Château BEAUSEJOUR DUFFAU-LAGAROSSE 2022

Description

Neal Martin 95-97 points www.vinous.com
The 2022 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse was picked on 6-9 September for the Merlot and 23 for the Cabernet Franc, representing the highest percentage to date. It was cropped at 42hL/ha with 14.9% alcohol and a pH of 3.5. Aged in 68% new oak, it has a delicate nose that completely disguises that summer’s warmth. Precise redcurrant and raspberry fruit aromas are laced with minerals. The limestone soils percolate and evince the estate’s style under Joséphine Duffau Lagarrosse. It seems to deepen, to « stretch out » with aeration, manifesting more darker fruit. The palate is medium-bodied, mineral-driven and almost pastille-like in terms of purity with its mélange of red and blue fruit and granular texture. Background notes of tobacco and black truffle begin to surface with time. There’s just a trace of white pepper on the finish. Precise, focused and with plenty of substance, this is a characterful and intellectually satisfying Duffau. Most importantly, not only will it be flippin’ delicious, but you get the sense that Joséphine is only just getting started.

Yves Beck 98-99 points www.yvesbeck.wine

69% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Franc

Grand travail de sélection parcellaire, intra parcellaire, isolation de lots pour augmenter la précision et la pertinence. Le bouquet se distingue par sa fraîcheur et sa pluralité. Ainsi, il révèle des nuances florales ainsi que des parfums de baies noires mûres. Il en résulte une très belle symbiose. En bouche le vin joue sur plusieurs tableaux. Il y a bien entendu le côté charmant, invitant du Merlot et puis il y a le répondant du Cabernet Franc et, surtout, le côté vibrant, énergique, salivant du terroir de Beauséjour ! Plus que jamais, ce dernier a joué un rôle crucial dans le contexte de cette année chaude et très sèche. Les tannins se révèlent peu à peu pour atteindre leur amplitude en fin de bouche. Ils sont fins, suaves mais également vifs. Il en résulte un vin d’une exceptionnelle harmonie avec de la profondeur, de la complexité et de la persistance. Un vin vibrant, suave, vif, expressif avec une finale d’une rare persistance.  2030-2052

William Kelley 95-97 points www.erobertparker.com
The 2022 Beauséjour (Duffau Lagarrosse) promises to be the finest wine that this superb limestone terroir has produced in at least several decades. In recent years, the quality of the site always shone through, but it was sometimes obscured by an impactful vinification and élevage (plenty of creamy new oak and malolactic fermentation in barrel). Much of the estate’s Cabernet Franc was frequently eliminated from the blend. Joséphine Duffau Lagarrosse has changed that, incorporating fully 31% Cabernet Franc in the blend to deliver a complex and compelling wine evocative of wild berries, plums, rose petals and violets. Medium to full-bodied, pure and vibrant, it’s supple and layered, with beautifully refined tannins, terrific depth at the core and a long, chalky finish.

Jean-Marc Quarin 98 points www.quarin.com
Couleur noire et pourpre. Nez intense, fin, fruité, pur, mûr, subtil, frais, floral. Ample à l’attaque, avec un toucher de bouche ultra raffiné, le vin fond au palais, juteux et frais. A partir du milieu de bouche, apparaît une puissante concentration aromatique quasi fougueuse où se mêlent mille saveurs scintillantes. Vin tout en pulpe qui s’avale comme du petit lait. On doit cette expression ciselée à la présence de 31 % cabernet franc, la plus importante jamais observée dans ce cru (+ 69 % merlot) et à l’engagement total de Joséphine Duffau Lagarrosse de retour sur les pas de son grand-père. Degré d’alcool : 14°5 – pH : 3,5. Rendement : 42 hl/ha.

Antonio Galloni 94-97 points www.vinous.com
The 2022 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is an elegant, supremely polished wine. It is also an infant, and yet the pedigree is easy to see. Bright red/purplish fruit, rose petal, mint, chalk and white pepper lend aromatic brilliance to this understated, classy Saint-Émilion. Clean saline notes extend the finish effortlessly. I can’t wait to taste this from bottle.

Georgina Hindle 98 points  www.decanter.com
One of the clear standouts of the vintage! A sensual, fun, salivating and sublime wine from winemaker Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse that manages to give such generosity, power, terroir markers and overall drinkability. Aromatic, scented, open and expressive with cherries, blackcurrants, purple flowers and crushed stones. Sleek and supple, sharp, tangy acidity and concentrated ripe fruit – it’s forward and intense, direct but defined and detailed. Fine and supportive tannins have bite and a mineral tang putting you squarely in St-Emilion on limestone. Raw and wild in a way, but so expressive and open – honest and just such a captivating wine that belies the heat of the vintage with its cool menthol, blue fruits and lifted finish. Streamlined and focussed, sustained, determined and characterful – sleek in the best way, this is confident but not showy. Succulent, classy, polished. A brilliant wine. 3.5pH. A yield of 42hl/ha. Harvest 6 – 9 September for Merlot and 23 September for Cabernet Franc. Julien Viaud and Axel Marchal consultants. 98-100 points