Château Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2019

Double 97s, triple 96s, plus a couple more glowing ratings in the mid-90s – the critical acclaim says it all! Château Beauséjour’s celebrated history and rich geography set this landmark Saint-Émilion estate apart – and we’re thrilled to have even a small amount of their vibrant and heralded 2019 vintage available today!

Owned by the Duffau-Lagarosse family for almost 170 years, Château Beauséjour has been around since 1851 in Montagne-Saint-Émillion and has been famous for its world-renowned wines since the initial Saint-Émillion classification in 1955. The roughly 7-hectare vineyard sits on some of the best terroir in Montagne-Saint-Émillion, atop a plateau and gently sloping hill and amidst limestone soils, with sand and clay, and immaculate exposure. The vines are an average 40 to 50 years old, with deeply reaching roots in the spongy limestone soils, lending a rich opulence to the wines. Merlot is the prominent grape planted, with some Cabernet Franc plantings, as well, to bring in additional freshness to the estate’s wines.

“Those who have visited Beauséjour know it is a magical terroir, capable of great things.” – Robert Parker, Jr.

Since 2021, the estate has been owned by the luxury conglomerate, the Clarins group, though the Duffau-Lagarosse family’s ninth generation, Joséphine Duffau-Lagarosse, still works closely alongside the group to ensure the continuation of her family’s far-reaching legacy. Joséphine holds a degree in oenology and agronomy, with a viticulture emphasis, along with a master’s degree in international wine and spirits, and spent time working and gaining experience in the industry in Burgundy, California, New Zealand, and beyond, before returning to her home to continue her focus on producing low-intervention, thoughtfully crafted, generous, and elegant wines from her family’s historic land.

The 2019 vintage is a blend of 86% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc that carries a lacey liveliness to it. Farmed traditionally with no herbicides or pesticides, with extremely low yields, the grapes are hand harvested before vinification and aging. The resulting wine is unsurprisingly stunning – with bold notes of roasted plum, black raspberry, and black cherry, leading into rich accentuations of dark chocolate, sweet tobacco, violets, black licorice, coriander, and cedar. The finish is long and precise, with powdery smooth tannins and a subtle refinement that leaves you perpetually wanting more. At six years young, it’s drinking majestically now, though of course, will only continue to age beautifully for the next couple of decades. We have a few cases only, and they won’t last long! With this history, pedigree, and terroir – at this price – you will be entirely delighted to have some of this in your collection!

PAIRING IDEAS: None other than steak au poivre will do – the crushed peppercorn crusting and silky, peppery Cognac pan sauce will be an utter delight alongside this luscious Saint-Émillion.