2018 is the second vintage under Canon ownership, but the first one where they were involved throughout the growing season. This wine has an austerity that`s apparent from the start, but as ever with the Canon team they don`t try to smother it and instead focus on the elegant but powerful blue fruits that pull you along. The power and density reflects the higher levels of clay in the soils here compared Canon, and they have produced a really stunning wine with so much potential ahead of it. It`s quite different in personality from Canon, and I hope they keep them as separate properties beyond the 2022 classification, when I guess they will have the chance to put them together. Drink 2026 - 2040. 93 points

The owners of Ch Canon have owned this property for a year and have worked on identifying the vines in the field blend. Harvested in three parcels, with very small parcels vinified. Soils needed aeration. Here there is more clay than in the Canon vineyard. Inky core with purple rim. Ripe and dark on the nose. Quite leafy on the palate and the tannins are pretty drying. Difficult to taste after the Canon. The nose more attractive than the palate. A little dry on the finish but has very good freshness, showing the chalky texture that I associate with limestone soils. Clearly a work in progress. 16 points

This was really Nicolas Audebert’s first vintage at Berliquet, since the property was acquired by Chanel in the autumn of 2017. The most significant, immediate change from 2018 came from noticing that blocks of the vineyard had Merlot and Cabernet Franc interplanted. These used to be harvested together. This year the different cultivars were flagged and harvested separately so as to achieve optimal ripeness for both varieties. The 2018 Berliquet is blended of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc and has 14.5% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it leaps from the glass with bold kirsch, blueberry compote and Black F orest cake with touches of cloves, lavender, menthol and lilacs. Medium to full-bodied and elegant, with lovely freshness lifting the densely packed blue and black fruit flavors, it has a velvety texture and long, earthy finish. 93-95+ points

The 2018 Berliquet represents a major stylistic shift under the guidance of Nicolas Audebert and the technical team at Canon. Plump and juicy, the 2018 offers an explosion of fruit that gives it a distinctly exuberant personality. A joyous, radiant wine, Berliquet expresses the natural radiance of the vintage in a forward, juicy style that offers tons of near and medium-term appeal. The wine`s fruit and overall density are both impressive, to say the least. This is the first vintage made by the Nicolas Audebert and the technical team at Canon following Chanel`s acquisition of the estate in 2017. The blend is 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc. 90-93 points

The blend is 78% Merlot, picked September 18th to the 24th, and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, picked October 1st. The yield was 30 hl/ha, the alcohol 14.5% and the pH 3.73. It has a fresh, perfumed and elegantly direct nose, peppered with dark fruits, floral too, with iced and sweetened red plum. The palate is fresh and polished, with grilled fruits, bright and correct. There is charming energy and substance here, a lovely polished and fresh style, with real energy, looking bright, lightly grippy and pure. The toasted plum fruits come wrapped up in ribbons of praline, toast and grilled nuts which run through to the finish. Overall, an elegant, ripe, confident style, with a lovely energy to the finish. A top example of Berliquet, clearly a new and more precise style, but delicious with it. The élevage will be 14 to 16 months in oak barrels, using 45% new wood. 93-95 points