Chateau Belair-Monange 2010

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Deep garnet colored, the 2010 Belair Monange gives up cedar chest and vanilla pod notes over a core of baked plums, kirsch, blueberry pie and mocha plus wafts of tobacco and stewed tea. Full-bodied, the palate is still quite oaky with a good amount of black fruit preserves to back it up and a firm structure, finishing just a tad woody. Still very youthful, I imagine this oak will fall into line with another five years in bottle."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Aromas of berries, chili and a hint of toasted oak. Full body, with velvety tannins and a long, long finish. Juicy and beautiful. Really builds on the palate. One of the best wines ever from here. Super quality. Try in 2018."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarter Wasserrand. Zart ätherisch unterlegtes dunkles Waldbeerkonfit, zart rauchig, feine Edelholzanklänge, mineralischer Touch. Saftig, mit feinen Veilchennuancen unterlegte Kirschenfrucht, feine Tannine, finessenreich strukturiert, extraktsüß im Abgang, wirkt relativ leichtfüßig, zeigt große Länge, schwarzbeeriger Nachhall, sicheres Entwicklungspotenzial."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "The nose has really opened here. The ripe, rich, supple, plummy fruits, crushed rock, violets and earth, add even more to the full, bodied, concentrated wine. Even though it is still young, it is impossible not to enjoy how this stunner is developing."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "A big, complex wine from this continually improving property, this is now performing at its classed-growth level with concentrated ripe berry fruits and chocolate flavors. The wood aging is still showing through and needs time to integrate better, but as it does, this will be a great wine."

WEINWISSER: "Tiefes Purpur. Recht tiefes Bouquet, erdige Noten, Sommertrüffel, dunkle Pflaumen, Kakaonoten. Im Gaumen feinfleischig, warmes Extrakt, die Gerbstoffe sind aussen rund, innen noch verlangend. Überzeugt durch Schönheit und Harmonie."

DECANTER: "An exceptional vintage, clearly, the 2010 has power, depth and concentration that's far more evident than in the 2009, dominated by rich, brambly fruits, liquorice root and dark spices. At this point in time, the vineyard work was starting to reap rewards. A number of difficult plots had been pulled up and the new owners had begun to understand better the needs of the vineyard. 'We were learning how to work with the difference between the austerity of the limestone plateau and the more powerful clay on the slopes', is how Edouard Moueix puts it. It's perhaps not yet fully expressing the lyricism of the limestone as it does in more recent years, but there's an awful lot to celebrate here. It needs double-decanting to really show itself, but is definitely at the start of its drinking window."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Solidly built, with the chalky spine running from start to finish, while the core of red currant, raspberry and black cherry fruit is held in reserve. Shows a lovely floral flash through the finish, where the chalky edge really starts to emerge.—Non-blind Bélair-Monange vertical (December 2016). Best from 2020 through 2035. 1,350 cases made."