roses. Juicy supple and alive in the glass, this has lift and get-go from the start, super clean and precise with a lovely bite and grip to the tannins. Fine and chalky, mouthfilling, so you get the ample structure but keeps its direction and flow. Power is there for sure, which some 2023s don’t have, but this is also elegant and so precise. The flavour also really lingers. This has a vertical aspect, layered with muscle and fine sinew. Juicy and succulent, pure and moreish - really makes you want another sip and somehow feels approachable already. Balanced and delicious. Consultants Julien Viaud and Axel Marchal. 46hl/ha yield. 3.4pH. Ageing 14-16 months, 60% new oak. 70% grand vin.
Drink 2030 - 2050
Yohan Castaing · Wine Advocate · 97+
A blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, matured predominantly in Taransaud and Cadus barrels, the 2023 Beauséjour (Duffau Lagarrosse) has turned out brilliantly. It reveals a complex, fresh and compelling bouquet of spices, fresh licorice, violet, dark berries and incense. Medium- to full-bodied, concentrated and sapid, it is seamless and built around a fleshy core of fruit framed by powdery, velvety tannins that extend into a lead-pencil-inflected finish. Fully in line with expectations, this is a bottle that merits cellaring to allow the full potential of this remarkable terroir to unfold.
Jeb Dunnuck · Jeb Dunnuck · 97
Josephine's third vintage since arriving here, the 2023 Château Beausejour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) sports a deep ruby hue as well as a gorgeous nose of ripe black raspberries, cassis, smoky tobacco, crushed stone-like limestone, and floral nuances. It's medium to full-bodied and has a seamless, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. It's an ultra-classic Beausejour that readers will love to have in the cellar. It already offers pleasure yet will keep for 30+ years if you're so inclined. It's just a complete, layered, absolutely classy wine. I'll be a buyer. Drink 2026-2056.
Antonio Galloni · Vinous · 96
The 2023 Beauséjour J. Duffau-Lagarrosse is exceptionally beautiful. Silky on the palate, the 2023 is all class. Bright red-toned fruit, rose petal, cedar and delicate spice overtones are all deftly woven together. Polished tannins extend the resonant, utterly exquisite finish. This is such a fine example of the house style under the direction of Josephine Duffau-Lagarrosse.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW · Wine Advocate · 96-98
The 2023 Beausejour (formerly Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse but since 2021 simply named Beausejour) is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. It is ageing in 60 % new oak barrels and it has a pH of 3.41. The color is a deep garnet-purple and after a swirl or two, it rockets out of the glass with intense scents of redcurrants, Bing cherries, and fresh blackberries, giving way to an undercurrent of candied violets, fragrant soil, and crushed rocks. The medium-bodied palate is a very tightly wound coil of red berry, mineral, and earthy flavors, framed by firm, fine-grained tannins and great tension, finishing long and perfumed. Gorgeous!
William Kelley · Wine Advocate · 96-98
Joséphine Duffau Lagarrosse's third vintage at this terrific hillside terroir is her most impressive to date. The 2023 Beauséjour Duffau Lagarrosse) offers up aromas of black raspberries, mulberries, violets, spices and incense, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and layered palate that's seamless, suave and concentrated, with lively acids, beautiful purity of fruit and a long, mineral, gently balsamic finish. It's a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, picked on nine days between September 13 and October 3. Duffau Lagarrosse's work on oak selection she favors Burgundy's cooperage Cadus, among others) has delivered much more seamless integration at this early stage, and her attentive approach to extraction is already bearing fruit in the form of tannins that are more polished and refined than was formerly the case at this address. It's a brilliant effort from a property with almost limitless potential.
Neal Martin · Vinous · 95
The 2023 Beauséjour, hitherto “Duffau-Lagarrosse,” was picked September 13 to October 3 and aged for 14 to 16 months in 60% new French oak (mainly Cadus and Taransaud), with no malo in barrel. It was the last vintage made in the old wine cellar. Bottled on July 31 and August 1, this is very fragrant on the nose with lifted red plum, raspberry and wild strawberry scents, darker fruit emerging with time, pressed flowers and hints of orange rind. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannins. Nicely judged acidity, very pure and silky in texture, this does not possess the structure or depth of the ’22, but feels very harmonious and sensual. It will only require two or three years before you can broach this delicious Beauséjour.
James Suckling · James Suckling · 95-96
The purity of fruit is impressive here, with raspberry, blueberry and mineral character. It’s so precise and focused with medium body and lovely length.
