Château Beychevelle 2016

This has a slightly beefy edge, with warmed plum and blackberry paste flavors pumping through. Shows a touch of heft on the back end, with dark tobacco and earth notes leaving a subtly chewy feel, though there's ample fruit to soak that up. Best from 2024 through 2038. 19,167 cases made.

By this vintage, the gravity-operated vat room and cellar were in operation, with smaller steel vats allowing for greater parcel selection. Still closed on the nose, though with firm blackcurrant and blackberry aromas in the background, it’s suave and concentrated, showing ripe tannins and ample acidity. The wine seems balanced, though it’s not showing much complexity yet. Structured and persistent.

Stacks of cassis, graphite and smoke on the nose of this rather full-bodied St.-Julien with a ton of velvety tannins that drive the long finish that’s simultaneously sweet, fresh and powdery. Try in 2022.

Tasted blind. Purple fruits and lots of come-hither opulence followed by some green leafiness. One of the more immediately charming St-Julien 2018s. (JR)

The 2016 Beychevelle offers quite a bit of upfront intensity and immediacy. Fruity, supple and forward, the 2016 holds plenty of appeal, although it is not as persistent or complex as I had hoped, especially given how exceptional so many Saint-Julien wines are in 2016. Tasted twice.

This is stunning. From start to finish, this is a complete wine. The nose pops with ripe currants, blackberries, flowers, and leafy tobacco. The palate offers vibrancy, concentration, length, and a classic structure with multiple layers of black and red fruits that start off strong, and keep on going. This is perhaps the best vintage of Beychevelle ever produced. Drink from 2026-2060.

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, discreet brightening at the rim, subtle herbal spice, cassis, a hint of ripe black cherry, a note of tobacco. Juicy, good complexity, dark berry fruit, well-integrated tannins, blackberry on the aftertaste, pronounced fruit on the finish, good maturity and definite ageing potential.

Intense nose with high ripeness, jammy cherry, plum, cassis and some new oak notes. The palate is dense and concentrated with fine extract, ample dark fruit flavours with mild spiciness, cocoa bean, and a very long and grippy finish. A wine with high concentration, yet without heaviness.

I was able to taste the 2016 Château Beychevelle on two occasions, and it showed beautifully both times. This is also the first vintage made in the new cellar. Medium to full-bodied, incredibly seamless and elegant on the palate yet beautifully concentrated, it offers a heavenly perfume of spring flowers, violets, saddle leather, and blueberry and cassis fruit. A blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, raised in 50% new oak, it’s still tight, taut, and reserved on the palate, yet has the hallmark purity of fruit and balance of the vintage front and center. Hide bottles for 4–6 years, and it will keep for 25+ years.

Deep purple with a black core and a violet rim. Lots of cassis and blackberry blossom, with sweetish cherry tobacco in the background. On the palate, powerful, with a tightly knit body and a finely powdery extract. Long, aromatic finish that ends with a delicate astringency. Can match last year’s success.

Kunz barrel sample 17: upfront, sweet bouquet, blackcurrant, grenadine, chalk. Silky, rather slender palate with sweet, light fruit, finely sandy tannins, sweet aromatics, medium finish.

Superficial, sweet bouquet, currants, grenadine, chalk. Silky, rather slender palate with sweet, light fruit, finely sandy tannins, sweet aromatics, medium finish. 17/20 2023 - 2032

Deep ruby red, with nuance and movement to the colour, signaling its St-Julien finesse. This is a wonderful example of the quality of 2016, still in primary fruit mode, although with plenty of freshness and juice, waves of crushed mint, hedgerow, blackberry and cassis fruits, the tannins pretty muscular at this point. Harvest October 3 to 18, 60% new oak for ageing.

Remarkable for its color density and the purity of its fruit, with a substance that is proportionally more impressive at this stage than in 2009 and 2010.

The 2016 has a superb grain, a supple texture, yet plenty of intensity. The wine stretches out and delivers a vibrant, caressing finish.

The nose, reminiscent of a bitter blackcurrant candy, gains complexity with notes of damsons and blueberries. A burst of pure, powerful fruit precedes the arrival of elegant dark-chocolate tannins that coat the palate, leading to a very long finish.

Purple with violet hues. Intense, complex, youthful nose marked by notes of berries and barrel ageing. Plenty of subtlety. On the palate, the wine is luscious and round. It shows breadth, sap, and a refreshing structure. The tannins are perfectly integrated and form a fine symbiosis with the palate’s liveliness. A wine with great finesse and power. It needs time in the cellar before being enjoyed. Persistent finish. A great success.

The nose is elegant, delicate, fresh, and offers lovely, racy power. It reveals notes of fresh/ripe blackberry, graves (terroir), and, more slightly, fresh/ripe strawberry, together with very fine touches of lily and lilac, as well as fine hints of tonka bean, toast, very discreet hints of exotic spices, a very discreet hint of Cubeb pepper, and an imperceptible hint of incense. The palate is fresh, fruity, balanced, and offers good definition, juiciness, precision, fine straightness, fine tension, delicacy, and gourmandise. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of juicy/fresh raspberry, juicy/fresh cherry, and, more slightly, juicy/fresh blackberry, combined with fine touches of racy minerality (terroir / graves), flowers, as well as very discreet hints of toast and tonka bean, and a subtle hint of spice. The tannins are elegant and finely plush.

The best ever made. Very beautiful dark, intense color with purple highlights. Highly aromatic nose, refined and appetizing. Hints of blackberry liqueur and pine wood. The palate shows particular grace, with remarkable silkiness, subtly lifted by nuances of pine wood. The bright, bursting fruit is there. The wine develops with power, sap, and length, finishing very beautifully with no hard edges.

Right from the start, great class on the nose. Ripe yet fresh, slender, with notes of damp Havana cigar, camphor, India ink, and incense. On the palate, it’s impeccable: a perfectly precise substance, supported by high-level tannic definition and just-right acidity that brings a zest to the wine. Aromatically, it is still in its full youth, but all signs point to a magnificent evolution. We just move from black fruit to candied citrus and dark tobacco. Great potential.

Now with a brand-new, see-through glass winery, this estate is showing its true elegance. The wine does not have great power but it offers a ripe, smooth, sophisticated texture and black fruits. It already shows delicious flavors that will improve. Drink from 2025.