Saint-Émilion 1er Grand Cru Classé B 2016

Neal Martin: The 2016 Belair-Monange, the home of Edouard Moueix and his family, is a blend of 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. It has a tightly wound bouquet with red and black fruit, touches of cedar and smoke developing in the glass, reticent at first but unfolding nicely in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin, a more structured and rigid Belair-Monange compared to recent vintages, adorned with fine salinity on the finish. It will require several years in bottle to show its best, but it will be worth waiting for.

Wine Spectator: This is about as pure a beam of unadulterated cassis and cherry sauce as you can get, beautifully silky in feel and carrying through a very long, refined finish. The chalky echo is there, but it's really tucked away for now. Lilting incense hint in the background too.

Wine Enthusiast: This wine is ripe and beautifully perfumed. Juicy, concentrated blackberry flavors are backed by structured tannins. It is wine for the long haul.