Tasting Notes
Vinous 93.5
Bright, deep ruby-red. Aromas of cassis, blackberry and spices complicated by menthol, herbs and earth. Rich, layered and deep, with its round, broad dark berry, cherry and licorice flavors given punch by penetrating chalky minerality. This impressively concentrated and focused wine really tightened up in the glass, and its firm tannic spine and great finesse suggest that it will be long-lived. Sure to be the best vintage to date for this label, which was previously Chateau Belair until Christian Moueix in 2008 purchased from Pascal Delbeck the part of Belair that he did not already own and then renamed the property.
JancisRobinson.com 17
Very bright pillar-box red. Hint of curry powder on the nose. Then very luscious fruit. Then it tightens up on the end so that tannins are really very noticeable now. Nice freshness. Needs time.
Anticipated maturity: 2024-2038
Robert Parker 96
An absolutely magnificent wine from Christian Moueix and his son Edouard, this wine is right up there with their 2009 and may eclipse it in terms of its potential longevity. Dense purple, with a near-liqueur of crushed rocks and chalk intermixed with blueberry, black raspberry and cassis, this wine is very full-bodied for a Belair, with ethereal complexity and impressive texture and length. I believe this is the first vintage of the wine to be released in an engraved bottle, which seems to be the direction of all the top estates in the Jean-Pierre Moueix stable. More evidence of concerned Bordelais attempting to stop criminals intent on producing fraudulent bottles of these limited production wines. Forget this baby for 7-8 years and then look for it to evolve over three decades-plus. Obviously, the Moueix family has been investing considerable money and effort into this famous vineyard, which was one of Bordeaux’s most notable underachievers for many decades. It is certainly back now, with yields cut drastically, and the fruit harvested at a much riper stage, producing a wine that truly exploits this great terroir adjacent to Ausone.
Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050
