Chateau Belair-Monange 2019

JAMES SUCKLING: "Wonderful aromas of fresh flowers, blackberries and cherries. Licorice and lilacs, too. Full-bodied, yet so tight and refined, translucent and weightless. Incredible purity and excellence. This is the heart and soul of the property in a glass. Really pinpointed at the end. Enchanting and thought-provoking. Needs time to open and soften. Try after 2028."

DECANTER: "One of the standouts in 2019. Red fruit aromatics are so clear on the nose, strawberries and sweet red cherries with some bramble floral notes - delicate and liffed. Gorgeous expression on the palate, so finely framed with tannins that are smooth and supple, effortlessly coating the mouth and giving life to the bright cherry and raspberry fruit. This has grace - slender and smooth - the flavours just glide across the palate, filling out the mouth with lashings of limestone terroir markers - crystalline fruit purity, crushed stones, mint and minerality. Clearly concentrated, there's layers of flavour but there's also such persistence, the flavours go on and on. Wonderful lift and so charming. I absolutely love it. Drinking Window 2030 - 2050"

JEB DUNNUCK: "The flagship 2019 Château Belair-Monange checks in as 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc from 25-year-old vines and raised in 50% new French oak. It's a magical wine in the vintage and offers more depth and richness than just about every other Saint-Emilion out there, all while holding onto a gorgeous sense of finesse and elegance, which would almost have me guessing Pomerol in a blind tasting. Deep red and black fruits, truffly earth, tobacco, and spring flower notes all emerge on the nose, and this puppy is full-bodied, has a layered, seamless mouthfeel, gorgeous tannins, and one heck of a great finish. It's stunning, and while it offers incredible pleasure today given its purity and flawless balance, it deserves 7-8 years of bottle age and will evolve for 30 years or more."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Reife Herzkirschen, feine dunkles Beerenkonfit ist unterlegt, zart nach Nougat und Edelholz, feines Bukett. Komplex, elegant, angenehme Extraktsüße, seidige Tannine, feine Säurestruktur, ausgewogen, wie aus einem Guss, bereits gut entwickelt, vielversprechendes Potenzial, ein delikater, bereits in der Jugend ungemein verführerischer Wein. Nahezu perfekt."

WEINWISSER: "Purpur mit rubinroten Reflexen und lila Rand. Herrlich feinsinniges Bouquet mit betörender Veilchennote, Blaubeeren, roter Grütze und einen Hauch Veilchen. Sehr feminin, fast burgundisch, gerade wenn man den Wein nach den kräftigeren Pomerol-Boliden verkostet. Am Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, ultrafeinem Tanninkleid, ungemein feingliedrig mit grosser Eleganz und Finesse. Tanzt geradezu schwerelos wie eine Ballerina. Gerade nach dem Moueix-Pomerol- Trio ein fabelhaftes Finessenstück, eine feine Dame im Dior-Kleid. Christian Moueix stellt diesen Wein bei den Primeur-Verkostungen immer ans Ende, gerade in diesem Jahr zeigt sich aber, dass er sicher vor den drei Pomerol- Boliden rein technisch besser stünde, aber uns und dem Wein macht das nichts aus. Chapeau, Edouard Moueix!"

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Showing off its spring flowers, wet earth, spice-box and red with black fruits easily, the wine hits all the right marks. Vibrant, elegant, rich, and silky, the finish continues down the same path with its sublime display of crushed rocks, spice, black and red pit fruits and sensuous, velvet drenched textures. The salty endnote caps everything of nicely as the fruits glide across your palate. Drink from 2031-2055."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "A structured, elegant wine at the top of its form. It has ripe blackberry fruits, a rich texture and a fine future. Solid but with a fine style, the wine will be ready from 2027."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Like Trotanoy, though of course not to the same extent, the 2019 Belair Monange is another of the richer, more powerful wines in the Mouiex portfolio this year. Offering up aromas of sweet cherries, wild berries, vanilla pod, plum preserve, warm spices and cedary new oak, it's full-bodied, broad and muscular, with a deep and layered core of ripe, sun-kissed fruit that's framed by lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This captures the richness of the vintage wonderfully, with long, caressing waves of cassis, plum reduction and boysenberry compote flavors gliding through. Laced with subtle red tea, floral and mineral hints through the lengthy finish, this is really well done and augmented by a level of purity most don't have in this vintage. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2040. 3,200 cases made, 550 cases imported. "

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Fresh, poised and intense with red-fruit aromas and a brush-stroke of chalk. Voluptuous fruit on the palate but plenty of energy and drive, the fruit juicy and refreshing. Plentiful tannins but very, very fine, the finish long and persistent. Pin-point execution."