2018 Chateau Berliquet

Other Reviews....
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.
93-95+ points
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - Wine Advocate

A focused, restrained style, with cherry, plum and red currant notes that are carried by persistent chalky minerality. Shows a light tobacco shading throughout.
91-94 points
James Molesworth - Wine Spectator

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.
94-95 points
James Suckling

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.
90-93 points
Antonio Galloni - Vinous

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.
93-96 points
Jeb Dunnuck