2021 Beauséjour

97 POINTS

Zekun Shuai - JamesSuckling.com

Fascinating depth and complexity with beautifully knit fruit and oak spices. Glossy, bright but subtle, with lightly smoked herbs, berries, white pepper, mineral, high-grade wood and pencil shavings. Medium to full body with juicy fruit and minerals tapping into an extremely long and layered finish. So much finesse here. Lasting well over a minute. A stunning wine from the vintage.

95 POINTS

James Suckling

A complete wine for the vintage, with blackberry, stone, black-licorice and light walnut character. Medium-to full-bodied and linear, with very fine tannins running the length of the wine. Points: 95-96

95 POINTS

Georgina Hindle - Decanter

An exceptional wine from this estate in 2021. So aromatic and beguiling on the nose - pure, lifted, completely captivating in the intensity of fruit and the liveliness of aroma with tiny touches of milk chocolate and perfumed blackcurrants. Supple, agile and sappy on the palate, but also so delicate and elegant in terms of the overall profile. Tannins are fine and gentle, persistent but with the limestone terroir coming through in the mineral, saline, graphite elements which linger at the end. There is definite concentration, you feel they got the maturity of the fruit and didn't push extraction. It's not super opulent, but expands on the palate and changes after a few minutes in the glass and as it warms, gaining in aromatic complexity. Really very juicy and pristine with cherry, strawberry and blackcurrant fruit as well as liquorice and dark chocolate. Excellent quality with freshness and appeal, balanced and harmonious with the slight lift and peak of clove, vanilla, cedar bramble suggesting a bigger frame that will age well. A success and extremely likeable. 58% new oak. First full vintage for Josephine Duffau-Lagarrosse since she took the helm of her family estate. Tasted twice. Julien Viaud consultant.

93 POINTS

William Kelley - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2021 Beauséjour (Duffau Lagarrosse) shows considerable promise. Bursting with aromas of inky berry fruit and plums mingled with notions of violets, rose petals and burning embers, the wine is medium to full-bodied, layered and sensual, with a rich core of fruit, lively acids and beautifully refined tannins, concluding with a long, mineral finish. The first vintage made by Joséphine Duffau Lagarrosse since she took back control of the family estate, the 2021 is a blend of 73% Merlot and 27% Cabernet Franc—the highest percentage of Cabernet since the early 2000s (when some Cabernet Sauvignon was included in the blend too).

93 POINTS

Peter Moser - Falstaff

Dark ruby garnet, purple tinge to the rim. Delicate herbal savouriness, black forest berries, fresh cherries, a hint of exotic spiciness, a hint of liquorice. Juicy, elegant, red berry fruit, fresh and mineral, fine, ripe tannins, salty-lemon; a fine, light-footed wine with ageing potential.

93 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2021 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse was picked from September 13 until October 1–2, the Cabernet Franc later, on October 14, starting around 7:00 am. Mildew reduced the Merlot to 28hL/ha, whereas the Cabernet was cropped around 35hL/ha. This was raised in 58% new oak, Joséphine Duffau being prudent with the level of new wood in order to maintain what she describes as a chalky taste. It has a fragrant bouquet of brambly red fruit, dark cherries and subtle undergrowth scents, all delivered up in that judicious use of new oak. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and good density, equal to if not better than others on the limestone plateau, yet still quite mineral-driven, leading into a silky-smooth, cohesive finish. No, not a powerful Saint-Émilion, yet precise and detailed. This represents a great debut, and it should give 15–20 years of pleasure, possibly more. Points: 92-94

93 POINTS

Antonio Galloni MW - Vinous

The 2021 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is impressive. It shows more energy and decidedly linear build relative to the past. It's hard to say how much of that is the vintage and how much is attributable to a stylistic shift under new owner Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse. Either way, the 2021 is a notable success. Savory herbs, menthol, mocha and iron are laced throughout a core of red/purplish fruit. There is so much to look forward to. Points: 92-95