This is a terrific wine that has everything, from seamless texture to great depth of fruit. Full-bodied, yet agile and energetic. Pure merlot. One of the best I have had from here.This is a terrific wine that has everything, from seamless texture to great depth of fruit. Full-bodied, yet agile and energetic. Pure merlot. One of the best I have had from here.

Almost opaque in color, the wine is equally dark on the palate with its blackberry, black plum and chocolate profile. Full-bodied, rich, opulent and dense, the wine coats your palate, stains your teeth and doesn't relinquish its hold on you for at least 60 seconds, leaving you with waves of opulent, velvet-drenched plums and black cherries. Hedonistic and intense, with a salty, mineralistic, chocolate-tinged, plummy finish, this is a unique style of wine that needs to be tasted. And it needs to be aged for at least 12-15 years due to its intensity. However, it is not easy to find as only 350 cases, give or take were produced. This is the first vintage made from 100% old vine Merlot. 14.81% ABV. 97-99

The 2020 Bellevue Mondotte is made from 100% Merlot, with an alcohol of 14.92% and a pH of 3.54. It is aging in French oak barriques, 90% new. Displaying an opaque purple-black color, it sashays out of the glass with flamboyant notes of plum preserves, blackberry compote and blueberry pie, plus hints of hoisin, Chinese five spice and camphor with a touch of dried rose petals. The concentrated, seductive, full-bodied palate delivers layer upon layer of black and blue fruit preserves, accented by exotic spices and supported with firm, ripe, rounded tannins plus fantastic freshness. The finish is epically long and achingly fragrant. Wow!

Coming from a tiny site above Pavie and slightly deeper clay soils over limestone, the 100% Merlot 2020 Bellevue Mondotte is a medium to full-bodied, rich, concentrated Saint-Emilion that shows the straight, focused style of the vintage yet brings beautiful mid-palate depth and richness. Cassis, blueberries, crushed rocks, violets, and classy oak all define the bouquet, and it packs loads of fruit, tannins, and apparent minerality on the palate. It’s another killer wine from the team at Pavie.

The 2020 Bellevue Mondotte is a dark, brooding Saint-Émilion, from just two hectares of vineyards. Graphite, gravel, scorched earth, inky dark fruit, chocolate and cloves stain the palate. Deep and explosive, with tremendous energy, the Bellevue Mondotte is magnificent and also one of the most distinctive wines in the appellation. In 2020, it’s 100% Merlot, as the small parcels of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon that once were used here have been budded over to Merlot. What a wine!

vinous.com

This is dominated by crème de cassis, giving a flash of heat, which threatens to overpower. The tannins build up fairly swiftly, but alongside is a full on cascade of dark berry fruits. This is intense and architectural - it closes down firmly on the finish, but will open back up over the next decade. 3.54pH. A yield of 18hl/ha. 2ha vineyard, right up on the clay-limestone plateau, malolactic fermentation in large vats, 90% new oak. (Jane Anson)

Drinking Window 2025 - 2040

The 2020 Bellevue-Mondotte was a bit of a "bruiser" when I tasted the sample bottle sent to the UK, despite affording it as much aeration as I could allow. Re-examining the sample at Pavie, the wine demonstrates much more composure and refinement, therefore it deserves a higher score.
vinous.com

100% Merlot. Cask sample. Purple-black hue. Tightly wound and structured but has the fruit to match. Dark and steely on the nose. Solid tannic frame but the tannins fine grained. Reserved and intense but precise. Needs patience. (JL)