2010 Liber Pater

Intense aromas of blueberries, blackberries, and Moroccan spices like cardamom. Full body, with super integrated tannins and a long, long finish. A beautiful and balanced wine with super fine tannins. A tiny production red where everything is handmade in the most Burgundian way. Such harmony and balance. Better in 2016.

The 2010 may be the best Liber Pater I have tasted to date, although it is certainly hard to justify its pricing. The wine exhibits loads of forest floor, red and black currants, licorice, and lead pencil notes in a medium to full-bodied, rich, concentrated style that hits 14.2% natural alcohol. Drink it over the next 15 +years. One of the most expensive non pedigree wines of Bordeaux, and to my way of thinking, absurdly overpriced, but the 2010 is indeed an outstanding effort, and apparently Asian buyers love it. Made from ridiculously low yields of 10 hectoliters per hectare, the final blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot is represented by a mere 150 cases. What makes this wine so special is that it is planted on its own vines, without any grafted American root stock, and the vines average about 35 years of age.