Made of 98% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2017 Belair Monange is medium to deep garnet-purple in color. With a little swirling, this baby comes bounding out of the glass with energetic notes of wild blueberries, Morello cherries, baked plums and black raspberries with wafts of Indian spices, lavender, garrigue and tobacco plus a hint of licorice. Medium to full-bodied, the black and blue fruit dance playfully on the palate with fantastic freshness to lift the bold flavors and a superb frame of ripe, velvety tannins. It finishes very long and with amazing zing. So tempting to drink now, but make no mistake—this is one for the long haul!- LPB

This has the austerity of limestone in 2017 but it also has the well-worked, delicate flesh of these exemplary soils, and the careful inching forward of fruit, building up layer by layer, adding blueberry and raspberry fruits, and providing little bursts of minerality that keep your mouth watering long after the finish. Great stuff.

Fresh earth, truffle, sous bois and attractively ripe blueberry and plum aromas here. It’s a bold and very pure, primary wine here for now, yet this has great potential. The palate reveals beautifully ripe red-plum and cherry flavors with a powerful tannin statement that carries impressive depth and scale on the finish. Give this time. Try from 2023.

The 2017 Bélair-Monange is ripe and explosive in the glass, with tremendous fruit density and a real sense of power. Exotic spice, mocha, sweet pipe tobacco, cinnamon and floral notes add layers of nuance to a core of super-ripe dark red and purplish fruit in this sumptuous, flamboyantly ripe Saint-Émilion. Soft curves give the 2017 tons of immediacy, but there is also more than enough freshness and structure to support many years in the cellar. -- Antonio Galloni

This structured wine brings together black fruits, rich tannins and good acidity. The mineral edge to the wine and powerful tannins promise great aging, spurred on by the ripe black fruits. Drink this classed growth Saint-Emilion from 2023. - ROGER VOSS

From a slightly larger vineyard covering 46 acres, the 2017 Chateau Belair-Monange is a gorgeous wine that stays in the classic style of the vintage yet still packs plenty of oomph and textural richness. Based on 93% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, its deep ruby/purple hue is followed by a medium to full-bodied, impressive 2017 that has sweet tannins and a stacked, concentrated mid-palate, notable purity, and a great finish. It has the classic, straight, elegant style of the vintage, lots of beautiful cassis and cherry fruits, a kiss of spicy oak, and building structure that shows with time in the glass. Nevertheless, it has plenty of upfront charm and should evolve positively for 2-4 years and drink nicely for 15 years or more.

Roses and rocks and perfectly mature plums and cherries create harmony on the palate. The tannins are salty due to the intense minerality. The textures are flowing with silk and the fruit is doing a salsa dance. Give this up to a decade in the cellar

A very fresh, savory-tinged style, with chalky minerality surrounding the core of cassis, damson plum and cherry fruit flavors. Offers a long and focused finish, showing flashes of rooibos tea and lilac. Just a hair austere in the end, but delivers lovely cut and tension. Should age nicely. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2038. — JM