Professional ratings (2020 vintage)
- Robert Parker Wine Advocate: 96–98 points
- James Suckling: 98–99 points (often reported as 98–99 or 98)
- Antonio Galloni (Vinous): 95–97 points
- Neal Martin (Vinous): 90–92 points
- Decanter: ~93 points
- Falstaff: 95–97 points
- Jeb Dunnuck: 95–97 points
- Jancis Robinson: ~16.5/20 (roughly mid-90s equivalent)
Summary of critical consensus
Across top critics, the 2020 Bellevue Mondotte is consistently described as:
Style profile
- Very dense, concentrated, and powerful
- Mostly or entirely 100% Merlot in this vintage
- Extremely ripe black fruit: blackberry, plum, cassis
- Marked by new oak influence (spice, chocolate, mocha, graphite)
Structure & aging
- High tannin + strong acidity balance
- Built for long aging (often 15–30+ years)
- Most critics suggest it is too young to drink now (best after ~2028)
Quality positioning
- Generally considered a “top-tier Saint-Émilion” / garagiste-style icon wine
- Frequently rated in the 95–98 point range, placing it among elite Bordeaux right-bank wines in 2020
Notable divergence in opinion
- High scores (Parker / Suckling / Dunnuck): emphasize power, purity, and exceptional quality
- Lower relative score (Neal Martin 90–92): notes it is very extracted, somewhat monolithic, more impressive than charming
This split is typical for wines made in a modern, high-extraction, luxury Saint-Émilion style.
Bottom line
The 2020 Château Bellevue Mondotte is:
- A critically very highly rated Bordeaux (mid-to-high 90s average)
- A structured, long-aging, very concentrated Merlot
- More of a “cellar wine” than a drink-now bottle
98pts James Suckling
A linear and very compacted Bellevue with blackberries, blueberries and chocolate. Full and tight with racy tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Racy and focused. 100% merlot.
98pts Wine Advocate
The 2020 Bellevue Mondotte is made from 100% Merlot, with an alcohol of 14.92% and a pH of 3.54. It is aging in French oak barriques, 90% new. Displaying an opaque purple-black color, it sashays out of the glass with flamboyant notes of plum preserves, blackberry compote and blueberry pie, plus hints of hoisin, Chinese five spice and camphor with a touch of dried rose petals. The concentrated, seductive, full-bodied palate delivers layer upon layer of black and blue fruit preserves, accented by exotic spices and supported with firm, ripe, rounded tannins plus fantastic freshness. The finish is epically long and achingly fragrant. Wow!
98pts Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Bellevue Mondotte is another powerhouse from the team at Pavie. All Merlot from the upper plateau above Chateau Pavie (the soils here contain a touch more clay), this full-bodied, deep, concentrated 2020 has a tight, unevolved bouquet of darker raspberries, cassis, truffly earth, and chocolate. Balanced, structured, and incredibly pure, it's mostly potential at this point and needs to be forgotten for 5-6 years. Best After 2028
97pts Vinous
The 2020 Bellevue Mondotte is a dark, brooding Saint-Émilion, from just two hectares of vineyards. Graphite, gravel, scorched earth, inky dark fruit, chocolate and cloves stain the palate. Deep and explosive, with tremendous energy, the Bellevue Mondotte is magnificent and also one of the most distinctive wines in the appellation. In 2020, it's 100% Merlot, as the small parcels of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon that were once used here have been budded over to Merlot. What a wine! - Antonio Galloni
97pts The Wine Cellar Insider
Produced from 100% old vine Merlot, the black, and purple color alone tells you this is going to offer a deep, tasting experience. The wine is intense, full-bodied, deep, long, and opulent, providing seamless layers of chocolate-covered blackberries, black cherries, plums, and espresso. Yet, with all this depth of flavor, everything is balanced, harmonious, long, and hedonistic. The finish offers to lift, purity, and velvet-textured tannins that coat your palate stains your teeth, and doesn't relinquish their hold on you for more than 50 seconds, leaving you with waves of rich plums, and black cherries with tones of crushed rocks, and stones in the endnote. However, it is not easy to find as only 350 cases, give or take were produced. Drink from 2027-2055.
96pts The Wine Independent
Bellevue Mondotte 2020 is 100% Merlot this year and has a deep garnet-purple color. It comes barreling out of the glass with rambunctious notes of preserved plums, blueberry pie, and black cherries, leading to suggestions of candied violets, tapenade, and aniseed, plus a touch of iron ore. The medium to full-bodied palate is completely coated with dark, decadent fruits, supported by velvety tannins and lovely freshness, finishing long with a spicy kick.
95pts Wine Enthusiast
Produced from old Merlot vines, this is a rich, juicy wine with layers of fresh acidity as well as blackberry fruits. The tannins give this superripe wine powerful density that will push it well towards aging.
94pts Wine Spectator
Loaded with loganberry, acai berry and boysenberry fruit flavors that bring underlying juicy energy, while graphite, black tea, roasted alder and violet notes fill in throughout. The long finish lets it all unfurl suavely. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2026 through 2040.
History
The acquisition of Château Bellevue-Mondotte in 2001 by Gérard Perse is the latest episode in a passionate process, strictly based on the quality of the chosen terroirs, whether they are prestigious, such as Château Pavie, or little known, such as Clos Lunelles or Château Bellevue-Mondotte.
Partly enclosed by Château Pavie-Decesse, on the clay-limestone plateau of Saint-Emilion, Château Bellevue-Mondotte truly benefits from an "immense" terroir, as Gérard Perse likes to emphasize. Overlooking the Dordogne valley by more than 80 meters, the small estate (2.5 hectares) combines in an optimal way the qualities required for a high-level viticulture: natural poverty of the soils, excellent sunshine thanks to the southern exposure, natural drainage of the grounds because of the slope, very little gelling character of the vineyard protected from the northern wind.
In the vineyards as well as in the cellar, the Perse spirit reigns with a lot of rigor, passion and attention, with the aim of elaborating the most beautiful harvests for the most precise vinifications. The annual production is very small, around 400 cases. The teams of Gérard Perse harvest the grapes by hand before vinification in thermo-regulated wooden vats and an 18 to 24-months ageing period, 80 to 100% in new barrels. The result is Château Bellevue-Mondotte, a dense, well-defined Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, with blackberry, cherry, blackcurrant and the toasted notes of its breeding. The tannins are present but well-framed and speak in favor of long cellaring, over 15 years.
