2016 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot, St Emilion, Bordeaux

Tasted blind

Lift and spice on the nose and very sweet, slightly drying fruit on the palate. Hard work – thanks to a bit of over-extraction?

Drink 2025 - 2040

Right on the limestone plateau, this has a lovely delivery of extremely ripe black fruits dotted through with minerality and little pulses of electricity. Extremely successful, this will age well thanks to elongated tannins that are chalky in all the right places. Again, we have this slight austerity on the finish, a reminder than 2016 is not the right bank party we saw in 2015, but this is excellent with such a beautiful balance.

Drink 2027 - 2050

Showing spectacularly well on the two occasions I was able to taste it; the 2016 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot is a blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 16 months in 90% new oak, and hitting a healthy 14.5% natural alcohol. This straight-up, classy, seamless, ultra-fine Saint Emilion offers a beautiful bouquet of red currants, white truffles, spice, and flowers. With brilliant limestone character, fabulous nose and palate intensity, ultra-fine tannins, and a magical texture, it’s approachable today yet has another 20 years of prime drinking.

Drink 2019 - 2039

The 2016 Beauséjour Bécot has a sensual bouquet of pure red cherries and crushed strawberry laced with cedar and light graphite scents. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and well-judged acidity. The finish is harmonious and somehow just effortless. This actually reminds me of its neighbour, Château Canon. Could the 2016 represent the best Beauséjour Bécot ever made? Quite possibly.

Drink 2022 - 2050

Extremely aromatic and lifted on the nose, with wild fruit and flowers, as well as chalk and mushroom undertones. Full body and ultra-fine tannins with beautiful grace and balance. Shows structure yet refinement at the same time. It needs four to five years to come completely together, but it is already so beautiful.

Drink after 2023

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Beau-Sejour Becot 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon) is just a little closed to begin, opening out to reveal beautiful chocolate-covered cherries, preserved plums and black raspberries scents with touches of stewed tea, tobacco, red roses and cinnamon stick. Full-bodied and jam-packed with perfumed fruit layers, it has a rock-solid frame of ripe, finely-grained tannins and layer upon layer of provocative black fruit and savoury layers on the finish.

Drink 2022 - 2037