2023 Berliquet

Tasted multiple times, the 2023 Château Berliquet is a smoking 2023 with tons of character. Ripe red and black fruits, spice box, truffly earth, and some graphite notes all define the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a supple, layered, elegant mouthfeel, integrated acidity, and ripe tannins. It's clearly outstanding, if not quite a bit more.

With a single swirl, the wine is floral, with raspberries, black cherries, plums, cigar wrapper and spice. The wine is medium-bodied, elegant, energetic, and spicy, with layers of sweet, and pure, red berries with lift, and energy that you feel on the mineral-accented backend. This is the first vintage produced in the irnew cellar, which expanded from 9 tanks to 24 vats, allowing for parcel by parcel vinification. You can taste and feel the difference here. The wine blends 59% Merlot, with 41% Cabernet Franc. 14% ABV.

A blend of 59% Merlot and 41% Cabernet Franc, the 2023 Berliquet has a pH of 3.53 and it is ageing in 10% amphorae and 90% oak barriques, of which 34% are new. It has a deep garnet-purple color and it hops from the glass with fragrant notes of wild blueberries, plum preserves, and kirsch, followed by hints of lilacs, fragrant soil, and cardamom. The medium-bodied palate is bright and energetic, with intense red and black berry layers and super-silky tannins, finishing with wonderful length and tension.