Winemaker Notes
Blend: 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
The Barrel Sample for this wine is above 14% ABV.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
More seamless and elegant than the more powerful, structured Pavie Decesse (these all emerge from the Perse team), the Merlot-dominated 2019 Bellevue Mondotte just about jumps out of the glass with its ripe, spicy red, blue, and black fruits as well as spring flowers, graphite, chalky mineral, and violet-like aromas and flavors. Almost Pomerol-like with its seamless, polished tannins and gorgeous mouthfeel, it's flawlessly balanced, has a deep, layered mid-palate, and a great, great finish. This stunning Saint-Emilion will benefit from just 4-6 years of bottle age and cruise for 30+ years in cold cellars. Best after 2026.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Bellevue Mondotte is a blend of 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, harvested on the 5th of October. The yields this year were 18 hectoliters per hectare, and the alcohol came in at 14.81%, while the pH was 3.50 (remarkably low!). Very deep garnet-purple colored, it comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant black cherry preserves, blueberry compote and boysenberries scents plus hints of wilted roses, cumin seed, aniseed and cardamom. Full-bodied, the palate has fantastically ripe, silky tannins and gorgeous freshness supporting all that perfumed black and blue fruit, finishing long and harmonious.
Barrel Sample: (94-96)+
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James Suckling
The purity of fruit is impressive here with crushed blackberries, blueberries and dark chocolate with some coffee. It’s full-bodied, yet integrated and chewy. Rich finish.
Barrel Sample: 94-95
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a really stylish wine from the same ownership as Château Pavie. There are some generous tannins that give balance to the bold fruitiness. This is a wine for aging.
Barrel Sample: 92-94
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.