2020 Ch Beausejour Duffau Lagarrosse 1er Grand Cru Classé B, St-Emilion

The 2020 Beauséjour Duffau Lagarrosse was tasted both as a sample sent to my home in the UK and then just a couple of days later at the château itself with new co-proprietor Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse. The assemblage is almost the same as Nicolas Thienpont’s but with an extra component: all the Cabernet Franc in the vineyard, representing 19% of the blend. Dark purple in color, this has a perfumed, floral bouquet, scents of wilted iris flower and rose petal combining with the black cherry and black plum aromas. There is a subtle undercurrent of seaweed and shucked oyster shell. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins and a little chalkiness to the texture (more so in the sample at the château). The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins, fine tension and acidity, and quite mineral-driven, leading to an almost pixelated, precise finish. This is a seriously fine debut from Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse.

93-95 points Neal Martin vinous.com

The 2020 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is one of the most harmonious young wines I have tasted here in some time, maybe ever. All the elements are so well put together. The tannins that can usually be so fierce when the wine is young are totally covered by layers of inky dark fruit. Graphite, wild herbs, lavender, chocolate and gravel add layers of aromatic nuance. In the glass, the 2020 towers with its imposing, vertical structure and pure pedigree.

95-98 points Antonio Galloni vinous.com

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) wafts out of the glass with a glamorous perfume of red roses, kirsch, garrigue and black raspberries, giving way to a core of ripe blackberries and juicy black plums, plus earthy hints of truffles and tar. The medium to full-bodied palate is densely laden with loads of very finely packed and fragrant red and black fruit layers, framed by multilayered grainy and satiny tannin textures and amazing freshness, finishing fantastically long and mineral laced.

95-97 points Lisa Perrotti Brown robertparker.com

This is a very cool and refined young Bordeaux with crushed-berry, walnut, mushroom, chocolate and salt character. Some wet earth, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with very integrated tannins that are polished and poised. Energetic, long and precise at the finish. 81.5% merlot and 18.5% cabernet franc.

97-98 points James Suckling jamessuckling.com

Takes time to fully show itself - perhaps more than ever this year, as there is so much noise surrounding an estate that was overseen during the growing season and vinification by the team under Nicolas Thienpont, but given its final blend by new owner Josephine Duffau-Lagarosse, who will also take care of ageing from this point. Things kick off with a raspberry and damson softness that is quickly overtaken by iris, peony, white rose aromatics, giving a push-and-pull between flowers and fruit on the attack. As the palate opens out, blueberry and raspberry fruits dominate, as do fennel and almond notes, giving a spicy kick before a saline-drenched mouthwatering finish. As ever with Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse, the wine combines delicacy with laser-like focus, and a build up of tannins that you barely notice until they kick back against the fruit. Takes a good few minutes before the softness that I found on the opening returns as the mid palate widens out, and the richly textured Merlot becomes dominant after a clear Cabernet Franc hit on the attack. It's going to be fascinating watching what happens over the next decade at this estate, but the quality and potential of this terroir is unmistakable.

97 points Jane Anson decanter.com