Chateau Belair-Monange Premier Grand Cru Classe B, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2023

A fabulous showing for Bélair this year. Great aromatics, subtle not shouting, not too ripe, definitely more cool and fresh. Smooth and supple, a gorgeous weight and balance in the mouth. Crisp and fresh but creamy and fleshy too. Delicious, minty, racy and chiselled, lots of power but so well balanced, charming and sophisticated. Still lots of mint and tension on the finish with orange, bitter grapefruit, slate and graphite but wow this is amazing. The tannins are perfection, the juicy strawberry, cherry core together with a filling overall weight and texture and long length is excellent. Great stuff and really focussed on drinkability. You could drink this today but equally it will age very well. Fun and friendly, controlled and stylish. Lots of oak but this will settle after ageing (14 months in 50% new oak). 3.82pH.

Ripe red and black fruits, chocolaty minerality, graphite, and spring flowers all emerge from the 2023 Château Bélair-Monange, a brilliant Saint-Emilion that delivers the goods. Coming from a mix of the upper plateau and the hillside just outside the village, it's 100% Merlot aged 16-18 months in 50% new French oak. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has a layered, oh, so polished, graceful mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It has absolute classic Saint-Emilion limestone-driven minerality, and I'd be thrilled to drink a bottle today given its balance, purity, and elegance, yet it deserves 5-7 years of bottle age and will see its 30th (probably 40th) birthday in fine form. It reminds me slightly of an improved 2012. Drink 2031-2063.

There’s finesse and beauty to this, with blackberry, dark-chocolate, bark, mushroom and forest-floor character. But it’s all class. Caresses your palate. Medium- to full-bodied and very long. Persistent and sophisticated. This shows the true character of the diverse vineyards of this estate. 98% merlot and 2% cabernet franc.

Makes you sit up and pay attention from the first moment, full of depth and power but delivered with a caress. The slate and pumice stone texture of a vineyard on the limestone plateau is in full effect, with a saline juiciness to the bilberry and black cherry fruit, shot through with white truffle and mandarin peel. Has zip and crunch, and a ton of pleasure. 50% new oak, 55% of overall production. First vintage made with the stunning new cellars designed by Herzog and de Meuron fully open and functional, although 2nd one vinified in them.

One of the highlights in Moueix’s portfolio this year, the 2023 Château Bélair-Monange has turned out superbly, revealing aromas of rose petals, violet, mulberries, cassis and spices. Medium- to full-bodied, layered and enveloping, it is built around a fleshy core of fruit framed by powdery tannins, its vibrancy heightened by lively acidity derived from its calcareous soils, concluding with a long, ethereal finish.

The 2023 Belair-Monange, 100% Merlot, is medium to deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a few moments of patient swirling to allow delicate notes of warm black cherries, plum preserves, and raspberry coulis to emerge, followed by alluring hints of iris, cinnamon stick, and mossy tree bark. The medium to full-bodied palate is taut with tightly wound red and black berry layers, framed by fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note. This is breathtakingly gorgeous!

The 2023 Bélair-Monange is an elegant, sophisticated wine. Silky tannins and lifted aromatics convey the essence of finesse. Sweet floral notes open first. On the palate, the 2023 is remarkably polished for such a young wine. Then again, we are on Saint-Émilion's famed limestone plateau, where wines are born with refinement.

The 2023 Bélair-Monange is another addition to the canon of great wines in recent years from this estate. Now in bottle, it has a fragrant and generous bouquet, beautifully defined, a mélange of red and black fruit, forest floor, shavings of black truffle and light tobacco scents. It is actually a bit Pomerol in style. The palate is medium-bodied with chiseled tannins matched by a perfect line of acidity. Silky smooth in texture that disguises the backbone of this Saint-Émilion, it forms a very complete wine that will surely age with style. Highly recommended.