Winemaker Notes
Blend: 61% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Rose petals and red berry fruit on the nose. Smells pure and pretty. Purity continues on the palate, this is finessed and sleek with a soft plushness to the expression - tannins are present and fill the mouth with a crushed velvet texture supporting the fruit. Lovely juicy acidity, really well balanced and friendly. Not trying too hard. It's light but no harsh leanness or austerity. Fruit is pure and this is really enjoyable.
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Jeb Dunnuck
I was able to taste the 2021 Château Berliquet on multiple occasions, and it always rated between 92 and 94 points. A blend of 61% Merlot and 39% Cabernet Franc raised in 44% new oak, it's a bigger, richer wine than its neighbor Canon but also doesn't display quite the precision and purity. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful wine offering medium-bodied aromas and flavors of black cherries, smoked tobacco, damp earth, and graphite. It's balanced, has ripe, velvety tannins, and the fresher, focused style of the vintage. It's a 2021 well worth your time and money, and it's going to be a brilliant value as well. This checks in at a solid 13.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.41.
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James Suckling
Fragrant nose of cloves, dark berry fruit, orange zest and dried flowers. It’s bright, precise and crunchy, with a medium body, firm yet fine-grained tannins and a zesty, long finish. Drink from 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Berliquet is showing very well in bottle, wafting from the glass with notes of sweet wild berries, plums and rose petals, framed by subtle hints of licorice and vanilla pod. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and seamless, it's suave and sensual, with a fleshy core of fruit, ultra-refined tannins and a pure, perfumed, mineral finish. This seamless, charming Saint-Émilion will offer a broad drinking window.
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Vinous
The 2021 Berliquet is every bit as impressive as it was en primeur. A wine of substance and depth, the 2021 possesses notable complexity and limestone-driven intensity. As always, Berliquet is a bit chunky in feel, but the team here, led by Nicolas Berliquet, is doing important work in taming the tannins and giving the wine greater finesse. The direction here is quite positive. The 2021 has been impressive each of the three times I have tasted it so far. –Antonio Galloni
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.