CHÂTEAU BEAUSÉJOUR BÉCOT
2013 1er Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion
Has B-B's usual deep dark glossy purple-edged look. Harmonious black fruit nose. Rich fruit on palate is warm and smooth, but dryer than recent years, tightening on the finish, but it's all complete and whole, a big velvet mouthful. Rating: 90+ L&S (Apr 2014)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
A strong effort from this Premiere Grand Cru Classe in St.-Emilion, the 2013 final blend of 80% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon hit 13.5% natural alcohol. The wine was made from grapes harvested October 7-18. About 5,500 cases were produced, which is far less than usual, but what’s there is impressive in this tough year. Dense, plum/purple in color, with a serious bouquet of graphite, black currants, kirsch, licorice and toasty oak, it is well-endowed, medium-bodied, and moving toward a fuller tactile impact and more texture than most wines. This has a long, supple finish and should be drinkable at a relatively early age. Look for this wine to come into its own in another several years and last for 12-15. 2014-2029 Rating: 91-93 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (Aug 2014)
Dark ruby. Deep aromas of small dark berries, cedar, ink and graphite. Rich and dense, showing an almost unctuous quality to the plum, blackberry and floral flavors, a real rarity in 2013 wines. Finishes with youthfully chewy but ripe tannins. This wine has well above average density and is a real success for the vintage. Rating: 88-91 Ian d'Agata - Stephen Tanzer website (May 2014)
Fresh on the nose the palate has a mix of red and black fruits with the red dominating. The mid palate is tight the tannins very firm tending to shorten the finish. 2017-27. Rating: 85-87 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (May 2014)
The rich vein of form continues at this impressive St Emilion property. The tannins are particularly fine in this 2013, supported by sweet, aromatic oak, bright acidity and flavours of blackberry, plum and Asian spices. The 4% Cabernet adds backbone. 2018-25 Rating: 93 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (May 2014)
Pretty good core of ripe red fruit in the core and a nice, if masculine, oaky tang throughout. Good depth and impact and nice weight, too. It needs some time to settle down but will be a medium-weight charmer with blackberry and spice in due course. Rating: 17+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Apr 2014)
Light palate with a vegetal underripeness beneath the fruit. Simple, light, not unattractive but not wholly expressive either. Seems a little warm on the finish too. (RH) Drink 2016-2023. Rating: 15 Richard Hemming MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2014)
Purple hue. Red fruit nose. Good depth of fruit. Harmonious and fresh. Touch grainy and dry on the finish. Drink: 2018-2030. Rating: 16.75 James Lawther MW, decanter.com (Apr 2014)
The Château Beausejour Bécot has a ripe bouquet with dark berries, crème de cassis and iodine scents that are nicely defined and for the vintage, quite opulent. The palate is medium-bodied with fine extraction: smooth and velvety in texture with nicely judged acidity and a long spicy, almost Pomerol-like finish. It does not possess the depth or complexity of a great Beausejour Bécot, but it should give pleasure over the next 8 to 10 years. Rating: 89-91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2014)
A juicy, savory wine for the vintage with a mineral, berry and dark-fruit character. Medium to full body, firm tannins and a fresh finish. Rating: 89-90 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2014)
Château Beau-Séjour Bécot
Château Beau Séjour Bécot sits on the slopes above Château Angelus, half a mile west of the town of St Emilion. It was once part of a larger Château Beauséjour estate which was owned by the de Carle family who owned Château Figeac. After a couple of changes of ownership, the estate was divided in 1869 between the children of Pierre-Paulin Ducarpe - his daughter's share became Château Beauséjour-Duffau-Lagarosse, whilst his son's, eventually, became Château Beau Séjour Bécot. The Bécot part of the name only became attached in 1969 when Michel Bécot bought the estate, and the Bécot family own it to this day. The controversial addition to Beau Séjour Bécot of some other vineyards owned by the Bécot family, an addition which nearly doubled the size of the estate, led to its demotion from Premier Grand Cru Classé status to "only" Grand Cru Classé status in 1979. Relentless work to prove that the new larger estate was as good, if not better, than before paid off in 1996 when Château Beau Séjour Bécot was re-elevated to Premier Grand Cru Classé status. The vineyards are a fairly typical mix of 70% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc with a small quantity of Cabernet Sauvignon. Maturation is in mostly new oak.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.