2021 Ch. Beauséjour

The 2021 Château Beausejour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) checks in as 63% Merlot and 27% Cabernet Franc that was harvested between September 30 and October 14 and was raised in 58% new French oak for 14 months, with the wine spending a few months in tank before bottling. It has a healthy ruby/purple hue as well as an incredible bouquet of black raspberries, ripe cherries, graphite, crushed stone, and hints of spicy herbs. This beauty is medium to full-bodied, has remarkable density on the mid-palate, and ultra-fine tannins. It's clearly in the top handful of wines in the vintage, offering density, terrific purity, and fabulous length. It's never going to be a blockbuster, but it’s an incredibly elegant, seamless wine that will have two decades or more of longevity. Bravo.

The 2021 Beauséjour-Duffau, which was previously Duffau-Lagarrosse, has developed a lovely bouquet that builds on the promise I found from barrel. The Cabernet Franc (27%) lends this complexity, adding dark berry fruit, licorice and a touch of black truffle that becomes more accentuated with time. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and fine depth, showing a touch of dark chocolate on the entry, white pepper and clove. It tapers ever so slightly toward the saline finish, likely because of the growing season more than anything else. This will require three or four years in bottle, but it should cruise nicely for 20 years.

The 2021 Beauséjour-Duffau (formerly Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse) is a gorgeous, refined wine. Silky, aromatic and wonderfully pure, the 2021 is super-impressive right out of the gate. All the elements are so well balanced. Dark cherry, pomegranate, spice and rose petal take shape in the glass, but more than anything, the 2021 is a wine of total finesse.