A. Bommarito
Chateau Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse 2012
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96 Points Jeb Dunnuck 12/12/2017
One of the stars in the vintage is the 2012 from Beausejour Duffau which checks in as 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. It sports an inky purple color as well as classic notes of blackberries, blueberries, crushed violets and graphite. This big, rich, concentrated 2012 has shut down slightly since release, yet still offers tons of density and texture. Hide bottles for another 3-4 years and enjoy over the following two decades or more. This is still available in the market and is a no brainer purchase.
96 Points Vinous - 07/2015
The 2012 Beauséjour Heritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is simply magnificent. Succulent black cherries, hard candy, savory herbs, smoke, licorice and tobacco all burst from the glass in a rich, voluptuous, concentrated wine. The tannins are there, but they are nearly buried by the sheer intensity of the fruit. Grilled herbs, smoke, cedar and tobacco meld into the explosive, resonant finish. The 2012 is 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc that spent 16-18 months in French oak, 75% new. There are a number of talented people who work on the Beauséjour wines, including Nicolas Thienpont, David Suire, Stéphane Derenoncourt and Julien Lavenu, but the most important thing is the terroir. And it is world class. Vivid and beautifully sculpted throughout, the 2012 has closed down since I last tasted it, about four months ago. There is little doubt it is one of the wines of the vintage. Dont miss it!
The 2012 Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse is medium to deep garnet colored. It needs a fair bit of swirling to uncover notes of prunes, blackberry preserves, and fruitcake, plus suggestions of unsmoked cigars and sandalwood. The medium to full-bodied palate remains laden with youthful fruit and ripe, rounded tannins with seamless freshness and a long, savory finish. It should age well for a further 18 years+.
The 2012 exhibits a black/purple color along with a striking nose of incense, spring flowers, blueberries, blackberries and hints of mulberries and crushed chalk. The sumptuous aromatics are followed by a full-bodied, super-concentrated, rich, layered wine that builds incrementally across the palate, finishing with an explosion of fruit, spice, tannin, glycerin and minerality. While neither as backward nor impenetrable as the 2009 and 2010, the 2012 should be approachable in 4-5 years and keep for 2-3 decades.
A massive, concentrated effort from this great terroir, the 2012 Beausejour Duffau comes from a 16+-acre vineyard located on the clay and limestone southern slopes of St.-Emilion. It was cropped at 23 hectoliters per hectare, and the final blend was 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. Only 66% of the production went into the top wine, which boasts 14.3% natural alcohol. Readers can usually count on this cuvee being one of the finest wines of the vintage given the talented team behind it, Nicolas Thienpont, Stephane Derenoncourt, David Suire and Julien Lavenu.
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