2020 Bellefont Belcier St Emilion Grand Cru Classe

"The finest wine I've tasted from this estate, the 2020 Chateau Bellefont-Belcier is an incredibly gorgeous blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep ruby/purple-hued, it offers a great nose of cassis, ripe black cherries, camphor, dried flowers, cedar, and forest floor. Bringing gorgeous richness, it nevertheless stays flawlessly balanced, with ultra-fine tannins and a great finish. The purity of fruit here is just about off the charts. While it already offers pleasure, it's going to benefit from short-term cellaring and have 20-25 years of prime drinking. This estate uses a five-day cold soak and fermentation, all in concrete, spanning 25 days. Malolactic fermentation occurs in barrel (four months on lees), and the wine spends 18 months in 30% new French oak, with the balance in once- and twice-used barrels. Yields in 2020 were also reasonable at 34 hectoliters per hectare. Best After 2026."

"Fascinating aromas of plums, peaches, lavender, violets, and other flowers. Hints of fresh herbs, too. So complex. Full-bodied yet so elegant and polished with a curated and focused palate. Hints of chocolate at the end. It’s so subtle and complex. Weightless on the palate. About 30% was aged in 30 hectoliter casks. 72% merlot, 18% cabernet franc and 10% cabernet sauvignon."

"With a strong touch of minerality, the wine is elegant, fresh and refined with good intensity. The fruit is vibrant, lifted and precise. There is a refinement and purity in the sweet, red fruits. The finish is loaded with flowers, crushed rocks and stones providing you with length, complexity and freshness coupled with the ability to age and evolve. The wine was made from blending 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and is aged in a combination of 30% foudres and 30% new, French oak."