Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot Premier Grand Cru Classe B, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2024

Gorgeous fragrance, really quite deep and vivid, almost an opulence to the perfumed nose. Generous and filling, smooth, silky, round and so vibrant. Juicy and lifted but still with structure - this has acidity, a cool freshness, super fine silky tannins and a soft push from start to finish. Feels super classic and classy, refined and elegant with cool blue fruit and lots of saltiness, but so distinguished. You really feel the limestone in the glass. Still serious, you feel the Cabernet spiciness but you don't get the impression they struggled with ripeness at all. A great glass. Sappy, fruity, clean and salty. A true wine of place. A yield of 32hl/ha, 3.40pH.

The 2024 Beau-Séjour Bécot is deep, vivid and wonderfully alive. Dynamic and explosive, with striking inner perfume, Beau-Séjour Bécot is hauntingly beautiful. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, menthol, licorice and rose petal soar out of the glass. Silky, refined tannins add to the wine's finesse. The increase of Cabernet Franc in the blend has added aromatic depth and textural elegance. There's a feeling of transparency here that is impossible to miss. Beau-Séjour Bécot has grown into one of the most distinctive wines in Bordeaux. Simply put, the 2024 is magnificent. That's all there is to it. Élevage is 55% in new oak, 15% in once-used barrels and the rest in 20HL casks. Tasted two times.

The 2024 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot is 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc, aging in 55% new oak with a small part in foudre. Ripe black cherries, leafy herbs, damp earth, and crushed stone notes define the aromatics, and this beauty hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, an ultra-fine mouthfeel, gorgeous tannins, and a great finish. This is brilliant, and I'd put it up with the crème de la crème of the vintage, especially in this elegant, finesse-driven style. Tasted twice with consistent results.

Deep garnet-purple colored. Waltzes out with showy scents of black cherries, raspberry coulis, and red currant jelly, leading to hints of lavender oil, black olives, and fragrant earth. The light to medium-bodied palate is subtle and racy with silky tannins and a savory lift on the finish.

A blend of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc, the 2024 Beau-Séjour Bécot was picked in late September. Clusters were open rather than compact, lessening botrytis pressure, making it easier to wait to attain full maturity. Offering up aromas of dark berries, violets, rose petals and spices, it's medium to full-bodied, polished and layered, with beautifully refined tannin, integrated acidity and a long, aromatic finish. Once again, this impeccably managed estate has delivered a terrific performance in challenging conditions.

Ruby red colour, vivid reflections, chewy character not just to the tannins but to the fruit, this is on the cool and slim side of the vintage, rose buds, peonies, but with real finesse and character, and excellent texture that keeps focus and interest through the palate, 90-100m on the plâteau, with underground limestone cellars down to 11m. Thomas Duclos consultant. Harvest 25 September to 4 October, latest harvest for Merlot in past 40 years, finishing up this grape on October 3. 3.4 pH 32 hl/ha. Cabernet Franc has been slowly increasing in the vineyard and in the blend of the 1st wine.