Chateau Barde-Haut 2018 (Ex Chateau arrival time 4 months)

Showing brilliantly, the 2018 Château Barde-Haut comes from a beautiful, cooler terroir on the eastern side of Saint-Emilion. It has a wonderful sense of purity and elegance as well as ripe black cherry and blueberry fruits to go with medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of chocolate, spring flowers, violets, and a kiss of chalky minerality. It's beautifully balanced and has ultra-fine tannins as well as a gorgeous finish. It reminds me of the 2016, with maybe a touch more up-front charm. Give it 4-5 years if you can (it's drinking beautifully today as well) and it's going to evolve for 20-25 years or more.

Currants, rose hips, dried lavender, cocoa powder and cloves on the nose. It’s full-bodied with sleek, tight tannins. Refined and elegant with tight, polished layers. Solid center palate. Try from 2025.

The 2018 Barde-Haut is a final blend composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it sashays sensuously out of the glass with effortless baked blackberries, preserved plums and blueberry pie notes plus hints of incense, powdered cinnamon, cigar box and star anise. Full-bodied and packed with spicy black and blue fruits, it is beautifully textured with firm, velvety tannins and just enough background freshness, finishing very long and seductive.