Château Barde-Haut Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé 2022

Jean-Marc Quarin

Jane Anson

Inky colour, clear floral aromatics, this is charming and enticiting, with polish and finesse. Love the confident grip of the tannins, that hold the fruit but know just when to let go and let the creamy blueberry and damson fruits expand through the plate. 55% new oak, a reduction from levels in the past, and the subtle smoked cedar character is well judged.

Jeb Dunnuck

I was blown away by the quality of the 2022 Château Barde-Haut, and this 80/20 split of Merlot and Cabernet Franc does everything right in the vintage. Revealing a deep purple hue as well as stunning aromatics of cassis, spring flowers, black cherries, and truffle, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness and delivers fine-grained tannins and flawless balance. Pure, bright, and lively, yet also deep, concentrated, and textured, it's a brilliant bottle of wine in the making.

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Flowers, leafy herbs, spice, black raspberries, a touch of espresso, and licorice open the nose. On the palate, the first thing you notice is the silky texture. There is intensity, freshness, elegance, and lift to the red and black fruits with their elegant mouthfeel. The wine finishes with a touch of salty rocks that rides on top of all the layers of sweet, ripe fruits. The wine blends 80% Merlot with 20% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2024-2045.

Terre de Vins

James Suckling

A velvety red with lovely creamy tannins, juicy fruit with black berries, spice, ink and boysenberry. Medium to full body with a solid structured and depth. Velvety texture. Hints of sea salt.

Alexandre Ma

This is a refreshing and profound masterpiece from Saint-Émilion. In 2022, Château Barde-Haut, with its clay-limestone terroir and lower canopy height, skillfully controls the ripeness of its grapes. Thanks to the "sulfur-free fermentation," I can distinctly taste the mulberries and cherries' juice as it cascades across the palate. This wine presents a delightful blend of sweetness upon entry, a hint of saltiness towards the finish, and a harmonious "sweet-salty fusion" enveloped within its powdery tannins.

Antonio Galloni

The 2022 Barde-Haut is gorgeous. Rich and explosive, the 2022 offers up copious notes of blueberry jam, crème de cassis, lavender, mint and licorice, with pretty jasmine overtones that add exotic beauty. The tannins here are often a bit burly, but in the 2022 much of that is softened. This is an impressive showing. Drinking window : 2027-2042

Bettane et Desseauve

The Wine Independent

The 2022 Barde Haut, 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-purple in color. It rocks up with ready-to-go notes of plum preserves, baked blackberries, and Indian spices followed by suggestions of tilled soil, Ceylon tea, and black olives. The full-bodied palate is jam packed with tightly wound black fruits and earthy accents, supported by firm, ripe, rounded tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing long and minerally.

The Drinks Business

(St Emilion; 80% Merlot; 20% Cabernet Franc). Again, very calcaire with that low pH. Big and broad-shouldered but with a lovely silky mouthfeel, nice layering, with pixilation from the fine-grained tannins as much between the layers as along them. Black cherry, bramble, raspberry and blackcurrant, with little plumes of cassis rising up from below with aeration in the mouth. White pepper, nutmeg, bay leaf. This is less floral than Poesia and bigger boned. It is more chiselled too. Intensely sapid and juicy on the long finish, with lovely ripples of undulating freshness and good grippy tannins. Long with chewy cherry skins on the finish. Plenty of polished tannins ensure a long future. 92-94+.

Vinous

"The 2022 Barde-Haut has a lovely bouquet with pure black cherries, boysenberry, crushed violet and dates. This is rich yet has impressive clarity. The palate is full-bodied with fine-grain tannins, gentle grip, mineralité and a precise finish. It's quite a bold Barde-Haut whose depth and density suggest it will require several years to soften, but it will be worth the wait because the finesse will bloom with bottle age. This may ultimately rest at the top of my banded score."

Bettane & Desseauve