Chateau Beychevelle 2020

JEB DUNNUCK: "The Grand Vin 2020 Château Beychevelle is a tiny selection representing just 55% of the total production of the estate. The blend is 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot which spent 18 months in 70% new French oak, hitting 13.5% natural alcohol. Surpassing both the 2016 and 2018, this inky-hued Saint-Julien offers a round, lush, full-bodied style as well as gorgeous aromatics of black cherries, blueberries, loamy earth, chocolate, and spring flowers. The vintage doesn't get any sexier, and this has sweet tannins, an opulent mouthfeel, and riveting purity and finesse. While it already offers pleasure, it's going to benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and keep for 25+."

DECANTER: "Scented and perfumed - violet tones, almost a touch of liqueur fruit to the nose, aromatic with dark chocolate touches too. Bright and shining, this is sleek, quite delicately displayed in terms of texture but this has layers of savoury elements - liquorice, clove, tobacco with bright red fruits and dark bramble fruits. Clean and compelling. Well made with tons of confidence. So complete, juicy in a heady seductive way, this is deeply scented, driven and brooding but perfectly weighted to keep the right side of being too heavy. Refreshing but devilishly charming - it leaves a clean feeling in the mouth where you just want to taste it again."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "The nose opens with a gorgeous display of flowers, chocolate, tobacco, black currants, blackberries, licorice, wet forest floor and espresso. As good as the perfume is, the wine is all about its layers of creamy, fresh, sweet, ripe, dark red pit fruits on the palate. The wine is full-bodied, elegant, lifted and refined, with length and purity to top it all off. The wine should age effortlessly for 3 decades, yet drink well, relatively early. Drink from 2025-2060."

JAMES SUCKLING: "A very polished and refined 2020 with a medium body, integrated tannins and a pretty texture. Nice currant, light chocolate and cedar undertones. Fresh finish. Drink after 2026."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, opaker Kern, zarte Randaufhellung. Attraktive schwarze Kirschfrucht, feines Cassis, ein Hauch von Kräuterwürze, zart mit Lakritze unterlegt. Saftig, frische rote Kirschen, süße Zwetschken, seidige, reife Tannine, mineralisch-salzig im Abgang, delikater, zugänglicher Stil, balanciert und gut anhaftend."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Delivers vivid fruit, with an eye-catching beam of cassis, kirsch and plum sauce notes that flow through nicely, supported by a light brambly edge and a well-inlaid graphite spine. The finish is scored by violet and anise as the fruit lingers. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2027 through 2037."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Rich and muscular, the 2020 Beychevelle offers up aromas of cassis, blackberries and baked plums mingled with notions of spices, pencil shavings and toasty new oak. Medium to full-bodied, thick and fleshy, with an ample core of fruit framed by powdery, generously extracted tannins that assert themselves on the finish, this is a more powerful, chunky Beychevelle than the suave 2019."

WEINWISSER: "Feingliedriges Bouquet, rote Grütze und Himbeerkonfitüre, dahinter Sandelholz und Estragon. Am geradlinigen Gaumen weiche Textur, nervige Rasse und mittlerer Körper. Im gebündelten feinaromatischen Finale rotbeerige Konturen, Wachsnoten und feinsandige Adstringenz. Fällt im Vergleich zu den Primeurs leicht ab."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Very dark with blackish core. Scented with sweet blackberry and cassis, rich and so openly fragrant. Firm, chewy but smooth tannins, so much lovely fruit spilling over the tannins. And a bite of freshness on the finish. Generous and long."