2015 Château Val Beylie “Plaisir”, Bordeaux Rouge AOC
Tasting Notes
‘Plaisir’ means “pleasure” in English. The wine presents a deep purple color with a clean, fruit-forward nose, smooth in the mouth with red berry candied fruit with hints of smoke and good acidity, nice and balanced on the finish. While Christophe’s first vintages were aged in barrique, his new “sans chêne” approach creates a naked example of Merlot where you can smell and taste the dense clay soil that makes Beylie’s terroir special. This is an amazing wine full of freshness and elegance.
Specs
Varietal: 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc
Appellation: Bordeaux Rouge AOC, France
Organically grown grapes from estate vineyards owned by Christophe Pont.
Elaboration: Grapes are hand-picked in small boxes for delivery to the winery. Grapes are fermented with native yeast in stainless steel tanks and left on the skins for two weeks then topped up and conserved.
Conservation: Unoaked, aged in stainless steel for the winter and spring then bottled before the next harvest.
Alcohol: 14.1%
Residual Sugar: <2 g/l
TA: 3.25 g/l
pH: 3.58
Production: 500 cases
Winemaker: Christophe Pont
What’s Included
6-bottles:
6x 2015 Château Val Beylie “Plaisir”, Bordeaux Rouge AOC Case:
12x 2015 Château Val Beylie “Plaisir”, Bordeaux Rouge AOC
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $216/case MSRP
About The Winery
Château Val Beylie
This small hillside estate is situated in Merignas, just across the Dordogne River from the Saint Emilion appellation boundary. While the soil and climate here are essentially the same as Merignas’ famous neighbor to the North, the culture cannot be different. Upon pulling up to the Chateau entrance expect to see children jumping on a trampoline, wooden swings cleverly wedged between Acacia trees, hand-sewn clothes drying in the sun, and pets of all shapes and sizes bounding about. The vines here may not be perfectly manicured, but they are pulsing with life – The air is loud with insect calls and flowers of all colors shoot up from the wild grass below the estate’s organically farmed vines. Christophe Pont runs all aspects of this operation with his own bare hands. The ten-acre spread of Val Beylie is large enough to feed the family and small enough to avoid the need for employees – Just the right size for a man driven to keep life simple and fulfilling.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2015 Château Val Beylie “Plaisir” Bordeaux - $20 = 16.66%
I received this shipment Thursday and opened one after a few hours in the wine fridge.
There was a strongly musty nose I have encountered in another Bordeaux order from Casemates. I could barely make out any fruit.
On the palate, it was dry with some dark fruit characteristics but I couldn’t get past the nose. I poured the rest into a decanter to see how it would develop over the next day or so.
The next night still had the musty characteristic and didn’t honestly evolve taste-wise.
I poured the rest down the drain; I am going with cork taint on this and will report back after I open another bottle this afternoon.
Hope this isn’t a replay of the Two Jakes mystery case debacle. I’m still grumpy about that one. All of the bottles in that one were past their prime and went down the drain.
@lionel47 You’re not alone. I had two flawed bottles in my case from the previous offer. I believe it was also cork taint, but as you may notice in that thread I’m not great at describing what I smelled & tasted. There’s one bottle I haven’t yet opened; hopefully that one’s also good.
@Ten9Eight I’ll try one tonight. I like Bordeaux but I’m getting worried that maybe I need to buy them locally where I can try a bottle first and come back for more if I like it.
@worbx I wish I would have read the thread you linked to before buying. Lesson learned.
@lionel47 Well, nobody else ever mentioned an issue in that other thread, so hopefully that means the vast majority are good, and I was unusually unlucky.
@worbx I just finished two glasses of a newly opened and decanted bottle a few minutes ago. It had the forest floor heavily on the nose along with some dark fruit and vegetal notes. On the palate, it was some clove, boysenberry, hints of eucalyptus, and black cherry poking through.
I could still get the mustiness and astringency of the previous bottle coming through though nowhere near as pronounced.
I’ll drink the rest tomorrow night and report back.
Well, I almost finished the bottle last night. It was in a decanter with a top on it overnight so it didn’t get much air. When I poured it, the mustiness and astringency were more prominent. However, after about 15 minutes in the glass (I was cooking), it seem to have burned off somehow and the fruit came through in the nose and palate. I enjoyed the rest of the glass during dinner (roast chicken with a yogurt sauce and greens.
All this time, the decanter remained open. So, after cleaning up, I eagerly poured another glass. And the mustiness and astringency has returned. So much so that I only got through half the glass before pouring it out.
I’m not sure what to make of this. Any wine experts or masters out there that can help with this? I’ve had less expensive Bordeaux that were wonderful but this is the second batch that I’ve regretted buying.
I have ten more bottles and, at this point, I am wondering if should just designate them as sangria wines though I am doubting I would enjoy it.
Kinda frustrating but I’m being honest and not just looking for attention or being contrarian.
@lionel47 Agreed - I have only tried one bottle out of the case so far but it tasted like dust. Hope it was just a bad apple but am fearing the worst with this case.
With all the chatter here on this one, I grabbed a bottle from the cellar to see how my bottles/shipment are.
Solid agglomerated cork, ~2mm penetration and some fine tartrate crystals on the bottom; full neck fill with a bit of sediment on the shoulder. PnP pour at a bit warm 17°C minimal nose initially, sweet dark fruit with a bit of dust, no funk or barnyard, balanced acid and fine tannins perhaps from skin or stem inclusion or the CF as the notes say it was raised in SS. No vegetable or green in the nose or on the palate noted. Pretty much exactly what I’d expect in a solid table BdX Merlot/CF blend at nearly 10 years post vintage. This has softened as it warmed to 21.9, so for me it wants a pour at a more normal cooler cellar temp around 13~14 or so…
Back to the frig, corked, for a taste tomorrow.
Not at all disappointed in this; happy with my six, as I don’t have room for 12 with all the other bottles screaming for attention.
One bottle I opened was delightful. One bottle was a bit astringent after opening but letting it air for 15 minutes opened it up and I enjoyed it. The cork didn’t smell musty or “corked” but it wasn’t a very good first sip, for sure. As I work through the rest of the bottles, I’ll update here.
Tomorrow was a bit delayed…
on the 6th day open in the fridge this has shown minimal drop-off. Still 150~200 ml remaining to try to kill off tomorrow, for science.
I came back here to see if others were having the same experience as I am…indeed they are! Sometimes it tastes really musty, other times it’s a fine medium-bodied red. I moved it to my “ok to cook with” section.
2015 Château Val Beylie “Plaisir”, Bordeaux Rouge AOC
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $216/case MSRP
About The Winery
Château Val Beylie
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Sep 9 - Tuesday, Sep 10
2015 Château Val Beylie “Plaisir” Bordeaux
6 bottles for $59.99 $10/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $99.99 $8.33/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Previous offer:
4/8/24
PA must have said no its too good of a deal for our citizens.only the gouging prices will do.
A case of a Bordeaux for under $100? Don’t mind if I do…
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2015 Château Val Beylie “Plaisir” Bordeaux - $20 = 16.66%
In for 6, finally remembered to use coupon from holiday purchase. Looking forward to trying this Bordeaux, can’t beat the price.
@thompp so glad I did. Different than what I usually drink, but very enjoyable.
Trigger pulled! I am thoroughly enjoying the case of white I recently received from this vineyard.
/giphy noble-economic-pain
Seems too good to be true, hahaha. in for six.
/giphy homegrown-ghostly-sail
$100 for a case? Worth a shot. Worst thing that can happen is I gift them away to business associates.
/giphy dashing-likeable-soldier
Vacillating all day while working. Now that I’m off work, I’m pulling the trigger. In for a case even though there are no Rats around.
/giphy unsuitable-dastardly-string
@lionel47 There were rats for the prior offer. Link is in Cesare’s post.
WD is on a roll!
I never got a shipping notification, but my six-pack showed up today. Looks great, can’t wait to try it.
I received this shipment Thursday and opened one after a few hours in the wine fridge.
There was a strongly musty nose I have encountered in another Bordeaux order from Casemates. I could barely make out any fruit.
On the palate, it was dry with some dark fruit characteristics but I couldn’t get past the nose. I poured the rest into a decanter to see how it would develop over the next day or so.
The next night still had the musty characteristic and didn’t honestly evolve taste-wise.
I poured the rest down the drain; I am going with cork taint on this and will report back after I open another bottle this afternoon.
Hope this isn’t a replay of the Two Jakes mystery case debacle. I’m still grumpy about that one. All of the bottles in that one were past their prime and went down the drain.
@lionel47 I had a bottle last night and it was really good.
@lionel47 You’re not alone. I had two flawed bottles in my case from the previous offer. I believe it was also cork taint, but as you may notice in that thread I’m not great at describing what I smelled & tasted. There’s one bottle I haven’t yet opened; hopefully that one’s also good.
@Ten9Eight I’ll try one tonight. I like Bordeaux but I’m getting worried that maybe I need to buy them locally where I can try a bottle first and come back for more if I like it.
@worbx I wish I would have read the thread you linked to before buying. Lesson learned.
@lionel47 Well, nobody else ever mentioned an issue in that other thread, so hopefully that means the vast majority are good, and I was unusually unlucky.
@worbx I just finished two glasses of a newly opened and decanted bottle a few minutes ago. It had the forest floor heavily on the nose along with some dark fruit and vegetal notes. On the palate, it was some clove, boysenberry, hints of eucalyptus, and black cherry poking through.
I could still get the mustiness and astringency of the previous bottle coming through though nowhere near as pronounced.
I’ll drink the rest tomorrow night and report back.
@lionel47 @worbx
Always appreciate these in-thread updates.
@lionel47
Well, I almost finished the bottle last night. It was in a decanter with a top on it overnight so it didn’t get much air. When I poured it, the mustiness and astringency were more prominent. However, after about 15 minutes in the glass (I was cooking), it seem to have burned off somehow and the fruit came through in the nose and palate. I enjoyed the rest of the glass during dinner (roast chicken with a yogurt sauce and greens.
All this time, the decanter remained open. So, after cleaning up, I eagerly poured another glass. And the mustiness and astringency has returned. So much so that I only got through half the glass before pouring it out.
I’m not sure what to make of this. Any wine experts or masters out there that can help with this? I’ve had less expensive Bordeaux that were wonderful but this is the second batch that I’ve regretted buying.
I have ten more bottles and, at this point, I am wondering if should just designate them as sangria wines though I am doubting I would enjoy it.
Kinda frustrating but I’m being honest and not just looking for attention or being contrarian.
@lionel47 Agreed - I have only tried one bottle out of the case so far but it tasted like dust. Hope it was just a bad apple but am fearing the worst with this case.
@HOUSTONHOARDER Keep us informed. I may open a third bottle this weekend and see the results. I’m not hopeful but…
With all the chatter here on this one, I grabbed a bottle from the cellar to see how my bottles/shipment are.
Solid agglomerated cork, ~2mm penetration and some fine tartrate crystals on the bottom; full neck fill with a bit of sediment on the shoulder. PnP pour at a bit warm 17°C minimal nose initially, sweet dark fruit with a bit of dust, no funk or barnyard, balanced acid and fine tannins perhaps from skin or stem inclusion or the CF as the notes say it was raised in SS. No vegetable or green in the nose or on the palate noted. Pretty much exactly what I’d expect in a solid table BdX Merlot/CF blend at nearly 10 years post vintage. This has softened as it warmed to 21.9, so for me it wants a pour at a more normal cooler cellar temp around 13~14 or so…
Back to the frig, corked, for a taste tomorrow.
Not at all disappointed in this; happy with my six, as I don’t have room for 12 with all the other bottles screaming for attention.
One bottle I opened was delightful. One bottle was a bit astringent after opening but letting it air for 15 minutes opened it up and I enjoyed it. The cork didn’t smell musty or “corked” but it wasn’t a very good first sip, for sure. As I work through the rest of the bottles, I’ll update here.
Tomorrow was a bit delayed…
on the 6th day open in the fridge this has shown minimal drop-off. Still 150~200 ml remaining to try to kill off tomorrow, for science.
I came back here to see if others were having the same experience as I am…indeed they are! Sometimes it tastes really musty, other times it’s a fine medium-bodied red. I moved it to my “ok to cook with” section.