Berliquet 2018

Tasted blind. Meaty nose. And then rather pinched fruit. Ungenerous. Ambitious but not yet at all charming. Though the core of fruit is impressive. 14.5%Drink 2028 – 2040

Inky core with purple rim. Ripe and dark on the nose. Quite leafy on the palate and the tannins are pretty drying. Difficult to taste after the Canon. The nose more attractive than the palate. A little dry on the finish but has very good freshness, showing the chalky texture that I associate with limestone soils. Clearly a work in progress.Drink 2023-2028

The 2018 Berliquet is the first vintage that Nicolas Audebert and his team take full responsibility for. It has an opulent bouquet with black cherries, blueberry and cassis fruit, compared to the Canon just a touch strong. It is a powerful and dense Berliquet with a slightly heady finish, although at 14.2% alcohol it is under control. Since the vineyard contains less limestone than Canon, the imprimatur of the growing season speaks a little stronger. 2023 - 2037

A fine and fruity red with blueberries and blackberries and hints of walnuts. Medium to full body and ultra fine tannins that melt into the body of the wine. It’s muscular in some ways. Lots of potential. Punchy.

This was really Nicolas Audebert’s first vintage at Berliquet, since the property was acquired by Chanel in the autumn of 2017. The most significant, immediate change from 2018 came from noticing that blocks of the vineyard had Merlot and Cabernet Franc interplanted. These used to be harvested together. This year the different cultivars were flagged and harvested separately so as to achieve optimal ripeness for both varieties. The 2018 Berliquet is blended of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc and has 14.5% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it leaps from the glass with bold kirsch, blueberry compote and Black Forest cake with touches of cloves, lavender, menthol and lilacs. Medium to full-bodied and elegant, with lovely freshness lifting the densely packed blue and black fruit flavors, it has a velvety texture and long, earthy finish.

A rough blend of 78% Merlot and 22% Franc made by the team at Canon (Thomas Duclos also consults here), the 2018 Château Berliquet sports a deeper purple color as well as a complex, layered style in its black raspberry, white flowers, dried earth, spice, and forest floor aromas and flavors. It's medium to full-bodied, has a rounded, expansive texture, beautiful tannins, and brilliant freshness and purity as well as a serious kick of minerality on the finish. Coming from a smaller 10-hectare terroir located on the clay and limestone soils on the upper plateau, it will spend 16 months in 45% new French oak. Tasted twice.