Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse Saint-Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend

The 2009 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse has been eulogized elsewhere, but returning to this vintage after four years, it's a very good Saint-Émilion rather than a great one. It has a typically ripe and exotic bouquet with a heavy carapace of new oak that doesn't feel completely welded to the fruit. Certainly, there is immense concentration, which will appeal if that's your metric. The palate is intense and structured with layered black fruit, high-toned but lacking complexity. It has a hedonistic allure, and there is a fine grip, notwithstanding that it develops more nuance in the glass. Maybe give it another four to five years? Tasted at the Lia's Wings/book dinner at Medlar restaurant. (Neal Martin, Vinous, December 2023)

The 2019 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarosse has a composed and more backward nose with blackberry, raspberry coulis and cedar, quite airy yet focused. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, quite stern and structured, backward and unyielding towards the finish laced with graphite that lingers on the aftertaste. This seriously requires time. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, 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. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2023)

The 2018 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is a huge wine that is going to need a number of years to come into its own. A wine of unreal concentration and pure power, the 2018 takes over all the senses with its commanding presence. Black cherry, chocolate, licorice, gravel, cured meat and cloves all scream out of the glass. This wild, untamed Saint-Émilion needs cellaring. I imagine it will still be a spectacular wine many decades from now. As was the case from barrel, the typically imposing tannins are nearly buried by the sheer concentration of the fruit. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, March 2021)

Deep Ruby with aromas of black fruits, complex spice and notes of herbs and forest floor. On the palate subtle flavors cherry and red plum with notes of cacao, espresso and licorice. Fine tannins, adding to great mouthfeel, long finish ending with toasty cedar notes and earthy herb mineral. Good now as fruit starting to fade a bit, but still showing beauty and grace. Nice!

The 2017 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is powerful and backward, with huge tannins wrapped around a core of black cherry, smoke, charcoal, licorice, blackberry jam and graphite. Exotic and rich in the glass, the 2017 needs time to soften, but it is immensely promising, not to mention utterly captivating. Tasted three times. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, March 2020)

The 2017 Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse in bottle offers a mélange of red and black fruit: cassis, raspberry coulis, veins of Valrona chocolate and a touch of crushed stone. It feels fresh and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, saturated tannins. There is plenty of black fruit here laced with traces of marmalade and fig jam, perhaps a touch exotic considering the vintage but everything is controlled and focused on the finish. I would just like to see more personality here - maybe that will evolve with time? (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2020)

The 2016 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse has come together beautifully since I last tasted it. Nearly seamless in the glass, the 2016 is rich, unctuous and potent, with all of its elements in the right place. Nothing really sticks out. Instead, I am simply blown away by the wine's intensity, explosive power and overall pedigree. Time in the glass brings out hints of graphite, smoke, cured meats, licorice and dark spices, but it is the wine's balance that is most impressive today. In 2016, Nicolas Thienpont and his team crafted a Beauséjour of mind-boggling intensity and purity. Tasted three times. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, January 2019)

An absolute hidden gem in St. Emilion. Easily a top 5 producer in all of St. Emilion. Elegant and drinking fantastic for an '07. Kicking myself for not jumping on the '16 en primeur.

Consensus WOTN, magnum. Beautiful nose of cedar and spicy tobacco. Dark red fruit in a soft-as-a-baby's-ass package, with that weighty gravitas only produced by age and good breeding. Thanks, MN! Would've scored higher but started to fade in a tarty-dry thin-ness after 45 mins. Drink up, don't decant.