2018 Château Bélair-Monange

The 2018 Bélair-Monange races across the palate, showing its exuberant, flamboyant personality. Ripe plum, mocha, blood orange, star anise and cinnamon fill out the layers effortlessly. Sumptuous and generous, with striking balance, Bélair-Monange hits all the right notes. It can be enjoyed with minimal cellaring, but also has the pedigree to age effortlessly for decades. 

- Antonio Galloni (03/2021)

Very intense blackberries, black olives, blueberries and dried flowers. Stony minerality. Even some pine. Full-bodied with superb depth of fruit and ultra fine tannins that are intense and polished. The finish is so long and delivers so much flavor, from wet earth to blackberry again. Seamless palate. Try after 2026. (01/2021)

An incredible expression of Merlot grown on limestone soils, the 2018 Château Belair-Monange (90/10 Merlot and Cabernet Franc) sports a dense purple hue as well as powerful notes of blackcurrants, kirsch liqueur, flowery incense, chalky minerality, and white truffle. Rich, full-bodied, and beautifully concentrated, it's a serious 2018 offering integrated oak, ripe yet building tannins, and one hell of a great finish. The finest vintage of this cuvée I've tasted, it's a wine to seek out and hide in the cellar for a good 5-7 years. It's going to evolve for 30-40 years. (03/2021)

The 2018 Belair-Monange has a deep garnet purple color. It is very closed, slightly reduced, requiring a lot of swirling to reveal notes of black raspberries, warm plums, and kirsch, plus hints of pencil lead, wild sage, tilled soil, and wet slate. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is firm and grainy, with tight-knit fruit and lots of earth and mineral layers on the long finish. (09/2023)

Restrained style, with gently mulled currant and black cherry notes forming the core while hints of anise, applewood and sweet tobacco peek through on the finish. Long, fine chalky minerality extends the finish as the fruit plays out gracefully. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2036. 2,665 cases made.

- James Molesworth (03/2021)

Made from 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Belair Monange rolls effortlessly out of the glass with gregarious scents of black cherry preserves, stewed plums and boysenberries, plus suggestions of Indian spices, rose oil, Ceylon tea and garrigue, with a waft of tilled soil. The rich, seductive, full-bodied palate is laden with black fruit preserves and exotic spice layers, framed by velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and fragrant. Wonderfully hedonic and conceivably drinkable now, give it 4-5 years in the cellar to allow the earthy/savory nuances to fully emerge from within the fruit and drink it over the next 25 years or more. 

- Lisa Perrotti-Brown (03/2021)