Aromas of blackcurrant, ripe blackberry, black olive, oyster shell and black tea. Some ash and dried flowers, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, tight-grained tannins. Sleek and compact with a savory, mineral finish. Great length and depth. Wonderful texture. Such precision. Try from 2026. Feb 2022

With all the richness, density and concentration required, you also find endless waves of perfectly ripe, black, blue and dark red fruits, crushed rocks, stone, licorice, smoke, flowers and espresso. Here you find, intensity, purity, minerality, silk and velvety tannins and a seamless, 60 second finish that just won't quit. The wine blends is 80% Merlot with 20% Cabernet Franc. Only 1,150 cases were produced. Tasted March 2021

Nicolas Thienpont has been director here for 10 years now, and the changes that he has brought have had a stunning and important effect, firmly placing this as one of the best estates in the appellation. Everything feels a little deeper and darker than its sibling Pavie Macquin in this vintage: the tannins are a little less pliant and a little more serious. This is clearly going to age well - you can feel the scrape of the limestone, the concentration of the cassis and tight tobacco flavours, the lift of the spices through the finish, and the tannic mass that's undeniable. 2018 saw half the normal yield, down in the mid-20hl/ha, and you can't miss the concentration it lends to the wine. The vines come from the slopes with clay over limestone, and with such natural power allied to these low yields I am sure this will take a full 10 years to become drinkable, but watch it really come into its own in 40 or 50 years! - www.decanter.com, Jane Anson, April 2019

While the 2018 Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) doesn't match the 2009 or 2016, it's certainly not far off. I wish every reader could taste this beautiful, age-worthy Saint-Emilion, and they should certainly have bottles in the cellar. Coming from a gorgeous hillside terroir of clay and limestone soils outside of Saint-Emilion and a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, it reveals a dense purple hue as well as classic Saint-Emilion minerality in its cassis and blue fruits as well as notes of damp earth, truffle, tobacco, and spring flowers. With full-bodied richness, a concentrated, backward, structured mouthfeel, lots of tannins, and just a brilliant mix of richness and elegance, it needs a good 5-7 years in the cellar and will have 40-50 years of prime drinking. March 2021

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.

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Beausejour Heritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse comes prancing out of the glass with the most gorgeous perfume of plum preserves, kirsch, redcurrant jelly and red roses, followed by suggestions of molten licorice, raspberry leaves, oolong tea and iron ore, with a waft of forest floor. The medium to full-bodied palate is laden with black and red berry preserves layers, framed by fantastically plush tannins and a seamless backbone, finishing long and earthy. A wine of impeccable poise and polish, it is delicious now, but allow it 3-4 years in bottle to really fan its feathers and drink it over the next 20 years or more. LPB April 2021

Dense and tight with some almost funky notes and perfumed top note. Immediate hit of amazing sweet, ripe fruit, loads of freshness building in the palate through to the finish which shows amazing minerality. This will go the distance. Hugely impressive. - April 2019

A head-turner, with velvety-textured cassis, plum sauce and cherry reduction flavors gliding through with a bit of panache thanks to bittersweet cocoa, black tea and dried anise notes. Chalky minerality extends the finish and leaves a mouthwatering echo. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2038. 1,165 cases made. JM

The 2018 Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse showed what I felt was a soupçon of overripeness on the nose when I tasted it from barrel. Now in bottle, there is still a scintilla of that trait in the plush, high-toned black cherry and crème de cassis scents, very opulent but at least pure. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe, saturated tannins that lend a fleshy, succulent mouthfeel. It is less viscous than I anticipated, though I still feel it needs more complexity toward the finish. As I remarked a few months ago, between Nicolas Thienpont’s Pavie-Macquin and this, I find the former is imbued with more tension and terroir expression, although I still enjoy this Saint-Émilion and appreciate the black pepper note that lingers on the aftertaste. March 2021

Tasted blind. Intense nose. Rather brutal on the palate. Slightly rustic tannins. Not sweet but a bit of a bludgeon rather than a caress. Needs a lot of time! (JR)

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Barrel sample. Subtly aromatic on the nose, attractive cassis. On the palate, the oak is a little intrusive so that the finish is slightly bitter. The tannins are fine-grained but there's a bit of a clash between the tannin and the acidity at the moment making it hard at the very end. (JH)