Showing brilliantly, the 2018 Château Barde-Haut comes from a beautiful, cooler terroir on the eastern side of Saint-Emilion. It has a wonderful sense of purity and elegance as well as ripe black cherry and blueberry fruits to go with medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of chocolate, spring flowers, violets, and a kiss of chalky minerality. It's beautifully balanced and has ultra-fine tannins as well as a gorgeous finish. It reminds me of the 2016, with maybe a touch more up-front charm. Give it 4-5 years if you can (it's drinking beautifully today as well) and it's going to evolve for 20-25 years or more.

Alluring, with a very focused set of cassis, plum reduction and cherry preserve flavors coursing through atop a well-imbedded graphite spine, all while black tea, chalky minerality and subtle herb nuances play out through a long finish. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2035.

The 2018 Barde-Haut is a powerful wine, but it is also rather closed. That won't be an issue in time; the 2018 needs quite a bit of air to show all of the rich, layered fruit readers have come to expect from this Saint-Émilion. Succulent dark cherry, chocolate, new leather, espresso and sweet spice build into the rich, layered finish.

The 2018 Barde-Haut is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it takes a little swirling to unlock the beautifully expressive notes of warm black plums, wild blueberries and black raspberries, plus hints of roses, underbrush, ground cloves and fertile loam. The full-bodied palate delivers a lively backbone and wonderfully ripe, satiny tannins supporting the generous black and red fruits, finishing long and fragrant.