2016 Château Barde-Haut

Description

96    Antonio Galloni for 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.” (1/2019)

94    Jeb Dunnuck
“Incorporating 20% Cabernet Franc, the Merlot-dominated 2016 Château Barde Haut is one of the darker colored wines in the lineup. It offers a Grand Cru Burgundy-like purity and elegance as well as beautiful cassis and darker fruits, smoked earth, black cherries, and damp earth aromas and flavors. This medium to full-bodied, balanced, yet tight, backward, pure effort needs a solid 5-7 years of cellaring to round into form, but it’s beautifully balanced and packed with potential.” (2/2019)

94    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.” (4/2019)

93+  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.” (3/2019)

93    Neal Martin for Vinous
“The 2016 Barde-Haut has a pure black cherry and boysenberry bouquet with touches of crushed violet. The palate is quite dense and perhaps one of the most powerful Barde-Haut I have encountered in recent years, offering more black fruit than red, laced with tobacco and a pinch of black pepper. There is good backbone to this Saint-Émilion, and it deserves three or four years in bottle.” (01/2019)

92    James Molesworth for 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.”(3/2019)