Château Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse 2020

Dark and sultry, this is heady with ripe, perfumed fruits that dominate the palate giving vertical layers of freshness, acidity and fruit concentration. It has style to it, a sleekness to the texture, classy with a lovely core of juiciness. Still a little constricted with lots of liquorice and graphite on show and a touch of saltiness towards the finish. Really well worked, mouthfilling, weighty, intense, forward and energetic. It's bigger and broader in terms of frame and flavour than the 2019 – with floral, blood orange, blueberry and bramble fruit nuances, but carries the weight well, remaining focused. I love the expression, it's dark, cool, sleek and textured. Just a gorgeous delicious wine!

Blackberries with lavender, cedar, sandalwood and flowers. Very subtle aromas. It’s medium- to full-bodied with a very tight palate of fine, structured tannins that run the length of the wine. Closed at the end. Shows excellent precision and aging potential. 81.5% merlot and 18.5% cabernet franc. Try after 2028.

The 2020 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is racy, sophisticated and wonderfully polished. Crushed red berry fruit, lavender, rose petal, cinnamon and blood orange all race through the 2020. This is the first vintage overseen by consulting winemaker Julien Viaud, who seems to be going for a less extracted style than that favored by Nicolas Thienpont. There is plenty of size and vertical explosive energy, but the 2020 is also wonderfully finessed, especially in its tannins. It's a striking wine by any measure.

Power, finesse, length, purity, and complexity are everywhere here. On the nose, you find dried flowers, espresso, plums, cherries, licorice, spice, cocoa, herbs, and crushed rocks. As good as that is, on the palate the wine flows across your mouth in waves of vibrant plums, cherries, black raspberries, blue fruits, salty tannins, and purity. The finish is lively, vibrant, long, and doesn’t know when to quit. That’s a good thing, because you want to enjoy it again and again. Drink from 2026–2055.

Intense yet delicate, a truly exciting wine to taste, where you feel the energy build across the palate. Unmistakable limestone influence with floral aromatics — a jumble of peony, roses and violets — opening up to brambled raspberry and loganberry fruits, with fennel, oyster shell and slate. Huge ageing potential. Cabernet Sauvignon rather than Cabernet Franc in this blend, one of the many ways it stands out from its peers even on the limestone plateau of Saint‑Émilion, its delicacy suggesting it is one of the most Burgundian of Bordeaux wines. This vintage was overseen during the growing season and vinification by the team under Nicolas Thienpont, but given its final blend and ageing by new co-owner Joséphine Duffau‑Lagarosse, along with Prisca Courtin‑Clarins.

95-96

2020 marks a turning point for this magnificent estate, as it is the last vintage crafted by the talented duo Nicolas Thienpont-David Suire. Joséphine Duffau-Lagarosse, now the lady of the house, has nevertheless adjusted the final blend with a proportion of 19% Cabernet. And what a wine! It has the ability to reveal the earthy depth of its terroir while expressing remarkable florality and elegant aromatic nuances of spices, licorice, and many other elements. A wine with an excellent constitution to evolve with panache.

A deep, dark, contemplative bouquet with notes of undergrowth, spices, and juniper berry, still slightly closed. Fresh and agile, surprisingly vibrant on the palate, with a very appealing, refreshing herbal note that carries the wine forward throughout the tasting.