Winemaker Notes
Very fine and racy nose with a mineral touch that accompanies the top notes of juicy red berries and spices. The mouth is very complete, supple and fresh. The wine should gain in complexity and length after a few years of aging. 2018 is unquestionably one of the greatest vintages of the 21st century.
Blend: 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot
Organically grown
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of plums and berries with bark and light chili undertones. Medium body with round tannins and pretty balance. From organically grown grapes. Drink in 2023.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from a mix of 78% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Malbec, the 2018 Château Bellegrave offers a darker slant in its black cherry and blueberry fruits as well as notes of damp earth, spring flowers, and violets. This carries to a rich, medium to full-bodied Pomerol with a rock star of a mid-palate, loads of rich, opulent fruit, ripe tannins, and a great finish. This ripe, hedonistic beauty stays nicely balanced and has the pure, lively style of the vintage front and center. It's well worth seeking out and should keep for 10-12 years, most likely longer.
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Wine Enthusiast
This dense wine showcases Cabernet Sauvignon, with rich black-currant fruits and dense, still young tannins. The wine has great potential, with its structure and layers of acidity in the background. Drink from 2024. Cellar Selection.
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.
The leader on the Left Bank in number of first growth classified producers within its boundaries, Pauillac has more than any of the other appellations, at three of the five. Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild border St. Estephe on its northern end and Chateau Latour is at Pauillac’s southern end, bordering St. Julien.
While the first growths are certainly some of the better producers of the Left Bank, today they often compete with some of the “lower ranked” producers (second, third, fourth, fifth growth) in quality and value. The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification that goes back to 1855. The finest chateaux in that year were judged on the basis of reputation and trading price; changes in rank since then have been miniscule at best. Today producers such as Chateau Pontet-Canet, Chateau Grand Puy-Lacoste, Chateau Lynch-Bages, among others (all fifth growth) offer some of the most outstanding wines in all of Bordeaux.
Defining characteristics of fine wines from Pauillac (i.e. Cabernet-based Bordeaux Blends) include inky and juicy blackcurrant, cedar or cigar box and plush or chalky tannins.
Layers of gravel in the Pauillac region are key to its wines’ character and quality. The layers offer excellent drainage in the relatively flat topography of the region allowing water to run off into “jalles” or streams, which subsequently flow off into the Gironde.