Chateau Barde Haut 2021

Suckling: "Brightness and freshness here, with light orange-peel, blackcurrant and earth, Lots of flowers, too. Medium-bodied, refined and very pretty. 80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc."

Galloni: "The 2021 Barde-Haut is a relatively soft wine for this site in Saint-Émilion's Saint Christophe des Bardes sector, but there's good depth and plenty of resonance. Rose petal, lavender and spice meld into a core of red/purplish berry fruit. All the elements are very nicely balanced. Specifically, the oak imprint is not as present as in previous years, and that's a good thing. The 2021 is beautifully done from start to finish. It's a terrific effort from Hélène Garcin and Patrice Lévêque."

Wine Cellar Insider: "Licorice, black cherry, espresso and herbs are on the nose. Medium-bodied, soft, elegant, polished and fresh, this should drink well young, yet have the ability to age and evolve for 15-20 years. The wine blends 80% Merlot with 20% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2024-2040. 92-94"

Wine Advocate: "This 17-hectare amphitheater of a vineyard has produced a successful 2021 Barde-Haut, offering up aromas of sweet berries, cherries and plums framed by a creamy patina of new oak. Medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, with tangy acids and a generous endowment of powdery structuring tannins, it's a blend of more or less 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc (the latter increasingly deriving from massale selections taken at Clos l'Eglise).

Neal Martin: "The 2021 Barde-Haut is a bit bashful on the nose and needed coaxing from the glass, eventually revealing brambly red fruit mingled with loamy scents and light marine aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy red fruit and gentle grip. A much more linear and vertical Barde-Haut compared to recent vintages, ending in a lightly spiced finish. Give this very commendable SaintÉmilion three or four years in bottle."

Dunnuck: "One of the more structured wines from this talented family, the 2021 Château Barde-Haut offers a beautiful perfume of both red and blue fruits as well as lots of minerality, chocolate, and graphite. It has medium-bodied richness, some chalky tannins, terrific balance, and a great finish. Based on 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, brought up in 50% new French oak, it's unquestionably going to be an outstanding Saint-Emilion that will have 15 years of prime drinking."