Beausejour Duffau is one of the hot Bordeaux wine properties in St. Emilion. It has not been that way for close to 20 years. The last great vintage produced by the chateau was 1990. And that was made in large part by accident. They forget to pick and left the grapes on the vine, longer than they anticipated! 19 years is a long time between great vintages. Far too long for a chateau that owns some of the finest, limestone terroir in St. Emilion. The property is perfectly situated next to Chateau Canon, Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot and not far from Chateau Angelus. Those are nice neighbors to have!
For the 2009 vintage, the owners made a change and brought in the team of Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt as consultants. They replaced Michel Rolland. With a combination of the right weather conditions and a new way of looking at things from the Derenoncourt and Theinpont team, the estate has now released back to back hits. 2009 and 2010 are both amongst the top wines of both vintages. The following wines were all tasted in bottle in Bordeaux at the end of June, 2011.
Beausejour Duffau
2009 Beausejour Duffau-Lagreosse – An explosive perfume filled with flowers, fennel, crushed stone, chocolate and ripe black plums grabs your attention. Fat, sexy, juicy, silky and erotic textures couple with the luscious mouth coating layers of intense, ripe black fruits and sweet black cherry jam that last for over forty seconds. The wine was bottled, May 15. 2010 Beausejour Duffau is a more complete wine. But at close to twice the price, even though 2009 Beausejour Duffau has moved up in price, it’s still the vintage to buy. 97 Pts
2009 Larcis Ducasse  – Minerality, licorice, plum, black raspberry, caramel, smoke and rose petals make up the delicate perfume. In the mouth, this sexy, fleshy, opulent wine delivers layers of juicy plums and ripe black cherries. The wine was bottled May 15. 94 Pts
2009 Pavie Macquin – Floral, licorice, stone, blackberry, truffle and mineral scents are easy to find. Once past the perfume, your palate discovers a concentrated, full bodied, juicy, ripe, opulent, exotic, mouthful of spicy blackberry, anise and black plums. 96 Pts
2009 La Prade – Bottled late May and produced from 100% Merlot, the perfume offers scents of oak, licorice, plum and jammy black raspberries. Full bodied, soft textured and packed with sweet, juicy plums, vanilla, black cherry, pepper and cassis, this is a delicious wine. 91 Pts
2009 Puygueraud – Bottled June 10, from a blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec, the wine opens with sweet licorice, tobacco, black raspberry and spice scents. Medium bodied, this ends with soft textured, sweet, black raspberry and chocolate in the finish. 88 Pts
1 Comment
Always love to see another fine winery in St. Emilion! But here’s a question, just how do you forget to pick your grapes???