Producer | Château Bellevue-Mondotte |
Country | France |
Region | Bordeaux |
Subregion | St Emilion |
Varietal | Bordeaux Blend |
Vintage | 2003 |
Sku | 3714B |
Size | 750ml |
Even in a vintage such as 2003 there are wines that are youthful unevolved and still in need of bottle age. The 2003 Bellevue Mondotte is one of those wines. From a tiny (5 acres) estate owned by Gerard Perse this blend of 90% Merlot 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits youthful aromas of blue and black fruits chalk dust lead pencil shavings and Christmas fruitcake. Full ripe and moderately tannic it requires another 3-5 years of bottle age and could turn out to be one of the longest-lived wines of the vintage lasting another 25-30 years.
Beautiful aromas of blackberry coffee and cherry follow through to a full-bodied palate with soft round tannins and a long rich finish. Supersilky. Best after 2007. 480 cases made.
Deep ruby-red. Full-blown aromas of mocha truffle and nutty oak with an exotic suggestion of apricot. Fat sweet and fine-grained; impressively rich and deep but could use a bit more mid-palate lift. Today I don't find much primary fruit but then this wine may still be in shock from the recent bottling in February. Finishes with dusty somewhat tough tannins.
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