Beausejour Duffau 2012

St Emilion, Premier Grand Cru Classé B

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Tasting Notes
The 2012 Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse has much more freshness on the nose than its peers with perfumed black cherries, raspberry and marmalade aromas, the oak neatly integrated. It becomes more floral with aeration, hints of violet emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with gentle grip, a little conservative at first, though I appreciate the acidity here, and there is good grip on the finish. Drinking perfectly now, it should offer another 15 years of drinking pleasure. Tasted blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting. Score: 92 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2022-2037 27 September 2022
The 2012 Beauséjour Heritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is simply magnificent. Succulent black cherries, hard candy, savory herbs, smoke, licorice and tobacco all burst from the glass in a rich, voluptuous, concentrated wine. The tannins are there, but they are nearly buried by the sheer intensity of the fruit. Grilled herbs, smoke, cedar and tobacco meld into the explosive, resonant finish. The 2012 is 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc that spent 16-18 months in French oak, 75% new. There are a number of talented people who work on the Beauséjour wines, including Nicolas Thienpont, David Suire, Stéphane Derenoncourt and Julien Lavenu, but the most important thing is the terroir. And it is world class. Vivid and beautifully sculpted throughout, the 2012 has closed down since I last tasted it, about four months ago. There is little doubt it is one of the wines of the vintage. Don't miss it! Score: 96 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2022-2042 01 January 2016
(83% merlot and 17% cabernet franc; 28 h/h production): Opaque purple-ruby. Perfumed aromas of red cherry and sweet spices complicated by rose petal, white pepper and minerals. Then suave and juicy on the palate, offering pure flavors of red cherry jam, raspberry and vanilla nicely framed by lively acidity. Finishes impressively long, with a steely quality and repeating floral notes. The cabernets were harvested very late here, from October 20 through 23. Technical director David Suire told me that this was due to a 15-year-old parcel of cabernet franc vines that had been grafted over from cabernet sauvignon because of the estate's dissatisfaction with the sauvignon's quality. But the grafting caused the vines to ripen even later and it was necessary to wait them out in 2012. Score: 90 - 92 Ian D'Agata, Vinous.com 01 May 2013
The 2012 exhibits a black/purple color along with a striking nose of incense, spring flowers, blueberries, blackberries and hints of mulberries and crushed chalk. The sumptuous aromatics are followed by a full-bodied, super-concentrated, rich, layered wine that builds incrementally across the palate, finishing with an explosion of fruit, spice, tannin, glycerin and minerality. While neither as backward nor impenetrable as the 2009 and 2010, the 2012 should be approachable in 4-5 years and keep for 2-3 decades. A massive, concentrated effort from this great terroir, the 2012 Beausejour Duffau comes from a 16+-acre vineyard located on the clay and limestone southern slopes of St.-Emilion. It was cropped at 23 hectoliters per hectare, and the final blend was 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. Only 66% of the production went into the top wine, which boasts 14.3% natural alcohol. Readers can usually count on this cuvee being one of the finest wines of the vintage given the talented team behind it, Nicolas Thienpont, Stephane Derenoncourt, David Suire and Julien Lavenu. (93-95+ Points) Score: 93 - 95 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2017-2047 26 April 2013
The ripest of the Nicolas Thienpont line-up so far. Ripe sweet cherry. Merlot energy and generosity. Rich but held in check by the finesse of the tannins and the freshness. Lovely and long too. All well judged. But has the firmness and freshness for a good long life. (17+ Points) Score: 17 Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2017-2025 26 April 2013
Quite juicy, with notes of anise, blackberry, blueberry and raspberry all wrangling with one another, while singed wood spice and licorice snap fill out the finish. A touch chewy and briary in the end, but there’s ample fruit in reserve. Score: 91 - 94 James Molesworth, Wine Spectator 08 April 2013

Tasting Notes

The 2012 Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse has much more freshness on the nose than its peers with perfumed black cherries, raspberry and marmalade aromas, the oak neatly integrated. It becomes more floral with aeration, hints of violet emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with gentle grip, a little conservative at first, though I appreciate the acidity here, and there is good grip on the finish. Drinking perfectly now, it should offer another 15 years of drinking pleasure. Tasted blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.

Score: 92

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2022-2037 27 September 2022

The 2012 Beauséjour Heritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is simply magnificent. Succulent black cherries, hard candy, savory herbs, smoke, licorice and tobacco all burst from the glass in a rich, voluptuous, concentrated wine. The tannins are there, but they are nearly buried by the sheer intensity of the fruit. Grilled herbs, smoke, cedar and tobacco meld into the explosive, resonant finish. The 2012 is 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc that spent 16-18 months in French oak, 75% new. There are a number of talented people who work on the Beauséjour wines, including Nicolas Thienpont, David Suire, Stéphane Derenoncourt and Julien Lavenu, but the most important thing is the terroir. And it is world class. Vivid and beautifully sculpted throughout, the 2012 has closed down since I last tasted it, about four months ago. There is little doubt it is one of the wines of the vintage. Don't miss it!

Score: 96

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2022-2042 01 January 2016

(83% merlot and 17% cabernet franc; 28 h/h production): Opaque purple-ruby. Perfumed aromas of red cherry and sweet spices complicated by rose petal, white pepper and minerals. Then suave and juicy on the palate, offering pure flavors of red cherry jam, raspberry and vanilla nicely framed by lively acidity. Finishes impressively long, with a steely quality and repeating floral notes. The cabernets were harvested very late here, from October 20 through 23. Technical director David Suire told me that this was due to a 15-year-old parcel of cabernet franc vines that had been grafted over from cabernet sauvignon because of the estate's dissatisfaction with the sauvignon's quality. But the grafting caused the vines to ripen even later and it was necessary to wait them out in 2012.

Score: 90 - 92

Ian D'Agata, Vinous.com 01 May 2013

The 2012 exhibits a black/purple color along with a striking nose of incense, spring flowers, blueberries, blackberries and hints of mulberries and crushed chalk. The sumptuous aromatics are followed by a full-bodied, super-concentrated, rich, layered wine that builds incrementally across the palate, finishing with an explosion of fruit, spice, tannin, glycerin and minerality. While neither as backward nor impenetrable as the 2009 and 2010, the 2012 should be approachable in 4-5 years and keep for 2-3 decades. A massive, concentrated effort from this great terroir, the 2012 Beausejour Duffau comes from a 16+-acre vineyard located on the clay and limestone southern slopes of St.-Emilion. It was cropped at 23 hectoliters per hectare, and the final blend was 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. Only 66% of the production went into the top wine, which boasts 14.3% natural alcohol. Readers can usually count on this cuvee being one of the finest wines of the vintage given the talented team behind it, Nicolas Thienpont, Stephane Derenoncourt, David Suire and Julien Lavenu. (93-95+ Points)

Score: 93 - 95

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2017-2047 26 April 2013

The ripest of the Nicolas Thienpont line-up so far. Ripe sweet cherry. Merlot energy and generosity. Rich but held in check by the finesse of the tannins and the freshness. Lovely and long too. All well judged. But has the firmness and freshness for a good long life. (17+ Points)

Score: 17

Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2017-2025 26 April 2013

Quite juicy, with notes of anise, blackberry, blueberry and raspberry all wrangling with one another, while singed wood spice and licorice snap fill out the finish. A touch chewy and briary in the end, but there’s ample fruit in reserve.

Score: 91 - 94

James Molesworth, Wine Spectator 08 April 2013

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