Barde Haut 2016

Readers will find a rich, flamboyant wine in the 2016 Barde-Haut. There is not a ton of subtlety here, but I am not sure that matters all that much given how immensely pleasing the 2016 is. Crushed rocks, graphite, lavender, blackberry, plum, and violet infuse a Saint-Émilion that offers tremendous textural richness as well as vibrancy. Most importantly of all, the 2016 is flat-out delicious. This is a decidedly opulent, dark Saint-Émilion with all of the elements impeccably balanced. I loved it.

The 2016 Barde-Haut has a pure black cherry and boysenberry bouquet with touches of crushed violet. The palate is quite dense and perhaps one of the most powerful Barde-Haut I have encountered in recent years, offering more black fruit than red, laced with tobacco and a pinch of black pepper. There is good backbone to this Saint-Émilion, and it deserves three or four years in bottle.

This shows such complex and beautiful aromas of flowers, lavender, light spearmint and currants. Medium to full body, very fine tannins and a long finish. All about finesse and length. Drink after 2022.