Another excellent effort from this Cotes de Castillon estate, this 2009 from Juliette Becot is a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc that tips the scales at 15.5% alcohol (the highest I tasted). The high alcohol is totally hidden because of the tiny yields (25.5 hectoliters per hectare) as well as the vintage character, which is one of great delicacy and freshness juxtaposed with unprecedented power and richness. A sleeper of the vintage, the 2009 Joanin-Becot possesses terrific opulence and layers of fruit and glycerin. This beauty should drink nicely for 10-15 years. Bravo! (Tasted four times.)

An intense wine from the Becot family (Michel Rolland is the consultant), this blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc was cropped at a very low 25.5. hectoliters per hectare. The wine has an opaque ruby/purple color and a big, projected nose of red and black fruits, toasty oak, graphite, and a hint of burning embers. A large-scaled wine at 14.5% alcohol, with the requisite glycerin and unctuous texture, this is a thick, juicy, very pure and impressively well-made wine from one of the most fashionable satellites of the Cotes de Bordeaux (Castillon), and thus kudos should go to proprietress Julliette Becot. Drink it over the next decade.

(75% merlot and 25% cabernet franc): Dark, bright red. Aromas and flavors of dark cherry, licorice, mocha, minerals and flowers. Plush, ripe and seamless, offering lovely sweetness but maintaining a light touch. Finishes long and fresh, with suave tannins and excellent grip. The silkiest and best wine I've tasted to date from this property, for drinking over the next 10 to 12 years.

(a 75/25 blend of merlot and cabernet franc) Deep ruby. Complex nose melds black plum, chocolate, sweet spices and balsamic aromas. Fat and lush, with an opulent, almost glyceral mouth feel to the ripe black fruit and smoky balsamic flavors. Finishes with noticeable tannic bite and some warmth. At over 15% alcohol, this may be too much of a good thing for those who prefer daintier, more classic Bordeaux