2015 Bellevue Mondotte
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Tasting notes
The 2015 Bellevue Mondotte showed spectacularly well from barrel and is now even better from bottle. One of the most impressive, sexy, opulent wines in the vintage, it boasts a saturated purple color as well as heavenly notes of crème de cassis, blackcurrants, smoked earth and chocolate. The quintessential Saint Emilion, with almost overflow fruit, full body, and a powerful, concentrated style, give bottles a handful of years in the cellar and drink it over the following 2-3 decades.
Critic scores
Average Score
Wine Spectator
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
The 2015 Bellevue Mondotte remains the most tannic and brooding of Gérard Perse's three top Saint-Émilions. Inky blue/purplish fruit, graphite, menthol, licorice, plum and crème de cassis infuse the sumptuous Bellevue Mondotte, which is remarkably nuanced for such a potent wine. Despite its considerable intensity, the 2015 packs a real punch, especially in its searing tannins. Readers will have to be patient with this muscular wine. I can't wait to taste it in another handful of years. The blend is 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon from 50-year-old vines. Yields were 20 hectoliters per hectare.
A neighbor of Pavie Decesse, this vintage is composed of 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 100% new French oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Bellevue Mondotte is a little youthfully closed, revealing subtle suggestions of plum preserves, blackberry pie and cherry compote plus an undercurrent of violets, mocha and black soil. The full-bodied palate is firm and rugged, packed with taut, muscular fruit and finishes long and earthy. Give it a good 5 years in bottle, at least, and drink it over the next 25+.