Beychevelle 2020

Big shouldered, layers of dark berry fruits, liqourice, cigar box, cloves and solid tannins, with character and depth, clear ageing potential. Muscular tannic construction, keeping its St Julien finesse a little hidden for now, but it will arrive with ageing, and you'd be hard pressed to be unhappy with drinking this 15 years from now. 47hl/h yield.

Full bottle 1,245 g. Cask sample taken 31 March. 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot.Concentrated purple. Headily aromatic with mulberry perfume and just a hint of oak. Silky tannins and marked freshness. Neat and the opposite of opulent. Classic wine for the table. 13.5%Drink 2028 – 2044

(51% CS, 45% M, 4% PV; 55% harvest; 47hl/ha; 13.4% ABV)Smells Merlot-plummy and subtly gravelly; full, fresh in acidity, very fine in tannin, a most delicious and particular balance; density and flesh, with a delicious freshness to taste, so easy at only 13.4% ABV; very finely tannic, long, juicy, characteristically fleshy from its 45% Merlot, remarkably harmonious and very satisfying; succulence, sap, complexity, and great length. Like the 2018 (especially), another magnificent Beychevelle, of slightly more classic proportions and style than either 2018 or 2019. In any case, a wonderful trio! The last trio of vintages, of both the Beychevelle and the Amiral, are a great achievement, in which Philippe Blanc can take very legitimate pride. 2030–50+.

The 2020 Beychevelle was perplexing from barrel. Re-tasting it three or four times, I discerned a faint but nagging vegetal note on the finish, though it was not evident on a bottle subsequently tasted at the property, which governed my banded score. Returning to Bordeaux to taste the wines that had been bottled in June 2022, I certainly appreciate the bouquet that is clean and pure with blackberry, bilberry, cedar and background sous-bois aromas. The oak is beautifully integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins and well-judged acidity. Quite intense black fruit laced with graphite, perhaps a tad more peppery than usual. On the first bottle encountered at a merchant, I picked up on the green note that sent alarm bells ringing. A second bottle at the château unequivocally showed no signs at all, very sleek and poised with a residual tingle of black pepper. Based on this sample, I am cautiously optimistic about this Beychevelle, though I will always keep a lookout for that trait.

The 2020 Beychevelle is the one wine that I vowed to re-taste at the château since I found three samples tasting in the UK vexing because of a green taint on the finish. Here, the nose performs well: pure blackberry and crushed violet, none of those incongruous “mulch” or “vegetal” scents that I noticed before. That’s a good omen. The palate? This is far different to the samples tasted before. I think there is still a very nuanced green/bell pepper note towards the finish, but here it is subsumed into the layers of black fruit. Swallowing a sip just to be certain, I am more reassured that the samples in the UK were unrepresentative and glad that I did not attribute a score, which I am happy to do now. 2028 - 2055

Sweet-berry and tobacco character with blackberries and violets. It’s full-bodied with firm, polished tannins and a fresh finish. Very fine at the end.

Deep purple-black colored, the 2020 Beychevelle offers up vibrant notes of black raspberries, fresh black cherries and cassis, plus hints of wild sage, chocolate mint, rose hip tea and fallen leaves, with an exotic hint of Indian spices. The medium to full-bodied palate offers layers of crunchy black fruits with a firm, grainy texture and just enough freshness, finishing long and perfumed. 2026 - 2046

Smoke, grilled almond on the nose, even a touch of rubber from an edge of reduction. This has depth to black chocolate and bilberry fruit, it is well balanced and seductive. Enjoyable, it's pretty broad shouldered but it sits well within the successful run of vintages at Beychevelle. A yield of 47hl/ha. 18 months ageing. 55% first wine.Drinking Window 2029 - 2044