CHÂTEAU BERLIQUET

With a slightly quieter palate than some, Berliquet is fairly shy right now and the oak seems to be dominating the perfume. On the palate, the fruit is composed, elegant, long and refined and it is here that one senses that this is a wine with beguiling potential. Cherry-soaked, pure and persistent, 2020 Berliquet is a rather elegant beast and it shows floral notes and lovely control on its long finish. Do not expect this wine to drink as young as many in this vintage, but when it opens at around the eight-year mark, I expect it will have brought the florals from the back of the flavour to the very front of the perfume, thus signalling it is ready to welcome you to the table. This is a surprise find in 2020 and I urge you to seek it out. Rating: 17.5 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Berliquet is the first wine that shows a real change in direction under its new ownership and the team headed by Nicolas Audebert. Bright and chiseled with energy this mid-weight Saint-Émilion is quite promising. Crushed red flowers, mint, sweet red berry fruit. There is still a bit of grittiness in the tannin, but this is a decidedly more finessed style than the wines of the recent past. Drinking range: 2026 - 2040 Rating: 89-91 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Berliquet has an open, quite generous bouquet of high-toned, quite floral aromas (iris and violet petals) mixed with Dorset plum, bilberry and wild strawberry. The palate is medium-bodied with a medicinal, menthol-tinged opening, ripe and again, generous. The candied finish just needs to show a little more restraint. Fine, but it will have to manifest more elegance and composure by the time of bottling. Perhaps it was unfair to pour this against the 2020 Canon, also owned by the Wertheimer family, but it highlighted the difference between their respective terroirs. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038 Rating: 88-90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)

Notes of iron, toasty oak, violets, and ample red and blue fruits emerge from the 2020 Château Berliquet, a medium to full-bodied, gorgeously balanced and textured Saint-Emilion based on 69% Merlot and 31% Cabernet Franc. It has a solid kick of background oak, but the fruit is incredibly pure and it has a great mid-palate and outstanding length. Still aging in 50% new French oak, it should benefit from short-term cellaring and cruise for 15 years or more in cold cellars. Rating: 92-94 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)

A slightly cooler terroir than its sibling estate Château Canon, a little more clay-based which gives weight, depth and power while also being austere right now, with grippy tannins and a bite of blood orange. Great stuff, can start drinking this in five to six years to allow the structure to soften while keeping the appeal of the wild cherry and blackberry fruits. 50% new oak for 16 months. Drinking range: 2028 - 2042 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)

Very soft and polished with beautiful tannins that are poised and beautiful. It’s medium-to full-bodied and gorgeously proportioned. Ready for even more polishing. Rating: 95-96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2021)

69% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Franc. Clean and effortless in style. Delicate summer-fruit notes with a hint of mint. Juicy and fresh with chalky tannins and dry finish. Eminently digeste. Drinking range: 2026 - 2035 Rating: 16.5 James Lawther MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2021)