Beausejour Duffau 2020

St Emilion, Premier Grand Cru Classé B

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Tasting Notes

The 2020 Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse), made mostly by the team of Nicolas Thienpont (the final blend was put together by Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse), is another tour de force from this incredible terroir, and undeniably one of the wines of the vintage. Based on 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc brought up in 70% new French oak, it offers a sensationally pure bouquet of black raspberries, blueberries, scorched earth, graphite, and a dense, smoky, floral character that emerges with time in the glass. With a voluptuous, layered mouthfeel, gorgeous mid-palate depth, building tannins, and a liqueur of mineral-like character on the finish, it shows the density, purity, precision, and vibrancy of this vintage perfectly and displays that rare mix of richness, intensity, elegance, and length that are the hallmarks of a truly great wine. This is unquestionably in the ranks of the 2009, 2010, and 2016 and will evolve for 40 years or more.

Score: 100

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Maturity: 2028-2063 29 March 2023

A blend of 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 Château Beausejour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) should end up being up with the top wines in the appellation. Showing the more straight, focused style of the vintage, it has a monster of a mid-palate, full-bodied richness, building tannins on the palate, and incredible minerality on the finish. Loaded with cassis fruit as well as lead pencil and graphite notes, this dense, powerful beauty almost requires a fork. It’s brilliant all the way and will have 30-40 years of longevity.

Score: 95 - 97

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 25 May 2021

The 2020 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is racy, sophisticated and wonderfully polished. Crushed red berry fruit, lavender, rose petal, cinnamon and blood orange all race through the 2020. This is the first vintage overseen by consulting winemaker Julien Viaud, who seems to be going for a less extracted style than that favored by Nicolas Thienpont. There is plenty of size and vertical explosive energy, but the 2020 is also wonderfully finessed, especially in its tannins. It's a striking wine by any measure.

Score: 97

Antonio Galloni, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2026-2050 23 February 2023

The 2020 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is one of the most harmonious young wines I have tasted here in some time, maybe ever. All the elements are so well put together. The tannins that can usually be so fierce when the wine is young are totally covered by layers of inky dark fruit. Graphite, wild herbs, lavender, chocolate and gravel add layers of aromatic nuance. In the glass, the 2020 towers with its imposing, vertical structure and pure pedigree.

Score: 95 - 98

Antonio Galloni, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2035-2050 01 June 2021

Intense but delicate, really an exciting wine to taste where you feel the energy build through the palate. Unmistakable limestone influence with the floral aromatics, a jumble of peony, roses and violets, opening up to brambled raspberry and loganberry fruits, with fennel, oyster shell and slate. Huge ageing potential. Cabernet Sauvignon rather than Cabernet Franc in this blend, just one of the many ways in which it stands out from its peers even on the limestone plateau of St Emilion, its delicacy suggesting it is one of the most Burgundian of Bordeaux wines. This vintage was overseen during the growing season and vinification by the team under Nicolas Thienpont, but given its final blend and ageing by new co-owner Josephine Duffau-Lagarosse, along with Prisca Courtin-Clarins.

Score: 98

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2028-2046 15 February 2023

The 2020 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is aged in around 60% new oak and made by Nicolas Thienpont and Stéphane Derenoncourt; Joséphine Duffau tweaked the blend when she took over in April of the following year. This was bottled at the end of May 2022. It has a perfumed nose, predominantly red fruit, sous-bois and a subtle Japanese nori scent. Quite "contained" at the moment, I can see this shutting down. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, dark cherries, bilberry and hints of black pepper and black olive (the latter is accentuated in the chateau bottle). Nicely balanced and persistent, this Saint-Émilion should age with class. Tasted twice with consistent notes.

Score: 92

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2025-2042 08 February 2023

The 2020 Beauséjour Duffau Lagarrosse was tasted both as a sample sent to my home in the UK and then just a couple of days later at the château itself with new co-proprietor Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse. The assemblage is almost the same as Nicolas Thienpont’s but with an extra component: all the Cabernet Franc in the vineyard, representing 19% of the blend. Dark purple in color, this has a perfumed, floral bouquet, scents of wilted iris flower and rose petal combining with the black cherry and black plum aromas. There is a subtle undercurrent of seaweed and shucked oyster shell. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins and a little chalkiness to the texture (more so in the sample at the château). The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins, fine tension and acidity, and quite mineral-driven, leading to an almost pixelated, precise finish. This is a seriously fine debut from Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse.

Score: 93 - 95

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2027 - 2050 01 May 2021

Deep purple-black in color, the 2020 Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) charges out of the glass with bold notions of plum preserves, wild blueberries and boysenberries, plus hints of dark chocolate, molten licorice, lavender and fennel seed, with a waft of Sichuan pepper. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers bags of juicy black and blue fruits with a soft texture and seamless freshness, finishing long and with beautiful purity.

Score: 95 - 97

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2026 - 2043 20 May 2021