92-94pts Vinous
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.
93-94pts James 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.
91-93pts 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).
90-92pts Jeb 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.
History
Chateau Barde Haut is a 17 hectare estate located at the extreme east of the village of Saint-Emilion. The vineyard forms an natural amphitheatre and is particularly well exposed to the south. The soil is very typical of Saint Emilion being mainly composed of clay which is found on a layer of chalk.
There has been significant investment in renovating the cellar so that all work is completely done by gravity to ensure that the precious grapes of the Chateau are well respected. The cellar is equiped with wooden vats, stainless steel tanks and concrete vats of 50 to 70 hl. A strict policy of selection to ensure the quality is undertaken and individual steps including pigeage are all carried out by hand. It is the combination of exceptional soil and the introduction of natural wine producing and winegrowing technologies combining tradition and modernity that have made CHATEAU BARDE-HAUT one of the rising stars of Saint Emilion.
