Château Berliquet, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, 2024
Chateau Berliquet 2024 presents a refined bouquet of minerals and griotte, revealing layers of cassis, raspberry, and loganberries, intertwined with notes of forest floor, pencil shavings, cedar, and wildflowers. On the palate, there is a wonderful attack of pure, tense red and black fruit, complemented by a svelte, vibrant core and sweet exotic spice. The seamless texture is enhanced by crème de mûre, loam, and dark chocolate. Super refined tannins are laced with juicy berries, resonant and long, with a lovely salinity that lingers beautifully. This vintage continues a trend towards ever greater refinement, testament to the hard work from Nicolas Audebert and his team. 60% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec.
critic reviews
Deep garnet-purple colored. Erupts from the glass with energetic notes of kirsch, red currant jelly, and strawberry preserves, opening out to reveal underlying nuances of violets, pencil shavings, and wild thyme. The medium-bodied palate delivers great intensity and tension with vibrant red berry and savory layers supported by fine-grained tannins, finishing long and perfumed. Seriously good!
The 2024 Berliquet was picked from 20 September to 3 October at 43 hl/ha and aged in 37% new oak, 22% amphoras. This has a much more oyster-tinged, black olive-scented bouquet that distinguishes it from the 2024 Canon. It's quite intense in style. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, although I find them not as chiseled as the Canon's. It has good weight and substance on the finish in the context of the season, but this will require two or three years in bottle and should then drink well for fifteen to twenty more.
Anis, fennel straight on the nose, this has a gourmet, earthy quality with beautiful freshness, showing blueberry, raspberry and red cherry fruits, mandarin peel, bitter aniseed and chalk edge on the finish. 42hl/ha yield, organic certified. 3.37 pH. Yield 43 hl/ha. 37% new oak, 22% amphoras. Harvest 20 September to 3 October. 100% of production (after selection) is here, nothing gone to bulk. First year of Malbec added into the blend here (just 1%).
Unwinding in the glass with brooding aromas of cassis, raspberries, rose petals, violets and pencil shavings, the 2024 Berliquet is medium to full-bodied, polished and muscular, with broad shoulders and a dense, chalky core. It's a blend of 60% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Franc and (a new addition) 1% Malbec. This estate continues to stand out next to is stablemate, Canon, for its more powerful style and darker fruit profile.