This is a step up. Ripe and polished, with lots of blackberry, plum sauce and melted black licorice notes that are carried by dense but velvety tannins. Extra anise, violet and incense notes push through the vivid finish, where there's plenty of buried grip. A strong showing. Best from 2013 through 2019.
– James Molesworth (WineSPectator.com, April 2011)

The 2008 Barde-Haut has a very perfumed, almost Burgundy-like bouquet with fragrant blueberry and cassis fruit, crushed violets and a splash of Indian ink. This is very well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannin. Like the 2008 Angélus, this is surprisingly structured yet virile, blessed with plenty of rich black fruit that lend an opulent and ravishing veneer. It is a Saint Émilion that deserves a couple more years in bottle. (Tasted at the château and at BI Wine & Spirits' annual vertical tasting.) - www.vinous.com, February 2018

(65% cabernet sauvignon and 35% merlot). Inky ruby. Initially reticent nose opens slowly to hint at plum, coffee and game. Sweet and full on entry, even fat, offering rich plum and coffee flavors. Then finishes slightly austere, with a bit of warmth. This lovely estate is situated on the border between Saint-Emilion and Saint Christophe des Bardes, with vines planted on limestone and clay over hard rock. As the merlot on calcareous soil tends to resemble cabernet, insiders know that Barde-Haut tends to be tight and austere at this early stage of its development. In a few years my score may look ungenerous.

Medium ruby. Blackberry, licorice, charcoal, menthol and nutty oak on the nose. Fat, sweet and pliant; soft and ready to drink. Doesn't show the typical minerality and energy of this wine but offers plenty of early appeal. Finishes with rather soft, sweet tannins. Don't lose this in the cellar.

Fruity, soft and fully mature, the 2008 Barde-Haut offers up notes of licorice, roasted herbs, cedar and spice. Medium-bodied with an evolved, endearing character, it should be enjoyed over the next 5-6 years. Drink 2011-2017.
89 points – Robert Parker (Wine Advoate #194, May 2011)

Attractive liquorice and baked black fruits with lovely fresh earth aromas too. Dry but not painfully so, with a sweetness from oak contact. Serious leathery notes to finish that give good persistence. Every inch the classic claret, with resolved tannic structure that is very drinkable now. (RH)