Chateau Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse 2020

Professional Ratings

• 100 Jeb Dunnuck
  The 2020 Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse), made mostly by the team of Nicolas Thienpont (the final blend was put together by Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse), is another tour de force from this incredible terroir, and undeniably one of the wines of the vintage. Based on 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc brought up in 70% new French oak, it offers a sensationally pure bouquet of black raspberries, blueberries, scorched earth, graphite, and a dense, smoky, floral character that emerges with time in the glass. With a voluptuous, layered mouthfeel, gorgeous mid-palate depth, building tannins, and a liqueur of mineral-like character on the finish, it shows the density, purity, precision, and vibrancy of this vintage perfectly and displays that rare mix of richness, intensity, elegance, and length that are the hallmarks of a truly great wine. This is unquestionably in the ranks of the 2009, 2010, and 2016 and will evolve for 40 years or more.
• 97 James Suckling
  Blackberries with lavender, cedar, sandalwood and flowers. Very subtle aromas. It’s medium- to full-bodied with a very tight palate of fine, structured tannins that run the length of the wine. Closed at the end. Shows excellent precision and aging potential. 81.5% merlot and 18.5% cabernet franc. Try after 2028.
• 94 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  The 2020 Beauséjour (Duffau Lagarrosse) is showing well in bottle, offering up aromas of dark berries, plums, licorice, rose petals and spices framed by creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, layered and fleshy, with a rich core of fruit, lively acids and chalky structure, it was vinified by Nicolas Thienpont and his team, but Joséphine Duffau modified the final blend, which includes 19% Cabernet Franc and the balance Merlot. Tasted next to the 2018 and 2019, the 2020 is somewhat more restrained, but it is the end of a stylistic chapter rather than the beginning of a new one. Rating: 94+