Château Beauséjour 2017

Dark currant and blackberry compote notes give this a juicy, engaging feel, while dried anise, apple wood and bramble details fill in the background. Shows chewy grip, but maintains freshness and energy, revealing an encore of fruit and licorice snap on the finish. Be patient with this one. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2038. 1,500 cases made.

This feels a little heavily extracted for the ripeness, and you can see the careful construction. Unfortunately, it falls through the mid-palate.

This has a very attractive, ripe black-fruit nose with toasted spices, violets and dark-stone notes. Iodine and cedar, too. The palate is powerful and has quite intense flavors of blackberries and blueberries with a super rich and ripe frame of tannin that carries long and expands the finish in impressive style. Very long. Try from 2025.

The 2017 Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse in bottle offers a mélange of red and black fruit: cassis, raspberry coulis, veins of Valrhona chocolate and a touch of crushed stone. It feels fresh and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, saturated tannins. There is plenty of black fruit here laced with traces of marmalade and fig jam, perhaps a touch exotic considering the vintage but everything is controlled and focused on the finish. I would just like to see more personality here - maybe that will evolve with time?

Showing a gleaming garnet hue, the wine is lush with flavor, cashmere tannins and length and purity of fruit. The finish combines dark, sweet fruits and minerality with salty tannins, making this not just a dazzling taste but a distinct feel as well. Reaching 14% ABV, the wine is a blend of 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc. The harvest ran from September 22 to October 2.

Deep dark ruby, purple reflections, subtle brightening at the rim, fresh blackberry confit, ripe plum, delicate strawberry, orange zest. Medium body, fine cherry, silky tannins, elegant and persistent, salty aftertaste, good development and definite ageing potential, currently lacks real length.

Kunz barrel sample 18: (88% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 38 hl/ha, 64% Grand Vin) Velvety, creamy, fruity bouquet, cherries, strawberries, vanilla, nougat, caramel. Finely opulent, dense palate with powerful, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, creamy structure, pronounced sweet aromatics, long, fresh finish with sweet after-flavors.

The 2017 Beausejour Duffau is medium to deep garnet-purple in color. It leaps with notes of blackberry pie and plum preserves, followed by hints of dried herbs, tree bark, and black truffles. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers a firm structure of grainy tannins and plenty of freshness to support the muscular black fruits, finishing long and minerally.

Explosive fruit, a satiny texture driven by savory energy, finishing with an irresistible mineral note.

Juicy, sappy, intense wine with a broad palate, a touch of firmness mid-palate, and a long finish.

Garnet red with violet highlights. The bouquet of Beauséjour is very typical of its region, revealing chalky and fruity notes. I find these again on the attack. The wine is charming, with a pleasant, refreshing limestone tension that brings energy and fruit. A sapid wine to enjoy in its youth.

Dark, intense, and beautiful color. A highly aromatic nose, refined, subtle, and noble. Precise on the attack, delicate to the touch, complex mid-palate; the wine stretches out on the finish, full and long, with a lovely flavor and fine tannins. Delicious.