PV Tasting Notes
This is another of the up and coming estates of St Emilion which ranks in the very top echelon of the appellation. The vineyards are wonderfully situated on the limestone plateau and the Becots appear to be willing to invest whatever it takes to build Beau-Sejour-Becot into one of the most renowned names of St Emilion. This 2008 vintage is another strong effort and one which I feel may well be up rated by Robert Parker over the next year or two. The wine displays a lovely perfume, full bodied flavours which coat the palate, but with a wonderful freshness, I’m not certain why this is, it was a long cool summer, but they harvested in late October and the alcohol is 14% so they achieved full ripeness, perhaps it’s just this vintage, anyway, it possesses huge richness and incredible tannin levels, but they’re quite silky already. My feeling is this will eventually come in with a mid/high 90s score once it’s had a little time to strut its stuff. Ultimately I think this has the potential to become a blockbuster even surpassing both 2000 and 2005 wines.
Independent Review18.9/20 Points (97/100) Decanter Magazine April 2011
Fragrant open fruit, herbatious florility, nutmeg, vanilla and really classy oak in the background. Tremendous fruit which is generous and satisfying with grainey tannins, natural acidity and pleasing freshness. Very polished.
91-93 points Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate, April 2009
This red/purple-colored offering reveals a sweet toasty oak character, wonderful ripeness, full-bodied opulence, superb purity, a layered mouthfeel, high but ripe tannin, and an underlying minerality and crispness from the vintage’s acid profile. This wine appears to just be coming off of malolactic fermentation, and it will benefit from several years of bottle age. It should keep for two decades or more. The natural alcohol came in at 14%.
Proprietor Gerard Becot’s 40-acre vineyard, planted in pure limestone, is relatively large for St.-Emilion. The final blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon represents a sweet, rich, concentrated 2008 that competes favorably with the 2005.
Beau-Sejour-Becot and Beausejour-Duffau-Lagarrosse are located on a little hill outside the walls of Saint Emilion, with a striking view over the lazy curve of the Dordogne. Both Beausejour vineyards were one single property until 1869, when they were divided between two branches of the Ducarpe family. Both vineyards which adjoin each other were ranked First Great Growths (Premiers Grands Crus)of Saint Emilion in the official classification of 1955. Both are now in the hands of the Becot family and making fabulous wines, Beau-Sejour-Becot also has very impressive cellars hewn out of the rock, and is the slightly larger of the two vineyards comprising 7.6 Hectares against 6 hectares of Beausejour Duffau.