Winemaker Notes
The color is dark and deep. Smooth attack with sweetness. The stunning palate develops to reveal a dense and fresh structure, with a refined velvety coating. Long and pure finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Impressive dark plums and mulberries with nicely intertwined spices and violets. Attractive leafiness and sweet, earthy depth. The palate has suave, flowing tannins that carry a plush, plump core of dark-plum and mulberry flavors with a seamlessly long, showy finish. Try this from 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Produced from 100% Merlot, the 2015 Bellevue gives up a deep garnet-purple color and quite an earthy/savory nose with tilled soil, charcuterie and roasted nut notions over a core of plum preserves, black forest cake and licorice plus hints of tar and bay leaves. Medium to full-bodied with firm, rounded tannins and vibrant fruit expression lifted by a lovely line of freshness, it finishes on a minerally note.
Rating: 94+ -
Wine Enthusiast
The estate is situated on the slope opposite Angélus. This wine's tannins are firm but well integrated into the crisp Merlot fruit. The depth and complexity of this wine will allow it to age well. Drink from 2026.
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Wine Spectator
Blackberry, raspberry and boysenberry fruit is stitched together by a refined chalky structure. The long, focused finish ripples with understated energy. Best from 2023 through 2035.
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Decanter
Ample berry fruits, spice and toast with a dried sage herbal complexity; fresh and crisp with fine-grained tannins. Drinking Window 2023 - 2037
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.