Chateau Haut-Beausejour 2017
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Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A juicy young wine with dark-berry and walnut character. Full body, juicy fruit and a flavorful finish.
Range: 90-91 -
Wine Spectator
Features alluring, gently mulled damson plum and cherry fruit, with enticing red tea and floral notes darting throughout. A light chalky echo permeates the finish, adding length and grace. Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2028. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.
Other Vintages
2016-
Suckling
James - Decanter
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert
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Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine
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Enthusiast
Wine
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Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Deeply colored, concentrated, and distinctive, St. Estephe is the go-to for great, age-worthy and reliable Bordeaux reds. Separated from Pauillac merely by a stream, St. Estephe is the farthest northwest of the highest classed villages of the Haut Medoc and is therefore subject to the most intense maritime influence of the Atlantic.
St. Estephe soils are rich in gravel like all of the best sites of the Haut Medoc but here the formation of gravel over clay creates a cooler atmosphere for its vines compared to those in the villages farther downstream. This results in delayed ripening and wines with higher acidity compared to the other villages.
While they can seem a bit austere when young, St. Estephe reds prove to live very long in the cellar. Traitionally dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, many producers now add a significant proportion of Merlot to the blend, which will soften any sharp edges of the more tannic, Cabernet.
The St. Estephe village contains two second growths, Chateau Montrose and Cos d’Estournel.