2023 Chateau Berliquet Grand Cru Classe, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

A plump and juicy wine with redcurrants and plums, as well as orange peel. Full and layered with round, juicy tannins and a flavorful finish. Generous fruit in this vintage.

The 2023 Berliquet was picked 23 September to October 5 at 45hL/ha matured in 34% new oak plus 10 amphorae. Initially the nose is quite backward and doesn't want to play. Give it a few swirls and it opens to reveal black cherries blackcurrant and a distant tang of oyster shell emanating from limestone soils. The palate is medium-bodied with a very harmonious entry. Finely weighted tensile and slightly savory in style this is very elegant finishing with citrus-like freshness. Berliquet has definitely been in the ascendant in recent vintages and this is another to add.

The 2023 Berliquet is the first vintage produced in the estate's new winery equipped with double the number of vats permitting proper separation of blocks. That's especially important as Berliquet is a more diverse terroir than Canon and it can now be interpreted with much more precision. Offering up aromas of cherries black raspberries licorice and violets it's medium to full-bodied pillowy and layered with a fleshy core of concentrated fruit refined chalky tannins and lively acids.

The 2023 Berliquet marks another important step forward for this château. Floral aromatics are immediately alluring. Bright sculpted fruit and vibrant acids convey finesse through to the saline delineated finish. This is the first vintage made in the new cellar which surely helps. Élevage is in French oak and amphora. Berliquet is all charm in 2023. Tasted four times. Drink 2027-2043.

59% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample. Crimson hue. Attractive nose. Floral, red-fruit notes. Nothing forced. Palate fresh and dancing. Fine tannic frame but less fruit weight than 2022. (JL)