Château Bellevue-Mondotte 2020

Slightly herbal accents and compote notes; still feels a bit tight and closed, but with a seductively spicy finish.

Loaded with loganberry, açaí berry and boysenberry fruit flavors that bring underlying juicy energy, while graphite, black tea, roasted alder and violet notes fill in throughout. The long finish lets it all unfurl suavely. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2026 through 2040.

Quite a heady nose full of fleshy, fragrant plum jam. Unctuous and bright on the palate, lifted and lively; I love the hint of sweetness alongside wet stone, liquorice and a sharp, almost bitter dark chocolate note. A lovely gentle elegance and sense of refinement. Plush tannins provide weight, density and structure, kept lifted by the acidity and finishing with a salty minerality.

A linear and very compact Bellevue with blackberries, blueberries and chocolate. Full and tight with racy tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Racy and focused. 100% merlot. Give this until 2028.

Produced from 100% old-vine Merlot, the black and purple color alone tells you this is going to deliver a deep tasting experience. The wine is intense, full-bodied, deep, long, and opulent, offering seamless layers of chocolate-covered blackberries, black cherries, plums, and espresso. Yet, with all this depth of flavor, everything remains balanced, harmonious, long, and hedonistic. The finish brings lift, purity, and velvet-textured tannins that coat your palate, stain your teeth, and do not relinquish their hold for more than 50 seconds, leaving waves of rich plums and black cherries with tones of crushed rock and stone on the endnote. However, it is not easy to find, as only about 350 cases were produced. Drink from 2027–2055.

Deep ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, subtle brightening at the rim. Forest fruits, black cherries, delicate nougat, fresh orange zest, some vanilla. Tight-knit, juicy, dark forest berries, fine integrated tannins, mineral and persistent, spice on the finish, very good length, certain ageing potential.

Intense and floral aromas, very ripe and dark cherry fruit, crème de cassis, again a fine example of gorgeous ripe fruit with plenty of freshness giving lift, structured and bold with grainy but present tannin, great length and vigour with balanced oak throughout.

The 2020 Bellevue Mondotte is another powerhouse from the team at Pavie. All Merlot from the upper plateau above Château Pavie (the soils here contain a touch more clay), this full-bodied, deep, concentrated 2020 has a tight, unevolved bouquet of darker raspberries, cassis, truffly earth, and chocolate. Balanced, structured, and incredibly pure, it's mostly potential at this point and needs to be forgotten for 5-6 years.

Bellevue Mondotte 2020 is 100% Merlot this year and has a deep garnet-purple color. It comes barreling out of the glass with rambunctious notes of preserved plums, blueberry pie, and black cherries, leading to suggestions of candied violets, tapenade, and aniseed, plus a touch of iron ore. The medium- to full-bodied palate is completely coated with dark, decadent fruits, supported by velvety tannins and lovely freshness, finishing long with a spicy kick.

95-96

A very ripe nose of red fruits and strawberry coulis, yet letting slip a few notes of morello cherry and cassis blossom, with the charm of an Audrey Hepburn eyelash flutter. An explosive palate, balancing very present fruit with mouthwatering acidity. That typical minerality is there, and tannins that lend a certain gravity. A finely judged balance between freshness and ripe fruit, with a finish of fresh coffee.

The nose is fruity and offers freshness, power, a certain concentration, as well as a lovely fine grain (discreetly tight). It reveals notes of blackcurrant, pulpy strawberry and, more slightly, fleshy red berries, combined with subtle hints of local biotope, discreet touches of nutmeg, toasted hazelnut, vanilla, and an imperceptible almost sage-like note in the background. The palate is fruity and offers juiciness, smoothness, indulgence, tension, an airy character, lovely fruit, flesh, a beautiful delicacy, and a discreetly tight edge. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy/juicy raspberry, creamy strawberry and, more slightly, bright blackcurrant, combined with touches of tangy/juicy blue plum, hints of lily, nutmeg, sage, as well as discreet touches of Bourbon vanilla (in the background) and an imperceptible hint of mocha. The tannins are precise, well-handled, and offer softness. Good length. A wine of delicacy, pedigree and harmony.

93–95. Barrel Sample. Produced from old Merlot vines, this is a rich, juicy wine with layers of fresh acidity as well as blackberry fruits. The tannins give this superripe wine powerful density that will push it well towards aging.