Ch.Beausejour Duffau 2014 - 6bots 750mlx6

Wine Advocate #Interim, Apr 01, 2017 by Neal Martin
The 2014 Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) was an intriguing and quite mercurial Saint Emilion when I tasted it from barrel. Now in bottle, it has developed a quite compelling bouquet, very pure with black cherries, iodine, potpourri and crushed violets. The intensity is very impressive. The palate is medium-bodied with almost rigid tannin. This is a masculine wine, perhaps one that has closed down after bottle since it was so expressive from barrel. It is much more linear than I was expecting, even with a touch of hardness on the finish. It is a rather enigmatic Saint Emilion, one tricky to pin down at the moment. Hopefully more flesh will surface with bottle age and just balance out that strict finish. Let's see where this will go. Certainly I would not broach this for a few years.

Château Beausejour Duffau is one of the 13 Premier Grand Cru Classes in the appellation of St Emilion. Formerly fully titled Château Beauséjour-Duffau-Lagarrosse, was originally part of a single estate with Château Beau-Séjour-Bécot. In 1869 the vineyards were split up between the owner's two children and they have been owned and run separately ever since. Beauséjour-Duffau, a 1er Grand Cru Classé B property, is located on the Côtes of St-Emilion, on the edge of a limestone plateau.
Beausejour-Duffau's 7 hectares of vineyards are planted with Merlot (70%), Cabernet Franc (20%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%). The grapes are fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel and concrete vats and the wine is aged in barriques (50% new) for 18 months. It is bottled unfiltered. Under the brilliant management of Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt quality has soared. The estate consistently produces complex St-Emilion wines which are intense, powerful, full-bodied and redolent of black fruits, spices and minerals. It shows at its best with at least 6-7 years of bottle age.

Meats, Beef and Venison