Chateau Bellevue 2016

JAMES SUCKLING: "A dense and layered red with ripe plums and blueberries, as well as hints of wet earth and moss. Full-bodied, velvety and layered with fantastic fruit and creamy, velvety tannins. Plush and deep. Great wine. Try from 2023."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Silky, lush, round and concentrated with dark cherries, licorice, espresso, plums and wet earth, The wine is opulently textured, fresh and long, leaving you with a serious depth of flavor, silky tannins and layers of plummy fruits covered with dark chocolate."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Made of 100% Merlot on clay and limestone soils, the 2016 Bellevue is medium to deep garnet-purple colored and charges out of the glass with enthusiastic notions of crushed red and black plums, kirsch, ripe blackberries and rose petals plus touches of yeast extract, black olives, aniseed and cinnamon toast. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is built like a brick house with a solid frame of ripe, grainy tannins and oodles of freshness lifting the densely packed, multilayered fruit to a good, long finish."

WEINWISSER: "Sattes Purpur mit violettem Rand. Komplexes Waldbeerbouquet, dahinter Pflaumentöne. Im kräftigen Gaumen mit tintiger Textur, reifem Extrakt, Brombeeren und dunklem Edelholz, zeigt sein grosses Potenzial und endet mit einem langen, blaubeerigen Finale."

JEB DUNNUCK: "Made from 100% Merlot and cooler limestone and clay soils, the 2016 Château Bellevue shows a beautiful minerality and freshness in its black raspberry, crushed rocks, graphite, and dried flower aromas and flavors. It's medium-bodied, focused, and precise on the palate, with fine yet certainly present tannins. Give this beauty 3-5 years and it will cruise for two decades."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, fester Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, intensive Nuancen von Edelholz, zart nach Lakritze, schwarze Beerenfrucht, feine Noten von Kräutern, etwas Schokolade. Stoffig, engmaschig, feiner Nougat, kühler Stil, gut eingebaute Tannine, sehr gute Länge, frisch und animierend, Potenzial für viele Jahre."

DECANTER: "There is a lovely creamy texture to this wine, joined by attractive spice notes. It's ripe but not overly so, showing good persistency and juicy fruit that fills out the tannins. Organically farmed. Drinking Window 2024 - 2040"

WINE SPECTATOR: "Lush and inviting, with warm cassis and plum sauce flavors that glide through, laced with anise and rooibos tea hints while sweet toast and wood spice notes stays nicely buried through the finish. A delicious, fruit-driven example. Drink now through 2035."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "This wine offers intensity and concentration. If it is one-dimensional it also has layers of acidity, tannins and juicy freshness that are immediately delectable. Drink this wine from 2023."