Chateau Bellevue Mondotte 2017

The wine’s extremely intense color is black and concentrated, predominantly violet, tingeing the walls of the wineglass with its rich hue. The aromas are fresh, with delicate, black fruit. The scent of this wine, so powerful, concentrated and lively is almost astounding. The oak aging is evident, but the wine has the personality make its presence amply felt. The first impression in the mouth is firm, with fine, gripping tannins that are young but balanced by the wine’s acidity. There’s an imposing freshness from Bellevue Mondotte’s Merlot, expressing the terroir and the maturity offered by the vineyard’s sun-rich exposition. The finish is very long and inviting, with flavors displaying themselves very well indeed. This is a wine which shows its Merlot wonderfully, with a sharper, more lively expression than the variety achieves in neighboring vineyards. Still spirited and full of energy, the wine will settle down with aging to produce a style with power, roundness, taste and pleasure. The vintage was a challenging one, but the vineyard’s ideal situation produced the goods.