CHÂTEAU BEAUREGARD
2017 Pomerol
60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc.Slightly muted nose - some oak evident. It comes alive on the palate. Good weight, nice toast from the wood, elegant structure with zippy energy. Wine with character and impressive length. Rating: 90 L&S (Apr 2018)
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The 2017 Beauregard, whose lower reaches were hit by the frost, has a straightforward bouquet with touches of mint and fennel infusing the red and black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, a little bitterness towards the second half that just deprives this of the harmony it might have otherwise had. There is a fairly long finish so let’s see how this performs once in bottle. Drinking range: 2021 - 2031 Rating: 88-90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)
The lower lying part of this vineyard in Pomerol received some frost. A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the 2017 Beauregard is medium garnet-purple colored with a nose of warm red currants and kirsch plus suggestions of potpourri and dusty soil. Medium-bodied, it is just a little lean in the mid-palate with grippy tannins leading to a firm finish. Rating: 86-88 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2018)
The 2017 Château Beauregard, which is made with the help of Smith Haut Lafitte’s winemaker Fabien Tietgen, checks in as a 60/40 split of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This rounded, supple, elegant Pomerol offers up a medium-bodied, sexy personality as well as classic notes of ripe cherries, raspberries, flowers, and chocolate. It has ripe tannin, a layered, balanced style, and will drink nicely for a decade or more. Rating: 89-91 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Apr 2018)
Very little aroma, just a hint of graphite. Could do with more flesh in the middle to help with the light but dry tannins. Pretty lean. Drinking range: 2022 - 2027 Rating: 15 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2018)
A bright, floral style, with red currant and cherry fruit flavors streaking through, along with savory and incense notes. Fresh acidity makes the finish lengthy and focused. Rating: 89-92 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2018)
Shows some serious length here with berries, chocolate and orange peel. Medium body, firm tannins and a fresh finish. 40% cabernet franc makes this happen. Rest merlot Rating: 92-93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2018)
The blend in this vintage is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the strong representation from the latter firstly, “because the Cabernet is of excellent quality”, says Fabien Teitgen, and secondly, because the frost damage was worst on the middle and lower parts of the vineyard, where there is more Merlot planted. The yield was 26 hl/ha, the fruit picked between September 13th and October 5th. This has a fresh, rather crunchy, lifted, red-cherry nose, with an icing-sugar sweetness and a little red rose-petal lift, all wrapped in spicy oak. The palate shows a moderately concentrated presence, with fresh and rather floral fruit, wrapped up in a light-bodied shell. The tannins feel quite delicately extracted, giving just a little grained grip to the rather juicy fruit substance. A pretty and elegant style, which shows nice flavours but a rather delicate presence and slightly firm structure. A wines of reserve and tension. Tasted three times. 90-92/100 Rating: 90-92 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2018)
Château Beauregard
Unusually for Pomerol, Château Beauregard has a rather fine château built in 1795 that they proudly display on the label. Rather than having a fine view – or beau regard – the estate is named after the Beauregard family who owned it in the 17th Century. Since acquisition by Vignobles-Foncier in 1991 the whole estate has been renovated, and all the Cabernet Sauvignon replaced with more suitable Merlot, and Beauregard has been set on an upward trajectory. The recent (2014) sale of the estate to the Moulin-Houzé family offers optimism for further improvement, not least because at the same time a minority share was taken by the Caithard family whose stewardship Château Smith Haut Lafitte has yielded great results. Sitting just east of the village of Catusseau, Beauregard is practically on the border with Saint Emilion and can boast Cheval Blanc as a near neighbour. The 17.5ha of vineyard are planted with 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc with the best vines being nearer the château on the Pomerol plateau and its more typical clay soil. The average age of the vines is around 35 years.