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Beychevelle 1996

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Beychevelle

Label

Tasting Notes

Beychevelle's 1996 reveals an evolved, dark plum color. The nose offers toasty new oak in an open, charming style with berry fruit intermixed with spice. It is an uninspiring example, particularly for such a top-notch terroir, but the wine is medium-bodied and cleanly made, with moderate longevity. Anticipated maturity: now-2012. Last tasted, 1/01.

86
Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (4), December 2003

Bright ruby. Ripe and velvety on the nose. Round but quite aggressive and brutal. Lots of tannin still there. Wait for this to calm down. Competent but not the most exciting. Drink 2009-18

16
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, September 2006

Slightly sweeter Cabernet Sauvignon fruit distinguishes the 1996 from the 1995. It reveals medium body, good but not terrific ripeness, clean winemaking, and toasty oak. It provides a narrowly constructed, elegant, but unmoving drinking experience. There is firm tannin in the finish, so bottle age may help a bit. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2015.This wine did not perform as well as I hoped. It has the potential to be one to two points better, but after tasting it several times, it appears to be a good but uninspiring effort.

85/86
Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (3), November 1998

It reveals medium body, good but not terrific ripeness, clean winemaking, and toasty oak. It provides a narrowly constructed, elegant, but unmoving drinking experience.

85/86
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (115), February 1998
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.