CHÂTEAU BERLIQUET
2020 Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion
Blackberry with charcoal and dark earth aromas that follow through to a medium to full body with fruit, iron and moss flavors. It’s structured and well-formed with excellent balance of acidity. Drink after 2027. Rating: 94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2020 Berliquet is another step in a direction favoring finesse over the burly power that often marked the wines of the past. Delicate and nuanced, with pretty floral top notes, this mid-weight Saint-Émilion is a charmer. Drink it over the next decade or so. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038 Rating: 92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
Nicolas Auderbert and Thomas Duclos, the pair that did such brilliant job at Château Canon, have turned their sights on Berliquet, owned by Canon since 2017. There are slightly cooler soils here, a touch more clay and it gives a subdued edge with clear quality and bright brambled blackberry, rhubarb, pomegranate, blood organge, turmeric spice. Tight and full of energy. 50% new oak, 40hl/h yield, harvest September 14 to 24. 7.5ha. Drinking range: 2027 - 2042 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (Feb 2023)
When I tasted the barrel sample, the 2020 Berliquet was not firing on all cylinders. Now in bottle, the nose is still a bit wanting, with light brambly red fruit and earthy scents, just missing some cohesion and the intensity of its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a gentle grip and a round texture. A smear of dark chocolate appears towards the focused finish that requires more substance. Not bad, though greater wines will emanate from this address down the line. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038 Rating: 89 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
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)
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond' (excluding duty paid and VAT).
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price sits within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
You can register your interest via the online wishlist form, by emailing privateclients@leaandsandeman.co.uk, or by calling 020 7221 1982. All wishlist requests are subject to availability and final confirmation. Inevitably, some wines will have to be allocated but please do not let that deter you from asking. We will do our best to satisfy all requests.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date.
Invoices are raised at in bond prices. Duty and VAT invoices will be raised on request when the wines land in the UK.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We reserve the right to levy a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant Storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other in bond deliveries are free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1,000. Orders below this total will be charged at £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchase from this offer, not a per-case charge. Please inform us of in bond delivery addresses and account details at the time of ordering.
- If the wines are required duty paid we will issue invoices at prevailing rate of duty and VAT when the wines arrive in the UK.
- The wines will become available by the end of the year and should be shipped very early next year.