2017 Château Bellevue Mondotte

97 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

There was no frost in the vineyard in 2017, due to its elevation. Deep garnet purple in color, the 2017 Bellevue Mondotte is composed of 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a little closed to begin, opening out to reveal vibrant notes of crushed blackberries, warm plums, black raspberries and wild blueberries plus wafts of star anise, garrigue and lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with tension and intense blue and black fruit layers, framed by super firm, super ripe, fine-grained tannins, finishing very long and earthy. Drinking Window : 2024 - 2054. 97+

96 POINTS

Wine Spectator

Beautifully rendered, with a long beam of pure cassis and crushed plum fruit, flanked by subtle chalky minerality and backed by violet, anise and smoldering black tea notes. The sleek, lengthy finish pulls everything together with metronomic precision. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.

96 POINTS

James Molesworth - Wine Spectator

Beautifully rendered, with a long beam of pure cassis and crushed plum fruit, flanked by subtle chalky minerality and backed by violet, anise and smoldering black tea notes. The sleek, lengthy finish pulls everything together with metronomic precision. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2022 through 2038. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 266 cases made. — JM

96 POINTS

Antonio Galloni MW - Vinous

The 2017 Bellevue Mondotte is just as impressive from bottle as it was en primeur. Powerful and structured, with tremendous intensity in all of its dimensions, the 2017 is all class. Inky dark fruit, graphite, menthol and licorice all come together with time in the glass. This tiny vineyard on very poor limestone subsoil gives wines of real power and structure. The 2017 is a gorgeous Saint-Émilion endowed with tons of energy and tension.

95 POINTS

Jeff Leve - The Wine Cellar Insider

Smoky black and blue fruit, licorice and spice box allure create the aromatic profile. Deep in color with a supple texture and ripe, sweet, opulent plums, this wine finishes with a spicy, mineral character sustaining the plethora of ready fruit. Produced from a blend of 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine reached 14.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.47. Yields were quite low at only 16 hectoliters per hectare this vintage.

94 POINTS

Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast

This wine has great fruit, minerality and a dark, dense texture. It is powerful, rich and concentrated, just hinting at its great potential fruitiness. Give it many years, and certainly try to hold until at least 2025.

94 POINTS

Jeb Dunnuck

Coming from older vines east of Pavie Decesse (in slightly more clay soils), the 2017 Bellevue Mondotte is a powerful, concentrated 2017 that offers fabulous notes of blueberries, flowers, and violets. One of the more broad, expansive, and sexy wines in the vintage, with terrific purity of fruit, it should round into form with just short-term cellaring and cruise for two decades.

Wine Spectator

An enticing red, with succulent fig and blackberry compote flavors at the core, this has a shot of flashy toast, which is well-integrated. A neat graphite streak shows on the finish.