Château Berliquet: Tasting & Drinking
Looking back over recent vintages of Château Berliquet it is clear that there are some good wines being made here. The style is modern, quite rich in tannin and substance, a little too much for me in the 2009 and 2011 vintages, but in most other vintages I find the substance and backbone of the wine to be not without appeal. The 2010 is an obvious favourite, the character of the wine clearly bolstered by the richness of the vintage, although there is nice freshness, vibrancy and good presence of fruit in many other vintages, including 2014, 2008 and even 2004.
I certainly do not get the feeling, however, that the Berliquet vineyard is showing us what it is really capable of. If we look at the estate’s standing in the history of the St Emilion appellation, this being perhaps one of the oldest domaines, and if we consider the level at which many of the estate’s neighbours are working, including the likes of Château Ausone and Château Angélus, there is certainly room for improvement at Château Berliquet. Stepping up to this level does not happen overnight though; Derenoncourt and Thienpont were in position for less than a decade, and to propel the vineyard and its wines to the level that it is perhaps capable of will probably take several decades. There is a need to replant and to improve the vineyard, a process already well underway, but the results of this work will take many years to come through into the wine, and it will be Nicolas Audebert who oversees the work, when he is not too busy with Château Canon and Château Rauzan-Ségla.
Happily, while the estate is not likely to usurp Château Ausone any time soon, the wines are, in certain vintages at least, of interest to Bordeaux drinkers. And with continued work, I expect we will see continued improvements in quality here. It will certainly be fun to watch. (25/11/15, updated 5/8/17)
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