Château Beychevelle is one of my favourite wines. I do not get to drink it very often because it is so expensive. A friend of mine gave me this bottle several years ago and I kept it to drink at a later date with him and his wife. We drank this wine with Cumberland roast beef which was cooked rare and in the French tradition.
In the 1855 Bordeaux classification this wine was awarded quatrième cru or fourth growth status but its quality deserves a higher rating in my opinion. It is superb wine which benefits from the terroir of its Saint Julien situation. The climate, weather and soil are perfect for the agriculture of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes which make up the majority of the blend for the wine. The terroir and vineyard techniques coupled with superb wine making produce one of the world's finest wines.
2002 was not a particularly renowned year amongst professional buyers but it did produce a good vintage especially in the Medoc. My friend's wife , who is French, could not guess where the wine was from; she thought that it might be from Cahors! That was quite a tribute. She could not believe, however, how concentrated the wine was. So it was no surprise when I told her where the wine was really from. The concentration of good flavours is an indication of quality. So is the length of time that the wine's flavour remains on the tongue after swallowing or spitting it out. When I wrote a tasting note upon opening the wine and decanting it, its taste remained on my palate for a good five minutes. When we drank the wine in large glasses as opposed to a tasting glass I was hit by the concentration and complexity of flavours that only a top class wine can deliver.
This wine costs over fifty pounds a bottle on the retail market. Is it worth it? I often debate with myself about this and come up with conflicting answers. This wine does not taste significantly better than other examples of good quality wine from the Medoc but costing a lot less. However, it does not taste significantly worse than "investment" type Bordeaux reds wines costing much much more. Its quality is almost the same as the top Bordeaux cru and it will probably keep for just as long and improve in the bottle as well as its more renowned cousins. If, like me, you cannot afford to drink the very top cru very often, or if at all, then it is worth buying this wine and from this vintage to get a feel of what you are missing. The top cru are very costly not because of their elevated quality but because of their rarity value. On these grounds the wine is worth buying. The other superb wines from St Julien include: Châteaux Gruaud Larose, Lagrange, Leoville Barton, Leoville Las Cases, Talbot and Ducru Beaucaillou. If you cannot afford their first wines you will not be disappointed by the second wines. It is very difficult for red wines from other parts of the world to compete with this wine and this is another good reason to try it.
Here is my tasting note.
Château Beychevelle 2002 tasted on 11 March 2012
Appearance: Clear deep ruby turning garnet colour. Tears.
The nose: Clean smelling with complex aromas of red fruits, cedar and tobacco box with a slightly smokey aroma. Mature enough to drink now but it will develop further.
On the palate: A medium plus body, high in ripening tannins, medium acidity and dry. Very concentrated and complex flavours of red fruits , plums, prunes and spices. There was also a flavour of tobacco boxes. There were hints of savoury and smokey flavours. Well balanced and integrated. Exceptionally long length.
Other observations and conclusions: This wine is of exceptional quality and will merit keeping for longer. It is very expensive to buy but probably worth the price to find out what a highly quality wine should taste like.
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