CHÂTEAU BEAU-SÉJOUR BÉCOT
2023 1er Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion
The first vintage produced in the estate's highly functional new winery, the 2023 Beau-Séjour Bécot has turned out beautifully and looks likely to rival or surpass the brilliant 2022. Unfurling in the glass with notes of raspberries, dark berries and minty cherries mingled with notions of iris, wisteria and lilac, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and velvety, with a suave attack that prefaces a cool, complete core of fruit that's pure, perfumed and mineral, concluding with a long, saline finish. It's a blend of 77% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Franc that was harvested from September 7 to October 4, sub-block by sub-block. Rating: 96-98 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2024)
75cl bottles (wood case of 6)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
A blend of 77% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2023 Beau-Sejour Becot has a pH of 3.5. It is ageing in 55% new oak barriques, 20% one-year-old barrels, and 25% in a mix of amphorae and 20 hl oak casks. It has a deep garnet-purple color and comes galloping out of the glass with notes of crushed plums, black raspberries, and Morello cherries, opening out to a delicate undercurrent of garrigue, crushed rocks, violets, cranberry sauce, and pencil shavings. The medium-bodied palate is breathtakingly elegant and racy, with intense red and black berry layers and a fine-grained texture, finishing with energetic mineral sparks. Drinking range: 2029 - 2050 Rating: 95-97+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent (May 2024)
The 2023 Beau-Séjour Bécot is fabulous. Rich, opulent and explosive to the core, the 2023 offers up a heady mélange of dark red/purplish fruit, spice, lavender, rose petal, blood orange and bright saline notes. As always, Cabernet Franc plays an important role in shaping the aromatic and flavor profile. The 2023 is an absolute stunner. It’s the first vintage made in the new cellar. That's of course not enough of a track record to make any definitive assessments, but in the 2023, I see a wine with more aromatic presence, greater precision and more refined tannins than any recent vintage I can recall. In a word: magnificent. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2031 - 2053 Rating: 95-98 Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate (May 2024)
Ruby red, glass staining, peony and violet flowers on the aromatics, plush velvety tannins that cushion plump damson and pomegranate fruits through to a juicy salinity on the finish. Estate identity in full effect here, shot through with the sheer pleasure of limestone, harvest September 7 to 28 for the Merlot, with Cabernet Franc through to October 4. 39hl/h yield. 55% new oak for ageing. First year in the new cellar, Jean de Cournuaud technical director. Drinking range: 2030 - 2045 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (Apr 2024)
A wine with very bright and al-dente fruit. Aromas and flavors of redcurrants and minerals with lavender and chalk. Medium to full body and a solid core of tannins integrated with the dark fruit. Toned-muscle quality to the tannins. Fresh and vibrant at the end. Pure fruit. Energy. 77% merlot and 23% cabernet franc. Rating: 96-97 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2024)
Château Beau-Séjour Bécot
Château Beau Séjour Bécot sits on the slopes above Château Angelus, half a mile west of the town of St Emilion. It was once part of a larger Château Beauséjour estate which was owned by the de Carle family who owned Château Figeac. After a couple of changes of ownership, the estate was divided in 1869 between the children of Pierre-Paulin Ducarpe - his daughter's share became Château Beauséjour-Duffau-Lagarosse, whilst his son's, eventually, became Château Beau Séjour Bécot. The Bécot part of the name only became attached in 1969 when Michel Bécot bought the estate, and the Bécot family own it to this day. The controversial addition to Beau Séjour Bécot of some other vineyards owned by the Bécot family, an addition which nearly doubled the size of the estate, led to its demotion from Premier Grand Cru Classé status to "only" Grand Cru Classé status in 1979. Relentless work to prove that the new larger estate was as good, if not better, than before paid off in 1996 when Château Beau Séjour Bécot was re-elevated to Premier Grand Cru Classé status. The vineyards are a fairly typical mix of 70% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc with a small quantity of Cabernet Sauvignon. Maturation is in mostly new oak.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2023 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.