CHÂTEAU BEYCHEVELLE
2019 4ème Cru Classé Saint Julien
The 2019 Beychevelle remains glorious on the nose with detailed red berry fruit, incense and wilted rose petals. Maybe a little more understated than its peers? It has an endearing purity. The palate is medium-bodied with a firm grip, outstanding balance, very well poised with just a touch of glycine toward the finish. Yet another superb bottle. Tasted at the Beychevelle vertical at the property. Drinking range: 2025 - 2055 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2023)
* 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.
Beychevelle has been on a roll, especially these last few years. I expected quite a bit more from the 2019, but the two bottles I have tasted so far have been marked by an awkward combination of super-ripe fruit, vegetal notes and hard, aggressive contours. Drinking range: 2022 - 2029 Rating: 87 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
The 2019 Beychevelle presents a perfumed nose of blackberry, wilted rose petals, incense and a touch of violet that ebbs with aeration. Elegant, poised and focused, this is a succinct and quite complex Saint-Julien. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and wonderful depth, still retaining the discreet marine influence but showing a little more depth and rondeur on the persistent finish. This is a delicious Beychevelle. 13.7° alcohol Drinking range: 2025 - 2060 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
Grilled oak on the nose, creamy texture that highlights the ripe fruits. The tannins have closed down from the gourmet wine that I found En Primeur, but this is stacked and concentrated, and has great potential. Harvest September 23 to October 10, 55% of production in this main estate wine. 60% new oak. Drinking range: 2024 - 2036 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (Jan 2022)
The 2019 Beychevelle, one of the only wines that I actually tasted at the château with Philippe Blanc prior to lockdown, has a wonderful bouquet with detailed blackberry, briary, cedar and light touches of mocha unfurling from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity, a discrete marine influence taking over towards the finish. There is a tang of seaweed and brine on the aftertaste. It keeps you coming back for more. This is a great 2019 from Blanc and his team though we must wait to see if it will surpass their 2018. Drinking range: 2025 - 2060 Rating: 93-95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2020)
Rich, layered red with lots of ripe fruit and creamy, round tannins. Yet, it’s fresh and refined at the same time. Flavorful finish. Ripe and solid. Equal to the 2018 in quality. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Jun 2020)
A confident and well expressed Beychevelle, this is bristling with blackberry and cassis fruits, creamy through the mid palate as so many of the best wines are in this vintage. It's broad shouldered which takes it a little out of appellation signature, but the glamour is well balanced by a lovely crushed mint leaf finish. Harvest September 23 to October 10, 55% of production in this main estate wine, 45% in the 2nd wine. 60% new oak. 3% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. Drinking range: 2028 - 2044 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2020)
Château Beychevelle
St Julien Quatrième cru 1855 Jean-Louis Nogaret de la Valette, the first Duke of Epernon, was a powerful man. He was an Admiral and the Governor of Guyenne under King Henri III and in deference to him, so it is said, ships passing his estate on the River Gironde would dip their sails - this "baisse-voile" (or "bacha velo" in the local Gascon tongue) became "Beychevelle", and accounts for the presence of a rather fanciful ship on the label. The griffon at the prow of said ship echos the griffon in Greek mythology who guarded Dionysus's wine goblet. The fine château was built in the 18th Century, extended in the 19th, and has recently been restored. The vineyards are 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot with a little each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Wines are aged in wood for 18 months, with 50% of the barriques being new each year.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at 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 £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2023 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
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). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.