Château Bellevue - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2012

Vinous

91 / 100

le 31/01/2016

The 2012 Bellevue is a dark, inviting wine. Mocha, black cherries, leather and spice flesh out in a supple, open-knit Saint-Emilion. The 2012 is forward, mid-weight and gracious, all qualities that suggest it will offer its best drinking sooner rather than later. This is a strong showing from the Bellevue, which is now made under Hubert de Boüard's ourview.

Wine Advocate

90 / 100

par Robert Parker le 30/04/2015

Now owned by a partnership of the Boüard and Lavaux families, this famous estate, sitting on the limestone outcrops of St.-Emilion, has produced a dense ruby/purple wine with unmistakable minerality and a medium to full body. It has a nice attractive, juicy, concentrated palate, with a certain tightness and austerity from the minerality and high tannins, but overall it is very impressively made and built for long-term cellaring. Forget it for 3-4 years and drink it over the following two decades. The final blend, tipping the scales at 13.8%, was 98% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. 90+ points

Jamessuckling.com

93 / 100

par James Suckling le 15/02/2015

A solid wine for the vintage with dark fruit, chocolate and spice character. Full body, integrated and pretty tannin structure and a long and polished finish. Very fine indeed.

Wine Spectator

91 / 100

par James Molesworth le 10/02/2015

This is alluring, with a well-melded mix of plum sauce, melted licorice and raspberry coulis flavors, carried by polished tannins and flowing through a graphite-edged finish. Very solid, with latent grip. Should cellar well. Best from 2017 through 2023. 1,833 cases made. –JM

timatkin.com

93 / 100

par Tim Atkin MW le 30/06/2013

Is this château finally starting to realise its undoubted potential under the influence of Hubert de Boüard of Château Angélus? It’s a little riper than its illustrious near neighbour and equal in quality. Fresh, focused and well balanced with cherry and red fruit flavours, subtle oak, good acidity and plenty of texture. Drink: 2020-30

Le Point

15 / 20

par Jacques Dupont le 16/05/2013

Nez fermé, traces de violette, bouche ronde, moelleuse, Zan à la violette, framboise, bien parfumé, forte densité tannique. O= 2017 G= 12 ans

Wine Advocate

92-94 / 100

par Neal Martin le 06/05/2013

The Bellevue is very concentrated on the nose with blackberry, crème de cassis and a vanillary oak that will be subsumed with time. The palate is ripe and rounded on the entry, showing a little more extraction than the Angelus. I like the minerality here, the backbone and although it does not quite have the panache of Angelus, the clarity on the finish is impressive. Tasted April 2013.

Wine Spectator

89-92 / 100

par James Molesworth le 30/04/2013

Shows good cut, with a piercing edge to the red currant, cherry pit and blood orange notes. The long, chalk-driven finish exhibits lots of spine. —J.M.

Jean-Marc QUARIN

16 / 20

par Jean-Marc Quarin le 29/04/2013

Couleur sombre et intense. Nez fruité, mûr, truffé et joli. Bouche caressante à l'attaque, juteuse au développement, charnue et enrobée au milieu, très hédoniste. Elle évolue séveuse sur une finale de bonne longueur et des tannins enveloppés. C'est bon !

Jancis Robinson

16,5 / 20

par Julia Harding MW le 26/04/2013

Drink 2018-2025Inky with black core. Deep cassis fruit overlaid with strong savoury oak char. Dense and dark, with dark chocolate finish. Powerful but not a lot of charm, though the fruit fills the structure. Just a bit tough on the finish. (JH)

Wine Advocate

91-93 / 100

par Robert Parker le 26/04/2013

Yields for the 2012 Bellevue were 27 hectoliters per hectare and the wine came in at 13.8% natural alcohol. The final blend was 98% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. The harvest occurred between October 10-12. Dense, rich, full-bodied and concentrated with a strikingly intense chalkiness/minerality that gives it a formidable personality as well as sweet tannin, it appears to be slightly closed at present despite its obvious concentration and depth. Forget it 4-5 years then keep your fingers crossed as, hopefully, the fruit will hold up to the wine’s structural components. This will endure and evolve for 20+ years.Drink: 2017(91-93+ points)

The Wine Cellar Insider

92-94 / 100

par Jeff Leve le 26/04/2013

With its typical blend of 98% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the wine pops with licorice, blackberry jam, truffle and stone aromatics. Ripe, sweet, lush and polished with good depth of flavor and a sweet, jammy blackberry personality, due to its high Merlot content, the wine is quite successful this year. 92-94 Pts