Winemaker Notes
Blend: 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
One of the standouts from the Right Bank is the 2016 Bellevue Mondotte, a powerful, full-bodied, structured effort that offers incredible minerality in its blackcurrant, graphite, new leather and burning ember-like aromas and flavors. A blend of 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, from tiny yields and brought up all in new oak, it has remarkable purity and freshness, and is locked and loaded on the palate. Give this monument in the making 4-5 years of bottle age and it will cruise for 2-3 decades in cold cellars.
Rating: 98+ -
James Suckling
This almost pure merlot shows a solid core of dark berries and a hint of dark chocolate. Full-bodied, ripe and round with compact tannins. Extremely long and intentional. Gorgeous finish. Drink after 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep purple-black, the 2016 Bellevue Mondotte has a dark, seductive, opulent nose of star anise, cumin seed, dried roses, incense and cedar chest over a core of plum preserves, baked blueberries, dates and Christmas cake plus hints of unsmoked cigars and tapenade. The full-bodied palate is a behemoth of fruit with a rock-solid frame to match, featuring firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing very long and very spicy.
Rating: 96+ -
Wine Spectator
A very polished and frankly ripe style, with caressing cassis and creamed raspberry notes cruising through, infused with anise and warm licorice flavors that drape across the finish. Despite the obvious style, this has density without coming off as heavy, with a very long finish that lets the fruit sing. Will have fans for sure. Best from 2021 through 2035.
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Wine Enthusiast
The six-acre vineyard sits on the plateau of Saint-Émilion. Juicy acidity and fresh black fruits give this wine an immediately attractive character. It is enhanced by perfumed tannins: not dry, almost sweet and certainly rich. Drink this wine from 2024.
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.