| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
With its distinctive label of a sailing boat, Beychevelle is a Bordeaux that is popular the world over. Always one of the most forward and "user-friendly" of the Saint Julien classed growths, this is a wine that is usually made to give relatively early drinking pleasure rather than to win academic blind tastings. We have noticed a significant step-up in quality in recent vintages. The percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon is low for the Northern Medoc and there is always a high percentage of Merlot in the final blend. From a vineyard that is 78 hectares in size. Always polished and supple, it is in huge demand in China where it is known as "Dragon Boat Wine".
Aromas of raspberries, currants, pencil shavings and sweet spices introduce the 2019 Beychevelle, a medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping wine that's fleshy and seamless, with a generous core of fruit, ripe tannins and succulent acids, concluding with an expansive finish. This is an open-knit, demonstrative Saint-Julien that will offer a broad drinking window. Drink Date 2025 - 2055
From: Bordeaux 2019: The Southwold Tasting (Feb 2023)
The 2019 Beychevelle has a very appealing, quite intellectual, pencil box and earthy nose that unfurls in the glass, taut and focused, the oak supremely well integrated. The palate is beautifully balanced with finely-sculpted tannins, wonderful balance, fresh and mineral-driven with a precise and complex finish. Superb sapidity, this is top notch with a long future ahead. Time to raise my score. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.
- By Neal Martin on January 2023
Drink 2026 - 2060
Deep ruby colour. Wild black fruit and a little fresh hedgerow on the nose here, layered with sweet vanilla. The palate is soft and seductive, with integrated, ripe tannins subsumed by fleshy black fruit. Oily black cherries with a long, fruit-laden finish, this will be approachable and moreish from the outset.
Gorgeous aromas of currants, crushed stones, blackberries and flowers. Full-bodied with refined tannins that are long and very polished. Creamy texture. It goes on for minutes. Lovely energy and sophistication to this. Try after 2026.
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2019 Beychevelle delivers profound plum preserves, stewed blackberries, and mocha scents with hints of smoked meats, dried herbs, and dusty soil. Full-bodied, the palate is dense and muscular with firm, rounded tannins and soft acidity, finishing long and decadent.
Grilled oak on the nose, creamy texture that highlights the ripe fruits. The tannins have closed down from the gourmet wine that I found En Primeur, but this is stacked and concentrated, and has great potential. Harvest September 23 to October 10, 55% of production in this main estate wine. 60% new oak.
Tasted blind. Dense and tarry nose. Savoury and dry with lots going on. Rounder and less obviously tannic than I would have expected in a St-Julien. Long. Rich! 13.5%
Drink 2028
– 2043
2019 is the 25th vintage at Beychevelle for managing director Philippe Blanc. 53% of the total crop was designated for the Grand Vin this year. Bright ruby purple in the glass with an open-knit nose of fresh hedgerow fruits and sappy blackcurrants. The palate is seamless and elegant, bringing fresh acidity, lifted intensity and fine-grained, ripe tannins that support rather than dominate the palate. Languid and fine through to a moreish and lightly spicy finish.
Coming in close to equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with just a splash of Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Château Beychevelle shows a classic Saint-Julien purity and finesse-driven style as well as notes of red and blue fruits, sappy flowers, tobacco, and chalky minerality. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, I love its overall balance and purity of fruit, it has silky tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. This wine always has upfront appeal, but the 2019 will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and should have 30 years of overall longevity.
46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot. Barrel sample.
Fragrant and floral on the nose. Plenty of zest and energy on the palate. Smooth, velvety texture. Tannins plentiful but polished. Clean and digeste with a persistent, palate-cleansing finish. (JL)
Drink 2026 – 2045
The 2019 Beychevelle presents a perfumed nose of blackberry, wilted rose petals, incense and a touch of violet that ebbs with aeration. Elegant, poised and focused, this is a succinct and quite complex Saint-Julien. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and wonderful depth, still retaining the discreet marine influence but showing a little more depth and rondeur on the persistent finish. This is a delicious Beychevelle. 13.7° alcohol. Drink 2025-2060.
The 2019 Beychevelle, one of the only wines that I actually tasted at the château with Philippe Blanc prior to lockdown, has a wonderful bouquet with detailed blackberry, briary, cedar and light touches of mocha unfurling from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity, a discrete marine influence taking over towards the finish. There is a tang of seaweed and brine on the aftertaste. It keeps you coming back for more. This is a great 2019 from Blanc and his team though we must wait to see if it will surpass their 2018. 2025 - 2060
Rich, layered red with lots of ripe fruit and creamy, round tannins. Yet, it’s fresh and refined at the same time. Flavorful finish. Ripe and solid. Equal to the 2018 in quality.
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Beychevelle explodes from the glass with bombastic scents of crème de cassis, blueberry preserves and baked plums with touches of menthol, cinnamon toast and smoked meats plus a waft of dark chocolate. The medium-bodied palate injects fantastic energy into the decadent black and blue fruit flavors, framed by exquisitely ripe, finely-grained tannins and bold freshness, finishing with great length and freshness. 2025 - 2058
A confident and well expressed Beychevelle, this is bristling with blackberry and cassis fruits, creamy through the mid palate as so many of the best wines are in this vintage. It's broad shouldered which takes it a little out of appellation signature, but the glamour is well balanced by a lovely crushed mint leaf finish. Harvest September 23 to October 10, 55% of production in this main estate wine, 45% in the 2nd wine. 60% new oak. 3% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. Drinking Window 2028 - 2044
49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc.
Very deep crimson. Glossy fruit and polished tannins. Quite sweet overall with an inky finish but flattering. 13.7%
Drink 2026 – 2040
