CHÂTEAU BEYCHEVELLE

2020 4ème Cru Classé Saint Julien

EN PRIMEUR

The 2020 Beychevelle opens with the most exotic bouquet imaginable. Wild flowers of all sorts, spice, lavender and inky dark fruit all saturate the palate. As always, Beychevelle is an overt, flamboyant wine, but all of the elements are so well out together. The 2020 is sexy, alluring and impossible to resist. Time in the glass brings out redder tonalities of fruit along with sweet floral notes that add striking inner perfume. Even as a barrel sample, I am so tempted to just drink it. Drinking range: 2030 - 2055 Rating: 94-96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)

* 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.

Market Insight: With the 2016 now at £400 and the middle of the score range for the 2019, it looks like the market might correct to this benchmark pretty quickly. 2020 could spell an even higher grade with limited yields in Saint Julien.L&S (May 2021)

A very polished and refined 2020 with a medium body, integrated tannins and a pretty texture. Nice currant, light chocolate and cedar undertones. Fresh finish. Drink after 2026. Rating: 94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)

The 2020 Beychevelle is a wild, exotic beauty. Blackberry jam, gravel, crushed rocks menthol and espresso ristretto give Beychevelle its flamboyant personality. All the elements are so well balanced in this full-throttle, hugely enjoyable Saint-Julien. The 2020 is lights out. Drinking range: 2030 - 2055 Rating: 96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

The 2020 Beychevelle was perplexing from barrel. Re-tasting it three or four times, I discerned a faint but nagging vegetal note on the finish, though it was not evident on a bottle subsequently tasted at the property, which governed my banded score. Returning to Bordeaux to taste the wines that had been bottled in June 2022, I certainly appreciate the bouquet that is clean and pure with blackberry, bilberry, cedar and background sous-bois aromas. The oak is beautifully integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins and well-judged acidity. Quite intense black fruit laced with graphite, perhaps a tad more peppery than usual. On the first bottle encountered at a merchant, I picked up on the green note that sent alarm bells ringing. A second bottle at the château unequivocally showed no signs at all, very sleek and poised with a residual tingle of black pepper. Based on this sample, I am cautiously optimistic about this Beychevelle, though I will always keep a lookout for that trait. Drinking range: 2025 - 2050 Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

Delivers vivid fruit, with an eye-catching beam of cassis, kirsch and plum sauce notes that flow through nicely, supported by a light brambly edge and a well-inlaid graphite spine. The finish is scored by violet and anise as the fruit lingers. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drinking range: 2027 - 2037 Rating: 94 The Wine Spectator, www.winespectator.com (Dec 2022)

By comparison to the juicy, gregarious, fruit bomb that is Amiral de Beychevelle, Beychevelle itself is a coiled spring of a wine with a hair-trigger set to explode. But, this trigger is not going to be primed for at least ten years and this is because this wine is tense, firm, sour and combative. Mouth-watering and nervy with hints of mint on the finish, balancing the firm red fruit, this is a lovely wine with the sort of skinsy bitterness that I adore, but it is important to underline that you will have to like tanginess as much as I do to fall fully for this wine. Patience will reward you, but there will always be an underlying violet and sour cherry tang here so caveat emptor. Rating: 18+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)

This Saint-Julien estate has produced wonderful wines from their new winery in recent years under head winemaker, the congenial Philippe Blanc. But my job is to tell it like it is and the truth is that all three bottles of the 2020 Beychevelle tasted from different sources, including one directly from the château and with different sample dates, left me scratching my head. It was picked from 14 September to 29 September and cropped at 47hl/ha. Initially, it has a backward and herbal nose, attractive black fruit with touches of tobacco and mulch, the latter turning slightly vegetal. The palate is medium-bodied with blackberries tinged with bay leaf and a touch of white pepper. However, the first bottle exhibited some unwanted green/stalky notes that poked out on the finish. It was less evident on the second bottle sent directly from the estate that was given 90 minutes' aeration. Unexpectedly a third bottle arrived, this taken from barrel later on 17 May. I was hoping it would disprove my findings, so I had it served blind. I picked it up again - just like the first. Now, maybe this will be assimilated during its élevage after all, I occasionally notice this trait on Brane-Cantenac and with time it becomes subsumed, even enhancing complexity. But because all three samples left me vexed, I will refrain from scoring this wine and revisit the bottle later on. The only thing I can promise is that I will tell you exactly what I find.Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)

Based on 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot, the Grand Vin 2020 Château Beychevelle is a stunner that does everything right, offering a monster bouquet of black and blue fruits as well as candied violets, incense, flowers, and toasty oak. A ripe, full-bodied, incredibly sexy wine in every sense, it has a great mid-palate, ripe, velvety tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's one of the more up-front, exotic wines in the vintage and should be accessible with just short-term cellaring. Rating: 95-97 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)

Deep purple-black colored, the 2020 Beychevelle offers up vibrant notes of black raspberries, fresh black cherries and cassis, plus hints of wild sage, chocolate mint, rose hip tea and fallen leaves, with an exotic hint of Indian spices. The medium to full-bodied palate offers layers of crunchy black fruits with a firm, grainy texture and just enough freshness, finishing long and perfumed. Drinking range: 2026 - 2046 Rating: 94-96 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (May 2021)

Smoke, grilled almond on the nose, even a touch of rubber from an edge of reduction. This has depth to black chocolate and bilberry fruit, it is well balanced and seductive. Enjoyable, it's pretty broad shouldered but it sits well within the successful run of vintages at Beychevelle. A yield of 47hl/ha. 18 months ageing. 55% first wine. Drinking range: 2029 - 2044 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)

51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot. Concentrated purple. Headily aromatic with mulberry perfume and just a hint of oak. Silky tannins and marked freshness. Neat and the opposite of opulent. Classic wine for the table. 13.5% Drinking range: 2028 - 2044 Rating: 16 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2021)

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 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. 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 2025. 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.