Château Beau-Séjour Bécot Saint-Emilion 2020 - 1er Grand Cru Classé B

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

Juliette Bécot now successfully carries on the rich, indulgent, intense, and flavorful character of this top-of-the-class wine, which is in excellent form

Decanter

About the wine:

The nose is rich, full-bodied, and heady. On the palate, there are notes of ripe blackcurrant, red cherries, raspberries, and strawberries, as well as mint, black pepper, and truffle. The precision and density are excellent, with an alluring hint of dark chocolate. It is well-crafted, with a sense of classicism. A powerful, muscular, and self-assured wine, yet supple—it possesses both density and grace, with a refreshing finish featuring licorice, mint, and a gentle salinity. A great wine. 2025–2047

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

Dense, structured, and deep, this grand cru with a fine pedigree is just at the beginning of its journey and currently reveals only one facet of its potential. Even now, however, the ripe fruit, rich and powerful tannins, and the freshness of the limestone create a true sense of harmony. Great potential lies ahead.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the estate:

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the estate:

Beautifully situated in the central-western part of the Saint-Emilion limestone plateau, the vineyard is masterfully managed by the Bécot brothers, Dominique and Gérard, who craft an expressive wine characterized by integrity and density. Gérard Bécot officially retired on January 2, 2014. Overall management has been entrusted to his son-in-law, Julien Barthe, husband of Juliette Bécot, who continues to oversee the winemaking process. Dominique Bécot, Gérard’s brother, remains at the helm of the vineyard. His children, Pierre and Caroline, also work on the estate. In January 2014, Beauséjour acquired Château Haut-Pourret, a 2.5-hectare property on the southern slope, whose grapes will be vinified in the La Gomerie cellar under the label Le Bécot de Beau-Séjour. Winemaking methods are evolving, aiming for an elegant expression of the fruit while seeking to add body to the firmness and length of wines produced from limestone soils. Maintaining its status as a Premier Grand Cru Classé in 2012, the château obtained authorization to incorporate the La Gomerie parcel into its land registry.

Vinous

About the wine:

Beau-Séjour Bécot 2020 is a dense and powerful wine. A rush of black cherries, plums, chocolate, new leather, licorice, spices, and soft oak unfolds as this imposing and explosively layered Saint-Émilion opens up in the glass. This is a particularly broad and expansive Saint-Émilion, largely due to the clay in its soils. The 2020 is magnificent in its intensity and overall volume. A superb wine. 2028–2050

Terre de Vins

About the wine:

Over the past few vintages, the team at Beau-Séjour Bécot has openly reevaluated its approach to extract the very essence of its beautiful terroir, the heart of which lies on the Saint-Émilion plateau. Following the clear rise in quality over the past two years, the transformation is undeniable. We find the brilliance of the fruit and the fresh, invigorating aromas that have become the estate’s hallmark, but with added density, depth, and body—all underpinned by a limestone-driven vibrancy that defines the terroir’s identity. The crispness gives way to juiciness, with beautifully refined tannins. Remarkable!

Yves Beck

About the wine:

There was a time when BSB (it’s shorter to write) made a big splash right from the very first seconds… well, those days are gone. Now, it has a little bell that lets you open the door! Note that you only need to crack it open a bit, because the wine makes its way in with a subtlety rarely seen. The 2020 stands out for its freshness, its slender, airy, precise, and vigorous character. What a sense of energy, of quiet strength, and what a drive to move forward, with a perfect view of the horizon. The wine knows exactly where it wants to go—down our throats—but first it will have to spend some time in the cellar. This shouldn’t stop you from tasting it as soon as it’s delivered. A wine is meant to be tasted, observed, followed, and then savored. You just need to have enough of it. I’d like to conclude by highlighting a point that’s important to me: styles evolve, and there have been notable changes at Beau-Séjour Bécot. The goal is to get even closer to the terroir and the rock, and to let the wine express itself naturally. These changes are an ongoing process and do not call into question what was done before, because let’s not forget that we can only be here if someone was here before us! So the past is also the future. 2026–2045

Vert de Vin

About the wine:

The nose is elegant and refined, offering power (expressed with delicacy), lovely finesse, freshness, depth, an airy quality, complexity, intensity (expressed with finesse), as well as a lovely, very fine, and distinguished texture. It features notes of vibrant wild blackcurrant, morello cherry, and, more subtly, vibrant little black berries, combined with hints of violet, blueberry, crushed strawberries, as well as subtle hints of crushed red currants, cardamom, star anise, and sweet spices, along with a very discreet, almost smoky note and an imperceptible hint of pepper (in the background). On the palate, it is fruity, balanced, and elegantly refined, offering juiciness, freshness, lovely definition, richness, a tangy structure, rounded finesse, tension, depth with finesse, minerality, and a lovely finesse of texture, an airy quality in its balance, a very lovely combination of fruit’s pulpiness and acidity, smoothness, and a beautiful finesse within its richness. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy, juicy blackcurrant, juicyfresh morello cherries, and, to a lesser extent, vibrant red currants, combined with hints of camphor, small juicy/tart black berries, black tea, blueberries, and juicy bilberries, as well as subtle hints of dark chocolate, a discreet touch of caramelization, and toasted hazelnut. The tannins are precise, elegant, fresh, and delicately creamy. There is a subtle hint of cocoa bitterness on the finish and in the aftertaste. Good length and a very lovely aromatic (and savory) persistence. A precise wine that is all finesse and delicacy within its power.

The Wine Cellar Insider - Jeff Leve

About the wine:

Beau-Séjour Bécot is on a roll, and the 2020 vintage is proof of that. The bouquet opens with a profusion of flowers before giving way to red, black, and blue fruits, thyme, a spice rack, espresso beans, cocoa, and licorice. The palate is even better, with its multiple layers of crushed stone, sensual fruit, velvety tannins, and a long, expansive, and lively finish, with a hint of salt on the aftertaste. As I wrote after tasting a barrel sample, this represents a new level of quality at Beau-Séjour Bécot—one that prioritizes less volume but greater intensity and purity in the fruit. With the new cellars set to come online soon, Beau-Séjour Bécot will reach a whole new level of quality! Best enjoyed between 2025 and 2055.

Anthocyanes - Yohan Castaing

About the wine:

Once again, this wine impresses with its burst of black fruit, its delicately spicy notes, its minty freshness, and its unwavering floral foundation (violet, lilac, and iris). On the palate, everything comes together smoothly with a juicy, full-bodied texture supported by chalky acidity and incredibly precise tannins. It’s deeply moving—so precise, crystalline, and dense all at once. Exceptional tannic structure. A pinnacle of elegance. This is the Beau-Séjour Bécot that is closest to its terroir and the most refined. Bravo! Aging potential: enough to last for your grandchildren! Magnificent value for the lucky recipients!