Winemaker Notes
Deep ruby colour with purple hints, Chateau Belle Assise Coureau 2014 is an elegant and complex wine, with great finesse. The nose is delicate with vanilla and toasted aromas that are combining with spices and licorice notes. With an ample attack, it is fleshy with silky and noble tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Similar in quality to the terrific 2015, the 2016 Château Belle Assise Coureau reveals a mostly opaque ruby/purple color to go with a solid perfume of ripe black cherries, wild strawberries, damp forest floor, flowers, and hints of earth. As always, this wine isn't the most dense or structured wine out there, yet it's polished, balanced, has considerable charm and elegance, and remarkable purity of fruit. Drink it over the coming 8-10 years.
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James Suckling
This is so ripe it almost reminds me of raspberry liqueur on the nose. A lush and supple mouthful, till you get to the finish, where some slightly chewy tannins help master the alcohol.
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Wine Enthusiast
Attractively structured Cabernet Franc is a major element in this ripe, elegant wine. Its tannins and black-plum fruits promise a good future, reinforced by the acidity and structure from wood aging.
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.