France

Cabernet Sauvignon

Merlot

Cabernet Franc

Petit Verdot

Ch. Beychevelle

Chateau Beychevelle 4eme Cru Classe Saint-Julien

Bordeaux

Saint-Julien

Nydelig og ekspressiv på duft, modne blå plommer, underskog, svart te og nesten et lite touch sjokolade. 

På smak er det en maktdemonstrasjon i høy konsentrasjon, men samtidig en luftig og kremete munnfølelse. Jernhånd i silkehansker. Fortsatt veldig ungdommelig og primær, mørk og moden frukt mot blå plommer, saftig frukt, medium pluss syre og perfekt modne tanniner. En ultimat smoothie. 

82 Beychevelle litt senere var svært ung, men imponerte nesten like mye. Ytterligere 10-20 år trengs på den flasken vi smakte for å komme opp mot nivået til 61.

Sommelier

Deep garnet-purple colored. Black cherries, fresh red currants and mulberries scents slowly emerge from the glass, plus hints of wild sage and pencil lead. The light to medium-bodied palate delivers red berry and savory flavors with great tension and lightly chewy tannins, finishing with a skip in its step.

by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

Tasting just a few months on from En Primeur, this has a kick of white pepper and capsicum spice, excellent freshness and balance with elongated tannins and a kick of smoky black tea and liqourice root. Good stuff, 60% new oak for ageing.

Inside Bordeaux

A blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot, the 2022 Beychevelle has a TPI of 78 and a pH of 3.8. It is deep garnet-purple in color and needs a swirl or two to wake up pronounced notes of crème de cassis, plum preserves, and Morello cherries, giving way to nuances of candied violets, Darjeeling tea, and dark chocolate. The medium to full-bodied palate is densely laden with layers of black fruit preserves, supported by fine-grained tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long with a mineral lift.

A blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Beychevelle has a deep garnet-purple color. It needs plenty of swirling to coax out notes of ripe blackcurrants, Bing cherries, and juicy strawberries, giving way to nuances of forest floor, mossy tree bark, and tapenade. The light-bodied palate has delicately played red and black fruits that match its ethereal weight, supported by silky tannins and great tension, finishing long and fragrant. Pretty!

Brambled fruit, muscular but nicely integrated tannic architecture, cocoa bean and blackberry, well put together, skilful and enjoyable, cassis and cloves, grilled toast and sandalwood. Suggest giving the traditional ten years in bottle before opening, and should stay on the plateau for another few decades after that. Harvest September 14 to 29, 47hl/h yield, 60% new oak for ageing.

Classic balance, with an extra kick that gives longevity and a moreish juice on the finish. Great quality, this has spice, raspberry, black cherry and mirabelle plum fruit, with a ton of slate. Well balanced, appellation typicity, fresh acidities. Harvest September 23 to October 11, 60% new oak for ageing.

Bjørnebær, solbær, plomme, eik, sedertre, vanilje og en jordlig, leirete mineralitet. Veldig stor vin på alle mulige måter. Moden fruktprofil, tungt eiket og pågående alkohol. Samtidig voldsom konsentrasjon, finkornet tett og moden tanninprofil og meget god lengde. Dette er en vin som jeg er overbevist om kommer til å bli en stor vin og en av de jeg har smakt med mest potensial fra Saint-Julien i 2018. Sliter imidlertid med å komme helt i vater såpass ung, men dette blir vakkert om 10-20 år! 

WSET 2

A vintage that will provide lots of pleasure over the long term but no need to wait to begin enjoying. A soft dip through the mid palate, this doesn't have the intensity of some in the lineup, but delivers sappy fennel and slate texture and freshness, with a gourmet edge of cocoa bean that adds layers to the blueberry and raspberry fruit, and a mouthwatering finish. Harvest September 13 to October 3, 60% new oak for ageing.

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

Smakt på Bordeauxmessen. Sødmefull mørk frukt. Bjørnebær, plommer, urter og noen florale toner. Fyldig frukt, som allerede er ganske tilgjengelig med overvekt av Merlot. Hint av lær og skogbunn. Vinen vil utvikle seg videre i mange år. 
Drikk 2025-2035

Deep ruby colour, as it hits the 10 year mark you can see the work that Beychevelle had begun to do at this point in terms of tightning up its fruit expression and working the tannins to elongate them. Slate, cocoa bean, espresso, bilberry, cassis, totally delicious, a lot to enjoy if a little short on the finish. Will soften further over next decade but you can begin drinking now. Harvest September 25 to October 14, 60% new oak for ageing.

The 2013 Beychevelle has a medium garnet color, with a touch of brick. Notions of rosemary lamb, menthol, and tobacco waft over a core of fig paste, cherry cough syrup, and unsmoked cigars. The medium-bodied palate is a touch thin and chewy, with a refreshing backbone and an earthy finish.

Savoury black fruits, St Julien balance, this is on the tipping point between young and mature at 12 years old. Brambled blackberry and cassis fruits giving both colour and expression, with sage, cumin and fresh mint on the finish, this rises through the palate with a cushion of air that gives contrast to the gourmet fruit character. Harvest September 20 to October 5, 60% new oak for ageing.

Attractive fine tannins, this has savoury blue and red fruits, redcurrant and bilberry dominant, alongside mandarin peel freshness giving an attractive lift through the palate, plenty of St Julien signature if subdued right now - this is a vintage that will continue to deliver elegance over the long-term but is not about power. A dry growing season, relatively cool in summer but with little rainfall, meaning an early year with harvest September 14 to 20, 60% new oak for ageing.

This 2010 just nudges the 2009 for me in terms of future potential if you are looking to cellar over the long term. Has depth and silky tannins, layers of bitter black chocolate, tea, cocoa bean, espresso, salted cracker, rosemary, sage, anis, and aromatics of crushed roses as it opens. Great quality, a ton of complexity. 60% new oak for ageing, September 27 to October 13 for harvest.

Juicy, richly textured, plenty of depth here, rich red and black fruits, stretching out through the palate, fresh on the finish, this takes time to open and is still young in feel, not as generous as some 2009s but captures the graphite and gunsmoke of a Left Bank Cab and will keep on delivering. Harvest September 21 to 12 October, 60% new oak for ageing.

A little deeper in colour than the 2007, as befits a late-ripening vintage where they made the most of the Indian Summer. The tannins are less melted than the 2007, this still has a few years to go before fully softening, but you can certainly start drinking and enjoying today. Tobacco leaf, raspberry, brambled loganberry and cassis fruit, liqourice root, cloves, fresh acidites, some remnants of the austere tannins of the early years, but this is sliding into being a delicious wine, stretching out through the finish. Harvest September 29 to October 16, one of the later finishes in the lineup, 60% new oak.

Beautifully soft ruby colour, edges of tawny rose, and this balance and sense of welcome continues on the opening notes, campfire crackle, library, tobacco, gentle raspberry and brambled loganberry, smoked earth, a vintage that is certainly in its drinking window, will come to an end quicker than many of the more structued years, but continues to give pleasure today, and is one to look out for. Harvest September 21 to October 12, 60% new oak.

Firm ruby red in colour, tannins that are softening up but remain a little foursquare, a serious Beychevelle with layers of cassis and blackberry fruit, along with smoked earth, soy and tobacco. Getting ready to drink, the structure should elongate further over the next decade. Harvest September 20 to October 5, 60% new oak.

Still vibrant and young at 19 years old, full of charm, silky textured tannins that are well integrated but still very much cradling the fruit, with waves of cigar box, crushed rocks, earth, saffron and tobacco. Great moment to drink, 60% new oak for ageing.

At the 20 year mark, tawny ruby in colour, just beginning to soften in terms of its mouthfeel but still with plenty of tannic structure, this feels well balanced and elegant, in classic St Julien territory. Tobacco, cigar box, soy, turmeric, cumin, cassis, charming, finessed and thoroughly enjoyable style, with mouthwatering freshness on the finish. Harvest September 30 to October 16, 60% new oak.

Love the 2003 right now in the St Julien appellation, fully ready to drink, welcoming and surprisingly fresh when you think about the heat of the vintage. Full emphasis on cloves, cumin and tobacco, campfire, brambled black fruit, pomegranate and liqourice, in its drinking window and ready to please. Harvest Septrember 11 to 23, 60% new oak for ageing.

Sink into the tobacco and leather aromatics of a 22 year old Beychevelle, showcasing the easy finesse of the appellation even in a vintage that was not particularly celebrated at the time. The colour here is heading towards tawny, more evolved than some St Julien siblings you might find in the vintage, and I would place it as older if tasting blind, but that doesn't take away from the harmonious and moreish oyster shell and salted cracker minerality, and the soft melted tannins alongside wild strawberry and loganberry fruit. Charming, fine tannins, elegant. Harvest September 26 to October 10, 60% new oak.

A wonderful pairing to the 2000 vintage, and a great example of St Julien finesse and welcome. Perhaps a little less depth than the 2000 at this point, after a strong decade where the 2001 was the dominant vintage of the pair, it is beginning to be overtaken in terms of structure and fruit delivery but this remains an utterly charming wine (and a great teaching pair for how vintages are about choosing when to drink rather than just a simple which one is best). Tobacco, smoked caramel, rose petals, raspberries, fine tannins, cocoa dusting, cold ash, ready to drink but will continue to age. Harvest September 1 to October 14, 60% new oak.

Intensity and depth, this shows just how well built the 2000 vintage was in its youth, and how slowly it has come around. Now at the point where the tannins are starting to melt into the structure but still very much cradling the fruit. Cigar box and tobacco leaf, grilled coffee beans and mandarin peel, plenty of blackberry and bilberry fruits, great quality, full of St Julien finesse, ready to drink but with decades ahead, love this, and it's an upscore from my last tasting as it comes into its drinking window. Harvest September 22 to October 10, 60% new oak, 53hl/h yield.

Ripe red fruits, good lift and concentration even at close to 30 years old. Cigar box, black tea, soy, smoked earth, mushroom, campfire and black truffle, great quality if a little less mouthwatering than the 1986, more angular at this point with plenty of life ahead of it. An excellent vintage in the Médoc that is coming into its own at the moment. Philippe Blanc's first year at Beychevelle.

Storming wine, still generous and full of pleasure, a reminder of just how good Beychevelle has been in the past, and why it's such a joy to see how far it return to form over the past decade. I last had this two years ago, and it hasn't budged one bit - still full of smoked earth, truffles, rose petal and peony floral aromatics, tobacco and undergrowth, softly spun tannins and an unhurried desire to please, still fresh and treading lightly through the palate. Maurice Ruelle winemaker. There is bottle variation in this vintage, but we were lucky with this beautiful example, as I was last time, giving me confidence to put a high score against it.

Transparent ruby with brick rim. Exotic nose with spice, leather, cedar wood, figs and dates. Fresh acidity. Leather, tobacco, dried plum, figs and minerals. Very delicate style. Long.

What can I say. You just have to love a mature Bordeaux?

2024	No priceNot available	Excellent
2023	No priceNot available	Excellent
2022	No priceNot available	Outstanding
2021	No priceAvailable	Excellent
2020	kr 1 695,00Not available	Outstanding

Category	Red wine
Vinmonopolet no.
Producer	Ch. Beychevelle
Vintages	1961
Country	France, Bordeaux, Saint-Julien
Bottle	75 cl

Alcohol	14 %
Acid	4,1 %
Sugar	< 3 g/l

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