Berliquet 2018

St Emilion

Units	Size	Case size	GBP Price:	Quantities	Buy

Tasting Notes
The 2018 Berliquet has not come together as well as I had hoped. There is a certain aggressiveness and edginess that keeps the wine from being fully expressive. It will be interesting to see if more time in bottle helps. This was the first vintage made by the Canon team led by Nicolas Audebert. The elements don't feel totally put together. Score: 88 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024 - 2033 25 August 2021
The 2018 Berliquet represents a major stylistic shift under the guidance of Nicolas Audebert and the technical team at Canon. Plump and juicy, the 2018 offers an explosion of fruit that gives it a distinctly exuberant personality. A joyous, radiant wine, Berliquet expresses the natural radiance of the vintage in a forward, juicy style that offers tons of near and medium-term appeal. The wine's fruit and overall density are both impressive, to say the least. This is the first vintage made by the Nicolas Audebert and the technical team at Canon following Chanel's acquisition of the estate in 2017. The blend is 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc. Tasted four times. Score: 90 - 93 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 01 April 2019
The 2018 Berliquet is more controlled on the nose than when tasted from barrel, though I still feel it needs more time to completely gel and would benefit from greater delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with toasty black fruit, tar and tobacco, leading to a dry and slightly smudged finish. Maybe I could find a better and fresher bottle, but this is par for the course. Score: 88 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2023 - 2037 18 August 2021
The 2018 Berliquet is the first vintage that Nicolas Audebert and his team take full responsibility for. It has an opulent bouquet with black cherries, blueberry and cassis fruit, compared to the Canon just a touch strong. It is a powerful and dense Berliquet with a slightly heady finish, although at 14.2% alcohol it is under control. Since the vineyard contains less limestone than Canon, the imprimatur of the growing season speaks a little stronger. Score: 89 - 91 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2023-2037 01 November 2019
Coming from the team at Canon and a blend of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Château Berliquet sports a dense purple hue as well as a classic Saint-Emilion, mineral-driven bouquet of red and black cherries, chocolate, graphite, roasted herbs, and chalky, rocky nuances. A big, rich, dense 2018, it has chewy tannins, good mid-palate depth, and outstanding length. Score: 91 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 18 July 2021
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. Score: 93 - 96 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 01 May 2019
The 2018 Berliquet is composed of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc and has 14.5% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple in color, it slowly unfurls in the glass to reveal a classic nose of ripe black plums, wild blueberries and pencil shavings with hints of unsmoked cigars, tilled soil and red roses. The medium to full-bodied palate is chock-full of blue and black fruit preserves, supported by plush tannins and impressive freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. Since the Chanel takeover and under Nicolas Audebert’s direction, the development of this site and the wine are truly impressive. I suspect a lot of selection has gone into making this 2018, and the results reveal a top-tier Saint-Émilion in the making. Score: 93 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2023 - 2040 11 July 2021
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. Score: 93 - 95 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 23 April 2019
Powerful and plush as it opens after an initial moment of full-on austerity. This needs a good 30 minutes in the glass to really open, and I suggest giving it a full eight to 10 years in bottle before it reaches the right moment to start drinking. This was the first full year for the Canon team, and the work will take another few years to fully show results, but this has clear blueberry and raspberry fruits, structured tannins and a density that comes from the clay that is shot through the limestone in the vineyard. Harvested around two weeks earlier than under the previous owner. Score: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2026-2042 10 November 2020
2018 is the second vintage under Canon ownership, but the first one where they were involved throughout the growing season. This wine has an austerity that's apparent from the start, but as ever with the Canon team they don't try to smother it and instead focus on the elegant but powerful blue fruits that pull you along. The power and density reflects the higher levels of clay in the soils here compared Canon, and they have produced a really stunning wine with so much potential ahead of it. It's quite different in personality from Canon, and I hope they keep them as separate properties beyond the 2022 classification, when I guess they will have the chance to put them together. Drinking Window 2026 - 2040 Score: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2026-2040 04 April 2019
A fine and fruity red with blueberries and blackberries and hints of walnuts. Medium to full body and ultra fine tannins that melt into the body of the wine. It’s muscular in some ways. Lots of potential. Punchy. Score: 94 - 95 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 11 April 2019
A focused, restrained style, with cherry, plum and red currant notes that are carried by persistent chalky minerality. Shows a light tobacco shading throughout. Score: 91 - 94 James Molesworth, Wine Spectator 02 April 2019

Tasting Notes

The 2018 Berliquet has not come together as well as I had hoped. There is a certain aggressiveness and edginess that keeps the wine from being fully expressive. It will be interesting to see if more time in bottle helps. This was the first vintage made by the Canon team led by Nicolas Audebert. The elements don't feel totally put together.

Score: 88

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024 - 2033 25 August 2021

The 2018 Berliquet represents a major stylistic shift under the guidance of Nicolas Audebert and the technical team at Canon. Plump and juicy, the 2018 offers an explosion of fruit that gives it a distinctly exuberant personality. A joyous, radiant wine, Berliquet expresses the natural radiance of the vintage in a forward, juicy style that offers tons of near and medium-term appeal. The wine's fruit and overall density are both impressive, to say the least. This is the first vintage made by the Nicolas Audebert and the technical team at Canon following Chanel's acquisition of the estate in 2017. The blend is 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc. Tasted four times.

Score: 90 - 93

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 01 April 2019

The 2018 Berliquet is more controlled on the nose than when tasted from barrel, though I still feel it needs more time to completely gel and would benefit from greater delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with toasty black fruit, tar and tobacco, leading to a dry and slightly smudged finish. Maybe I could find a better and fresher bottle, but this is par for the course.

Score: 88

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2023 - 2037 18 August 2021

The 2018 Berliquet is the first vintage that Nicolas Audebert and his team take full responsibility for. It has an opulent bouquet with black cherries, blueberry and cassis fruit, compared to the Canon just a touch strong. It is a powerful and dense Berliquet with a slightly heady finish, although at 14.2% alcohol it is under control. Since the vineyard contains less limestone than Canon, the imprimatur of the growing season speaks a little stronger.

Score: 89 - 91

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2023-2037 01 November 2019

Coming from the team at Canon and a blend of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Château Berliquet sports a dense purple hue as well as a classic Saint-Emilion, mineral-driven bouquet of red and black cherries, chocolate, graphite, roasted herbs, and chalky, rocky nuances. A big, rich, dense 2018, it has chewy tannins, good mid-palate depth, and outstanding length.

Score: 91

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 18 July 2021

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.

Score: 93 - 96

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 01 May 2019

The 2018 Berliquet is composed of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc and has 14.5% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple in color, it slowly unfurls in the glass to reveal a classic nose of ripe black plums, wild blueberries and pencil shavings with hints of unsmoked cigars, tilled soil and red roses. The medium to full-bodied palate is chock-full of blue and black fruit preserves, supported by plush tannins and impressive freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. Since the Chanel takeover and under Nicolas Audebert’s direction, the development of this site and the wine are truly impressive. I suspect a lot of selection has gone into making this 2018, and the results reveal a top-tier Saint-Émilion in the making.

Score: 93

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2023 - 2040 11 July 2021

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.

Score: 93 - 95

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 23 April 2019

Powerful and plush as it opens after an initial moment of full-on austerity. This needs a good 30 minutes in the glass to really open, and I suggest giving it a full eight to 10 years in bottle before it reaches the right moment to start drinking. This was the first full year for the Canon team, and the work will take another few years to fully show results, but this has clear blueberry and raspberry fruits, structured tannins and a density that comes from the clay that is shot through the limestone in the vineyard. Harvested around two weeks earlier than under the previous owner.

Score: 93

Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2026-2042 10 November 2020

2018 is the second vintage under Canon ownership, but the first one where they were involved throughout the growing season. This wine has an austerity that's apparent from the start, but as ever with the Canon team they don't try to smother it and instead focus on the elegant but powerful blue fruits that pull you along. The power and density reflects the higher levels of clay in the soils here compared Canon, and they have produced a really stunning wine with so much potential ahead of it. It's quite different in personality from Canon, and I hope they keep them as separate properties beyond the 2022 classification, when I guess they will have the chance to put them together. Drinking Window 2026 - 2040

Score: 93

Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2026-2040 04 April 2019

A fine and fruity red with blueberries and blackberries and hints of walnuts. Medium to full body and ultra fine tannins that melt into the body of the wine. It’s muscular in some ways. Lots of potential. Punchy.

Score: 94 - 95

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 11 April 2019

A focused, restrained style, with cherry, plum and red currant notes that are carried by persistent chalky minerality. Shows a light tobacco shading throughout.

Score: 91 - 94

James Molesworth, Wine Spectator 02 April 2019

Your Lists & Checkout

New Arrivals

Advanced Search

wine regions

quick links

Berliquet 2018

St Emilion

search wines

Full wine List

RSS feeds

wine regions

join our mailing list