Recent Wine tasting

[ericp]

A local wine shop runs occasional wine, tastings, and this past week was Beychevelle. Like many in Bordeaux, massive upgrades have been made to the cellar and wine making equipment which explains the return to the high-quality the estate enjoyed in the 80s.

2019 Château Beychevelle
Already showing beautifully. Perfumed nose of blackcurrant, violet, cedar and a little flint. On the palate it's seamless - silky tannins, red and blue fruits, chalky minerality, lightly spicy finish. The best of the three right now, and it's only going to get better.

2020 Château Beychevelle
Deep purple, more red-fruited than the 2019. Cassis, raspberry, tobacco and oak on the nose. Palate has energy but the tannins are still asserting themselves - cedar, dark chocolate, leather underneath. Lots of potential but needs time.

2015 Château Beychevelle
Dark and serious. Graphite, blackcurrant, tobacco and vanilla on the nose with a hint of dark chocolate. Firm and structured on the palate with real grip - this is built for the cellar. Long, slightly austere finish with a nice ganache coating at the end. Don't touch it for years or prepare for a few hour++ decant

[stefan]

How does modern Beychevelle compare to the second growth St Juliens? The market values it more that Barton, Poyferre, and Gruaud in the 2019 vintage.

[JimHow]

I scratch my head over the pricing of Beychevelle.

[ericp]

Same Jim - the pricing at the event was beyond silly. '19 - $166, 20 - $146, 2015 1.5L - $425!

Stefan, There's no scenario where I'd pay a 50+% markup on the seconds to purchase Beychevelle, all of which can be had ex-shipping for under $100.

It's insanity - Beychevelle (or negotiants) must be sitting on a significant amount of unsold product. The wine is delicious, but the pricing isn't!

[JimHow]

Other than the 1986 Beychevelle, which is indeed profound, I'm hard pressed to think of another vintage that has wowed me.
I still have a bottle of 1996 Beychevelle in a decorative little wooden single bottle crate that I bought when we visited the very welcoming estate on my ill-begotten honeymoon in Bordeaux in September 2000. Back in those days Beychevelle was kind of a second rate wine. When did it all of a sudden become like a $150+ per bottle lux St. Julien? I missed that somewhere along the way.

[Claudius2]

Guys
I had not bought Beychevelle for some decades until 2019, as I could not see the value here. I also bought some 2020 magnums at auction recently.
The wines of St Julien, more so than any other Appellation, sparked my interest in Bordeaux, including this wine, though I have always thought of it as below the Leovilles, Ducru B and GL. I'd say the most enjoyable vintage I've tried was 1988 en Magnum. Though apart from that vintage, I have never been really impressed. I've tried quite a few from 1966 onwards.

There is however a reason why the price jumped, based on a story from a local importer here that also sells into HK and China.
The Chinese liked the label with the old fashioned boat. This seemed to resonate with the buyers. It was called a "Chinese Dragon Boat", despite not being Chinese. I recall Decanter also featuring it some yeas ago.

I have tried the 2019 and 20 at tastings in recent years and both seemed fuller and richer than I recall, and not in a bad way.
cheers
Mark