Chateau Barde Haut 2016
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
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Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Readers will find a rich, flamboyant wine in the 2016 Barde-Haut. There is not a ton of subtlety here, but I am not sure that matters all that much given how immensely pleasing the 2016 is. Crushed rocks, graphite, lavender, blackberry, plum, and violet infuse a Saint-Émilion that offers tremendous textural richness as well as vibrancy. Most importantly of all, the 2016 is flat-out delicious. This is a decidedly opulent, dark Saint-Émilion with all of the elements impeccably balanced. I loved it.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, the 2016 Château Barde-Haut might end up being the best wine ever made at this address from the Garcin-Lévêque family, and it certainly ranks with the crème de la crème of the vintage. Dense purple-hued with awesome notes of cassis, black cherries, spring flowers, damp earth, and violets, it hits the palate with incredible purity and precision, a deep, multi-dimensional texture, sweet tannins (from ripe fruit, not sugar), and a building sense of minerality that shows on the finish. It has the depth of fruit and elegance to shine even today yet will benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and evolve for two decades.
Rating: 95+ -
James Suckling
This shows such complex and beautiful aromas of flowers, lavender, light spearmint and currants. Medium to full body, very fine tannins and a long finish. All about finesse and length. Drink after 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Barde Haut is composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it gives up expressive wild blueberries, kirsch, baked plums and spice box notes with hints of cracked pepper, lavender, garrigue and Provence herbs. Medium to full-bodied and richly fruited in the mouth, the palate bursts with blue fruits, framed by firm, rounded tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long.
Rating: 93+ -
Wine Spectator
A very fresh, juicy style, with pretty floral hints framing a core of cherry, pomegranate and red currant fruit flavors that meld into one another while light anise and rooibos tea accents fill in on the finish. A mineral note knits it all up nicely. Best from 2021 through 2033.
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Decanter
Owned by Helene Garcin Leveque, this is a deep, rich purple in colour, full flavoured and bristling with intent. I can see the ambition, and it may be 'turned down to nine' but we are still in a firmly tannic wine that reminds me how intense Merlot can get in these parts. Extremely successful, it is going to age well, although it could do with a little more juice through the mid-palate. Largely situated on the plateau, the blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Drinking Window 2025 - 2042
Other Vintages
2022-
Dunnuck
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There has been significant investment in renovating the cellar so that all work is completely done by gravity to ensure that the precious grapes of the Chateau are well respected. The cellar is equiped with wooden vats, stainless steel tanks and concrete vats of 50 to 70 hl. A strict policy of selection to ensure the quality is undertaken and individual steps including pigeage are all carried out by hand. It is the combination of exceptional soil and the introduction of natural wine producing and winegrowing technologies combining tradition and modernity that have made CHATEAU BARDE-HAUT one of the rising stars of Saint Emilion.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.