Château Berliquet 2018 en Primeur

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.