Château Belair Monange, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, 2015
Belair Monange, which incorporates the vineyards of Magdelaine occupies an enviable position on the limestone Cote to the west of Chateau Ausone. We always taste this wine at the end of the JP Moueix tasting as it is so floral, lifted and very different to the style of the Pomerol range. Produced from 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, the 2015 has that tell-tale profile of a wine produced from a great limestone site. It is brimming with high toned morello cherries, griotte, intense minerals and roses. It is vital, intense, engaging and utterly mouth-watering. The fruit is sumptuous, bright and silky, interspersed with notes of redcurrant and saline. This is an uplifting, seductive and deceptively powerful Belair Monange - bravo.
critic reviews
The 2015 Bélair-Monange has an intriguing bouquet with red plum, mocha, leather and antique bureau aromas. This is not as immediate or as generous as its peers, yet it is imbued with a compelling complexity. The palate is very well balanced with fine mineralité that seems to have bubbled up to the surface in recent years, lending the finish impressive tension and subtle pepperiness that lingers tenderly in the mouth. Recommended. Tasted at the 2015 Ten-Year-On tasting at Bordeaux Index.
Chalky tannins, crushed rose petal aromatics, graphite, saffron, gunsmoke, raspberry and redcurrant, a ton of grip and character. Perhaps not quite the soaring precision you find in this estate today, but hard to argue with and plenty to love. Christian and Edouard Moueix owners.