A terrific performance for an estate on a continuing upward trajectory, the 2020 Beau-Séjour Bécot unwinds in the glass with a deep bouquet of cherries and blackberries mingled with violets and spices. Medium to full-bodied, pure and layered, it's deep and concentrated, with a vibrant core of fruit, polished tannins and a long, sapid finish. The 2020 is a blend of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, some two-thirds of which was matured in new oak, with the balance in tanks, amphorae and foudres.
Fully four hectares of Beau-Séjour Bécot are lying fallow, and two more, recently replanted (with massal selections), are entering production only this year. That amounts to huge restructuring for an estate that only amounts to 22 hectares, sitting on Saint-Émilion's limestone plateau, and it will be fascinating to see the results. What has transformed this estate since 2018, however, has just as much to do with a change of approach in the winery and cellar as it does a change in the vineyards. Long but gentle macerations, more judicious extraction and a much defter touch with the choice of new oak are delivering wines of much greater finesse and complexity, without any loss of intensity, and the quality of this superb terroir is at last front and center in the glass.