Winemaker Notes
Blend: 70% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Wonderful nose with loads of dark chocolate, plums and some coffee. Opens up with orange peel, leather and vanilla. Full and round on palate with beautiful fruit and sweet polished tannins. Long and gorgeous with a really smooth texture.
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Wine Enthusiast
In the opulent style of superripe Merlot, this is a rich wine that delivers generous black currant fruits with tannins that are dense but not overwhelming. It is finely structured, proud of its elegance, stylish fruit and tannin balance. The wine is set for long-term aging, but will certainly be drinkable in 5–10 years.
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Wine Spectator
Delivers a deliciously vibrant core of linzer torte, blackberry confiture and melted licorice snap notes, along with toasted spice and a mouthwatering apple wood accent on the finish The grip is briary and energetic, showing a fine, buried minerality. Should stretch out wonderfully in the cellar. Best from 2016 through 2028.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Beau-Sejour Becot reveals a lifted, slightly acetone-scented nose over a core of baked blackberries and prunes plus wafts of dried bay leaves, pencil lead and tilled soil. Full-bodied, the palate is pleasantly tart with firm, sturdy tannins supporting the generous herb-laced black fruit preserves, finishing a tad chewy.
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.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.