Tasting Notes and Scores
Clearly the best wine from here since 1989 or 1990. The intensity of dark fruits is insane with citrus and flowers as well as dark fruits. Full and lively with a finish that lasts for minutes but it is dense and impressive.
James Suckling
Vivid ruby. Captivating aromas of blackcurrant, red cherry, sweet spices and minerals are complemented by a strikingly pure violet nuance. Enters the mouth lush and concentrated, offering sweet dark berry and coffee flavors lifted by notes of black pepper, graphite and Asian spices. Turns more austere on the back half but remains very pure, hinting at uncommon depth and complexity. This classic, elegantly styled BDL finishes long and crisp, with very polished tannins and floral and mineral echoes.
Wine Independent
Tasted at the chateau, the Chateau Beausejour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) is a blend of 73% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon picked between 8th October and 22nd October at 26hl/ha and raised for between 16 and 18 months in 60% new oak. It offers a seductive, floral bouquet with raspberry preserve, redcurrant, a touch of fig jam and cold stone. It is controlled and focused, unwinding slowly in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a vibrant, almost effervescent entry. There is a citric thread of acidity interwoven from start to finish: a complex Saint Emilion that deserves 5 to 7-years ageing in bottle to really show its class. This is an excellent wine that should age well over the next two decades. Tasted November 2012.
(91-93+ pts)
This has a very refined, composed, well-defined bouquet with pure cassis and raspberry fruit, nice mineralité underneath that should become exposed by age. The palate is very fleshy and oaky on the entry but there is decent freshness here. Slips down the throat with ease with notes of crushed strawberry, redcurrant and a touch of Morello, very harmonious towards the finish if lacking a little backbone, but very fine nonetheless. Tasted April 2011.
Neal Martin
Ripe and exotic, but focused, with really enticing blueberry, violet, pastis and raspberry aromas and flavors. Lush and long, with lots of range and length. —J.M.
Wine Spectator
The color is still inky, like a barrel sample. And that is just part of the story. The nose knocks you out with its power, complexity, and depth. On the palate, the wine is insanely concentrated. But don't let that fool you. This is no one trick pony! The waves of fruit just keep on coming. They are dark, pure sweet and taste like you took a basket of fresh picked plums and cherries at their perfect level of ripeness and squeezed them over rocks and stone before placing all that gorgeous juice in the bottle. This is a legend in the making that will be talked about for future generations. The texture, weight, density, and quality of the fruit is surreal. There were only 1,100 cases produced, so if this sounds like your style of wine, you should have this in your cellar. Tasted March 2019
Jeff Leve
The 2010 is a more structured, masculine and steely version of the utterly compelling 2009. Tasting like black raspberry confiture with subtle notes of graphite and crushed chalk along with enormous floral notes, the wine displays a slightly smoky character but a voluptuous attack, mid-palate and finish. Its is full-bodied and massively endowed, with every component perfectly etched in this extraordinary wine, which should be drinkable after 7-8 years of bottle age and last for a half-century or more. This is brilliant stuff. Composed of 73% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon from yields of 21 hectoliters per hectare, the alcohol is the highest ever registered at Beausejour-Duffau, coming in at 15%, but remarkably, the pH is modest and the acids relatively elevated, giving the wine an astonishing freshness and precision that is hard to believe in view of its power, density and length. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2055+.
Anyone who has read this publication or visited St.-Emilion knows that this is a magical terroir capable of great things. It was only fully exploited in the past in the 1990 vintage, but has reached more consistently great heights over the last three or four years. Kudos to the duo of Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt for what they have achieved over the last few years at Beausejour-Duffau.
-Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #205 Feb 2013
(96-100 pts)
2010: Since the wunderkind team of Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt assumed responsibility for this extraordinary vineyard planted on the clay and limestone southern slopes of St.-Emilion, quality has soared. The 2009 (rated 96-98+) was the greatest vintage since the estate’s prodigious 1990 and the 2010 looks to be its equal. Composed of 73% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon made from tiny yields of 21 hectoliters per hectare, the 2010 achieved a remarkably high 15% natural alcohol. However, the high alcohol is completely hidden by the wine’s freshness, high acids and modest pH. A remarkable nose of blueberries, blackberries, crushed chalk, acacia flowers, licorice and truffles is accompanied by an unbelievable minerality on the palate, full-bodied power, amazing texture, a multidimensional personality and a 50+ second finish. One of the most profound wines of the vintage, this 2010 should drink well for 30-35 years or more.
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