Berliquet 2019 (375ML)

94 WA / 93 JA / 93 JS / 92 JD / 92 VM / 91 WS / 17 JR

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.

This is the second year for Berliquet under the Canon team, and it is proving to be an excellent addition to the stable of wines - with a more powerful, cocoa bean, espresso and blackberry fruit character than its sibling (and neighbour, as Canon is within walking distance of Berliquet), but still with the mouthwatering, gunsmoke, salted caramel and saffron hit of a limestone-dominant terroir. 45hl/ha yield, 45% new oak for ageing. Thomas Duclos consultant. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

Dark plums, baked blueberries, chocolate, lemon zest and sage on the nose. Medium-bodied with vibrant acidity and fine, sleek tannins. Fresh and focused with a pretty finish. Drink after 2024. - James Suckling

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.-Jeb Dunnuck

The 2019 Berliquet has a refined bouquet of lifted dried iris petal scents mingling with blackberry and wild strawberry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins and fleshy red berry fruit laced with tobacco and Chinese five-spice, and very well proportioned and detailed on the finish. Sophisticated. Tasted twice. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

Friendly in feel, with a rounded edge to the mix of plum, cassis and black cherry preserve flavors. Features a melted licorice snap note that drapes over the finish, with flickers of savory and chalky minerality adding nice contrast. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2036. — JM, Wine Spectator

Agreeable blend of perfume and ripeness on the nose. Really quite an emphatic palate entry with masses of ripe fruit that is very agreeably mouth-filling and a nice counterweight to the pretty firm tannins. This should develop very nicely, I think. - Jancis Robinson