2014 Chateau Beau-Site Saint-Estephe Cru Bourgeois Superieur 750 ml

Among our top priorities in 2019 was a date with Château Beau-Site, one of the best values in Bordeaux. Called the “Best Beau-Site in years,” as Wine Spectator’s former European Bureau Chief James Suckling was quick to exclaim, the ‘14 is a wine of fantastic pedigree available for half its true value.

One of the Left Bank prizes of our fall trip to Bordeaux, Château Beau-Site, a neighbor of the legendary Grand Cru estate Calon-Ségur, is lauded as the traditionalist’s choice for top-notch, classic Médoc Claret at an affordable price.

Our outing to Bordeaux each autumn is one of the most plum assignments on the calendar. Tourist season has died down, the streets of the city are cool and empty, and reservations at our favorite restaurants are far easier to come by. We arrive every year with several objectives, and among our top priorities was a date with Château Beau-Site, whose wine had captivated us during barrel tastings in 2015.

The estate, which dates back through the 19th century, was classified as Cru Bourgeois Supérieur in 1932, and it ranks among the greatest values of the Left Bank thanks to a historical anomaly: The owner never bothered to submit it to the brokers who were organizing the 1855 classification, which it almost certainly would have qualified for. The result is a wine of fantastic pedigree that can be had for probably half of its true value.

2014 was “a vintage not to miss in St-Estèphe” according to Decanter, which included this release on a list of the best from the appellation. The spectacular season infused this powerful red with structure, warmth, and richness, plus the damp soil and delicate floral touches of dried violets. Built around cedar-lined, fine-grained tannins, this Beau-Site earned 93 points from Suckling—a score that competes with the classed growth Châteaux, matching Third Growth Lafon-Rochet and outpacing Cos Labory.

This is a spectacular library release Bordeaux, exquisitely aged in one of the oldest underground cellars in the Médoc, available for a brief time at well below the asking price of a 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Situated at one of the highest points in the Médoc at the extreme northern boundary of the appellation, Beau-Site faces the river, as many of the great Saint-Estèphe vineyards tend to. Soils here are stony with clay, contributing to the stalwart sturdiness of the wine, allowing it to age for decades without losing any of its sculptural integrity. The vines—primarily Cabernet, as well as Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot—are 35 years old on average, a maturity that adds depth and complexity to the wine. 

The 2014 vintage favored Cabernet, thanks to the long ripening it allowed, resulting in wines of incredible precision and freshness. Christian Moueix of Château Pétrus has ventured that ’14 contains echoes of the “miracle vintage” of 1978—another year that featured a wet summer followed by a storybook September and October, allowing grapes to be picked late into the fall.

Utterly seductive in its combination of firm but sophisticated tannins buttressing dark plum and tobacco, this is a standout effort from one of the greatest Saint-Estèphe estates, and a tremendous under-$50 value.