2019 Château Bellevue-Mondotte

The 2019 Bellevue Mondotte is another rich, muscular wine from the Perse family. Exhibiting aromas of ripe cherries, berry fruit liqueur, warm spices, paraffin wax and creamy new oak, it's full-bodied, thick and broad-shouldered, with a super ripe and generously extracted profile, lively acids and a long, heady, youthfully chewy finish where ripe but assertive tannins make their presence felt. From holdings on Saint-Émilion's plateau, opposite Stephan von Neipperg’s La Mondotte, this is another wine where I think more finesse wouldn't have to come at the expense of concentration or intensity; but it will delight drinkers who look back at the extremely powerful Saint-Émilions of the 2000s with nostalgia, as it remains faithful to that pedal-to-the-metal style.

The 2019 Bellevue Mondotte, picked at 18hL/ha on a single day (October 5) has a tightly wound bouquet of blackberry, briary, blueberry and light violet petal scents, but less of the marine aromas that I picked out from the barrel sample. However, there are some lovely orange pith scents that percolate through with continued aeration, and these are accentuated after a couple of hours. The palate is medium-bodied with gentle grip, good acidity and fine backbone. This is quite a sturdy Saint-Émilion with impressive density toward the finish. It needs just a little more charm and personality, though they may develop with time. Very fine, but patience required.