Château Barde-Haut 2016

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. 5,000 cases made.

Owned by Helene Garcin Leveque, this is a deep, rich purple in colour, full-flavoured and bristling with intent. I can see the ambition, and it may be ‘turned down to nine’ but we are still in a firmly tannic wine that reminds me how intense Merlot can get in these parts. Extremely successful, it is going to age well, although it could do with a little more juice through the mid-palate. Largely situated on the plateau, the blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc.

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.

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.

Ripe, juicy black plums, dark cocoa, licorice, and truffle really sing. Full-bodied, lush, concentrated, round, and loaded with sweet fruit, silky tannins, and freshness, this is already sexy. And as good as it is, it’s only going to get better with age.

Extreme purple, dense at the core with a violet rim. Compact bouquet with blueberry fruit, pumpernickel and roasted notes. Behind that, blackcurrant and Amarena cherry. On the palate, a very opulent body with a back note of morello cherry juice, showing plenty of suppleness and finishing in a focused finale with ripe blackberries. On the same high level as last year – chapeau!

Kunz barrel sample 17: fresh, powerful, sweet-scented bouquet, strawberries, blackberries, fine woods, tobacco, pralines. Dense, velvety palate with powerful, refined fruit, plenty of good tannins, intense and complex aromatics, well-muscled structure, long, aromatic, slightly dry finish. Has room to improve.

Velvety, dense, sweet, powerful bouquet with blackberries, vanilla, subtle caramel, delicate plum notes, mint, herbs. Denser, silkier, fresher, elegant palate with fine sweet fruit, good tannins, fresh, powerful aromatics, long, velvety finish. 18/20 2024 - 2038

The 2016 Barde Haut is deep garnet-purple in color. It has a powerful nose of black and blue fruit with hints of cumin seed, Sichuan pepper, candied violets, and anise. Medium to full-bodied, the firm, grainy palate is packed with rich black fruits, finishing long and peppery.

A pity the domaine sent only its 2016 for tasting. Tasted already two years ago, the wine shows perfect development, very much in the style of the wines from Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes. A slightly sanguine, appetizing oak wraps the nose, before a lovely texture with courteous tannins carries the tasting. The finish, more chalky and marked by a touch of graphite, lifts the wine. This bottle stands out a bit among the 2016s, more voluble than the squared vintage suggested elsewhere, but the definition is interesting and encouraging.

Purple with violet hues. Lots of freshness on the nose with grenadine and cherries. I note a pleasant spicy touch with mint and cinnamon. A fruity, racy attack. On the palate, the body is creamy, perfectly balanced, and endowed with well-integrated tannins. The structure provides solid support through to the finish. A wine with a future, but one that can certainly be approached in its youth.

The best ever made! Dark, intense, and beautiful color. Moderately intense, refined nose with pure, creamy fruit. Fleshy from the outset, meticulous in feel and texture, with great brilliance of fruit; the wine develops with delicious savor, gaining on the finish a sappy, delicately chalky touch. Perfectly enveloped tannins.