Chateau Berliquet Grand Cru Classe, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2016

This is a really powerful red with fantastic density and richness. Silky and chewy tannins. Lots of chalky, crushed limestone character. Impressive. Let’s see what is better: the 2016 or 2015.

Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2016 Berliquet (blended of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc) is a little mute to begin, opening out to expressive kirsch, black plums and black cherry compote scents plus nuances of unsmoked cigars and dried herbs. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has fantastic intensity and energy, with a firm frame of ripe, grainy tannins and a lively lift to the mineral-laced finish.

The 2016 Berliquet has quite a high-toned bouquet that gradually gains more composure with aeration, the cedar- and mint-infused red fruit developing subtle tertiary aromas with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with firm but fine-boned tannins. This leans toward the drier and more classically styled Saint-Émilion, and it pulls it off well. Very promising. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

A great wine this year, showing the real quality of the vintage. Juicy black fruits and a well controlled extraction combined with good acidity. Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt consult. Drinking Window 2025 - 2040.

A blast of dark cherry, chocolate, leather, espresso, smoke and spice hits the palate in the 2016 Berliquet. Powerful in both its fruit and tannin impact, the 2016 packs a serious punch. Torrefaction notes from the oak are especially dominant today. This is a decidedly potent, brooding Berliquet. It will be interesting to see what Nicolas Audebert, Technical Director at Canon and Rauzan-Ségla will do at Berliquet now that Chanel owns the château. To be sure, Audebert has already improved both Canon and Rauzan-Ségla in a meaningful way. But there is only so much he could do with the 2016, a wine that he inherited from Nicolas Thienpont, who himself was limited by some of the constraints that existed under prior ownership. Tasted two times.