Berliquet 2019

The 2019 Berliquet is showing beautifully, wafting from the glass with aromas of cherries, wild berries, sweet spices, violets and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and elegant, with terrific depth at the core, lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins, it concludes with a long, mineral finish. It's produced from a 9.5-hectare vineyard that encompasses three soil types: Saint-Émilion's limestone plateau (like its sibling, Château Canon); the slope, characterized by deep clay; and then sandy, colluvial soils at the foot of the slope. Right now it's planted with 70% Merlot and the balance Cabernet Franc, but the percentage of the latter is increasing as replanting progresses. Drink Date 2027 - 2050

A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Berliquet is deep garnet-purple in color. It storms out with powerful notions of baked blackberries and stewed plums, leading to suggestions of cedar, sassafras, truffles, and chocolate. The medium to full-bodied palate has compelling freshness, with soft tannins and a long, layered finish.

The 2019 Berliquet has a delineated and focused bouquet with attractive blackberry, wild strawberry and violet scents, the new oak is neatly assimilated. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, fine acidity, perhaps without quite the charm of the aromatics, cohesive with a silky smooth finish. Stylish, but it needs more complexity. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drink 2024-2045

A blend of 77% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Franc, aged in 45% new French oak. Mid ruby colour, with a floral and bright, red-fruited nose. There are hints of green spice and seductive vanilla. The palate is equally bright, with lively acids and high-toned red fruit turning to cherry blossom and violet. this is positively zippy, but there remains a core of flesh underneath. The tannins are fine, soft and ripe, making for a very approachable style. Long and pure in red fruit through to the finish.

Tasted blind. Mid crimson. Pale rim. Just a bit dead on the mid palate. Solid but not exciting. Still very youthful with the acid and tannin dominating the fruit at present. 14.5%
Drink 2027– 2043

The 2018 was a breakthrough vintage for Berliquet with the wine becoming very much like Canon in style. The 2019 continues in that trend, a blend of 77% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Franc which will be aged in 45% new French oak. For the first time, the wine will age in historical quarries that took two years to renovate. the harvest too found new levels of precision, with an intra-plot harvest and use of new, smaller vats for fermentation. The palate is deep ruby in colour, with perfumed red fruit and a little sweet kirsch on the nose. The palate is ripe, fleshy and round, with no hard edges. Creamy red fruits are interlaced with star anise, cedar and fresh leather. The tannins are wonderfully fine and ripe, gently framing the wine. Persistent, vibrant red fruits linger on the finish. Tasted in Bordeaux.

The 2019 Château Berliquet shows the vintage’s pure, elegant, nicely focused style beautifully. Giving up lots of ripe black cherries, iron, hints of darker currants, tobacco, and loamy earth, it's medium-bodied, has a supple, balanced mouthfeel, polished tannins, and a great finish. I’d be happy to drink bottles any time over the coming 10-15 years or so.