1975 Château Beychevelle
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Tasting notes
The 1975 Beychevelle is not a bad wine by any means, but it typifies the rather austere wines the Left Bank begat in this vintage. It has a not displeasurable algae-like tincture on the nose, along with black fruit and simple peaty/undergrowth scents over time. The palate is marked by dry tannins, a leitmotif of this vintage, gritty and quite firm in the mouth. This wine lacks a bit of length but it is not a write-off.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Early in this wine's life, it tasted precocious and forward for the normally tannic, hard wines of the vintage. However, this wine has now firmed up, and it should turn out to be the longest-lived Beychevelle of the seventies. Dark ruby, with a ripe, spicy, leather-and-black currant-scented bouquet, this full-bodied, weighty, muscular Beychevelle is atypically powerful. Whether it will ever resolve all the tannins remains debatable. Anticipated maturity: Now-2005. Last tasted, 10/89.
Early in this wine's life, it tasted precocious and forward for the normally tannic, hard wines of the vintage. However, this wine has now firmed up, and it should turn out to be the longest-lived Beychevelle of the seventies. Dark ruby, with a ripe, spicy, leather-and-black currant-scented bouquet, this full-bodied, weighty, muscular Beychevelle is atypically powerful. Whether it will ever resolve all the tannins remains debatable. Anticipated maturity: Now-2005. Last tasted, 10/89. Jan 1998, www.robertparker.com
About the producer
With greater care in the vineyard and more precision in the winery, Ch. Beychevelle's star is rising. That's in large part due to the leadership of Philippe Blanc and investment by current owners, Japanese brewers Suntory and French wine group Castel.