Berliquet - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2020

Vinous

94-94

byNeal Martinthe2/28/2025

The 2020 Berliquet put in a phenomenal showing in this blind peer-group tasting that suggests I underestimated it out of barrel. It has a more savory bouquet than its peers, perhaps due to more Cabernet Franc, with touches of mint, black pepper and dried herbs infusing the red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, well balanced and harmonious, leading to a precise, complex and lingering finish. It seems to gain precision in the glass and tempts you back for more. Outstanding. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Alexandre Ma

92

byAlexandre Mathe4/18/2023

Wine Advocate

94

byWilliam Kelleythe4/6/2023

A brilliant success for this property in the ascendant, the 2020 Berliquet opens in the glass with aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with hints of warm spices and violets. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's vibrant and dynamic, with polished tannins, a bright spine and a long, elegantly chalky finish. It represents another step up for Berliquet, which will soon benefit from a new winery.

Jeb DUNNUCK

94

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/30/2023

Another brilliant Saint-Emilion in the vintage, the 2020 Château Berliquet is mostly Merlot yet includes close to a third Cabernet Franc, which no doubt contributes to its elegant, finesse-driven, floral character. It's incredibly pure and classy, with notes of red and blue fruits, sappy spring flowers, graphite, and baking spices all emerging on the nose. These carry to a medium-bodied, ultra-fine, pure, seamless 2020 that offers pleasure today and will offer pleasure in 15+ years as well. This wine is never the biggest or richest in a vintage, but it shines for its purity, balance, and elegance. It's beautifully done.

The Wine Cellar Insider

93

byJeff Levethe3/22/2023

Medium-bodied, elegant, refined and with a strong, floral essence, you also discover sweet, fresh, cherries, licorice, plums, and hints of chocolate mint on the nose and palate, which is all topped off with its silky, vibrant, red pit fruit and mineral-edged finish. Drink from 2024-2045.

Alexandre Ma

92

byAlexandre Mathe3/15/2023

Wines Critic

92

byRaffaele Vecchionethe3/10/2023

Precise and essential showing notes of lavender, hibiscus, geraniums, magnolias and gardenias. Medium bodied, well extracted, soft tannins and a finale of medium length, precise and essential. Drink now.

Vinous

92

byAntonio Gallonithe2/24/2023

The 2020 Berliquet is another step in a direction favoring finesse over the burly power that often marked the wines of the past. Delicate and nuanced, with pretty floral top notes, this mid-weight Saint-Émilion is a charmer. Drink it over the next decade or so.

Vinous

89

byNeal Martinthe2/15/2023

When I tasted the barrel sample, the 2020 Berliquet was not firing on all cylinders. Now in bottle, the nose is still a bit wanting, with light brambly red fruit and earthy scents, just missing some cohesion and the intensity of its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a gentle grip and a round texture. A smear of dark chocolate appears towards the focused finish that requires more substance. Not bad, though greater wines will emanate from this address down the line.

Jamessuckling.com

94

byJames Sucklingthe1/16/2023

Blackberry with charcoal and dark earth aromas that follow through to a medium to full body with fruit, iron and moss flavors. It’s structured and well-formed with excellent balance of acidity. Drink after 2027.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

93

byJane Ansonthe1/16/2023

Nicolas Auderbert and Thomas Duclos, the pair that did such brilliant job at Château Canon, have turned their sights on Berliquet, owned by Canon since 2017. There are slightly cooler soils here, a touch more clay and it gives a subdued edge with clear quality and bright brambled blackberry, rhubarb, pomegranate, blood organge, turmeric spice. Tight and full of energy. 50% new oak, 40hl/h yield, harvest September 14 to 24. 7.5ha.

Vinous

89-91

byAntonio Gallonithe6/1/2021

The 2020 Berliquet is the first wine that shows a real change in direction under its new ownership and the team headed by Nicolas Audebert. Bright and chiseled with energy this mid-weight Saint-Émilion is quite promising. Crushed red flowers, mint, sweet red berry fruit. There is still a bit of grittiness in the tannin, but this is a decidedly more finessed style than the wines of the recent past.

Jeb DUNNUCK

92-94

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/28/2021

Notes of iron, toasty oak, violets, and ample red and blue fruits emerge from the 2020 Château Berliquet, a medium to full-bodied, gorgeously balanced and textured Saint-Emilion based on 69% Merlot and 31% Cabernet Franc. It has a solid kick of background oak, but the fruit is incredibly pure and it has a great mid-palate and outstanding length. Still aging in 50% new French oak, it should benefit from short-term cellaring and cruise for 15 years or more in cold cellars.

Vinous

88-90

byNeal Martinthe5/27/2021

The 2020 Berliquet has an open, quite generous bouquet of high-toned, quite floral aromas (iris and violet petals) mixed with Dorset plum, bilberry and wild strawberry. The palate is medium-bodied with a medicinal, menthol-tinged opening, ripe and again, generous. The candied finish just needs to show a little more restraint. Fine, but it will have to manifest more elegance and composure by the time of bottling. Perhaps it was unfair to pour this against the 2020 Canon, also owned by the Wertheimer family, but it highlighted the difference between their respective terroirs.

Decanter.com

93

byJane Ansonthe5/25/2021

A slightly cooler terroir than its sibling estate Château Canon, a little more clay-based which gives weight, depth and power while also being austere right now, with grippy tannins and a bite of blood orange. Great stuff, can start drinking this in five to six years to allow the structure to soften while keeping the appeal of the wild cherry and blackberry fruits. 50% new oak for 16 months.

Jeb DUNNUCK

92-94

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/23/2021

Notes of iron, toasty oak, violets, and ample red and blue fruits emerge from the 2020 Château Berliquet, a medium to full-bodied, gorgeously balanced and textured Saint-Emilion based on 69% Merlot and 31% Cabernet Franc. It has a solid kick of background oak, but the fruit is incredibly pure and it has a great mid-palate and outstanding length. Still aging in 50% new French oak, it should benefit from short-term cellaring and cruise for 15 years or more in cold cellars.

The Wine Cellar Insider

94-96

byJeff Levethe5/21/2021

Quite floral in nature, with tinges of orange rind, cherry blossoms, licorice, red plum liqueur and minerality on the nose. The wine is elegant, fresh, polished, sweet and long. Silky and precise, with no hard edges, there is length and salty tannins with energetic, pure red fruits squeezed over crushed rocks and stones. This is the best vintage of Berliquet I have ever tasted. The wine blends 69 % Merlot with 31 % Cabernet Franc 14.5% ABV. 94-96

Wine Advocate

94-96

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe5/20/2021

The 2020 Berliquet is composed of 69% Merlot and 31% Cabernet Franc, weighing in at 14.5% alcohol. It is aging in French oak barrels, 50% new. Deep purple-black colored, it trots casually out of the glass with effortlessly flamboyant scents of stewed black cherries, warm plums and baked blackberries, plus hints of chocolate mint, violets and licorice with a touch of fertile loam. The medium to full-bodied palate is very tightly wound with layers of ripe black fruits and earthy accents, framed by finely grained tannins and tons of freshness, finishing long and fragrant.

Jamessuckling.com

95-96

byJames Sucklingthe5/12/2021

Very soft and polished with beautiful tannins that are poised and beautiful. It’s medium-to full-bodied and gorgeously proportioned. Ready for even more polishing.

Anthocyanes

94-96

byYohan Castaingthe5/11/2021

Très beau nez légèrement mentholé, très fruits noirs avec une pointe de fleurs de printemps. À la fois éclatant et frais. Superbe bouche juteuse, de la fraicheur, des tanins laser-like comme aiment le dire nos amis anglais pour une bouche cristalline et très précise. Quelle montée en puissance de ce cru. La sensation calcaire est ici tout simplement magnifique. Bravo ! Un millésime de référence dans ce cru.

Falstaff

93-95

byPeter Moserthe5/10/2021

Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Attraktive Herzkirschenfrucht, rote Waldbeeren unterlegt, zart nach Lakritze, feine Holuwürze, Orangenzesten. Saftig, frisch, Nuancen von Pflaumen und ein Hauch von Nougat, reife Tannine, frisch strukturiert, mineralisch und gut anhaftend, zeigt Länge und Potenzial.

My Bettane + Desseauve

93-94

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/7/2021

Tastingbook.com

94

byMarkus Del Monegothe4/20/2021

Dark purple colour with violet hue and black core. Well structured with ripe fruit, blackberries, plums and black cherries, mulberries in the background. Elegant balmy spiciness and hints of fine toasting aroma. On the palate very good mouthfeel, velvety tannins, freshness and ripe fruit, well balanced with very good length.