The 2021 Beau-S?jour B?cot has realized all the potential it showed from barrel, unfurling in the glass with aromas of wild berries and plums mingled with notions of violets, lilac, forest floor and spices. Medium to full-bodied, deep and pure, with a fleshy core of fruit that's framed by supple, polished tannins and bright acids, it's seamless and sensual, concluding with a long, mouthwatering finish. As readers may remember, it was cropped at 35 hectoliters per hectare, delivering a blend based on Merlot with some 13% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon in a supporting role.

Aromas of deep berry fruit, dark chocolate, subtle spices and dried flowers introduce the 2021 Beau-S?jour B?cot, a medium to full-bodied, velvety and seamless wine that's lively and layered, with a deep core of fruit, ripe tannins and a long, saline finish. Cropped at 35 hectoliters per hectare, and based on Merlot with some 13% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon in a supporting role, its quality reflects a growing season of relentless efforts and the impact of extra sorting equipment rented on the eve of harvest. Fully four hectares of Beau-S?jour B?cot are lying fallow, and two more, recently replanted (with massale selections), are entering production only this year. That amounts to huge restructuring for an estate that only amounts to 22 hectares, sitting on Saint-?milion's limestone plateau, and it will be fascinating to see the results. What has transformed this estate since 2018, however, has just as much to do with a change of approach in the winery and cellar as it does a change in the vineyards. Long but gentle macerations, more judicious extraction and a much defter touch with the choice of new oak are delivering wines of much greater finesse and complexity, without any loss of intensity, and the quality of this superb terroir is at last front and center in the glass. The 2021 vintage is the result of very exigent sorting and attention to detail in the timing of the harvest, and it has all the makings of one of the Right Bank highlights of the year.