2003 Bellevue Mondotte
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The 2003 Château Bellevue is fully mature, yet it's drinking beautifully with a lush, round, voluptuous style. Red and black cherries, truffly earth, leafy tobacco, and sweet spice all define the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied, has a rounded, layered, soft mouthfeel, resolved tannins, and outstanding length. It's not going to get better, but I'm happy to have a few more bottles in the cellar.
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Robert Parker
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Even in a vintage such as 2003 there are wines that are youthful, unevolved and still in need of bottle age. The 2003 Bellevue Mondotte is one of those wines. From a tiny (5 acres) estate owned by Gerard Perse, this blend of 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits youthful aromas of blue and black fruits, chalk dust, lead pencil shavings and Christmas fruitcake. Full, ripe and moderately tannic, it requires another 3-5 years of bottle age and could turn out to be one of the longest-lived wines of the vintage, lasting another 25-30 years.
Deep ruby-red. Full-blown aromas of mocha, truffle and nutty oak, with an exotic suggestion of apricot. Fat, sweet and fine-grained; impressively rich and deep but could use a bit more mid-palate lift. Today I don't find much primary fruit, but then this wine may still be in shock from the recent bottling in February. Finishes with dusty, somewhat tough tannins.