2019 Liber Pater Denarius Graves

Type of Wine | Red |
---|---|
Country | France |
Region | |
Appellation | |
Winery | |
Vintage | 2019 |
Grape | |
Content (Alc) | 0.75 ltr (13%) |
Drink window | 2026 - 2045 |
Description
No longer does the most expensive wine in the world come from French Burgundy, but from the Bordeaux region. It is the Liber Pater, which still exceeds the Romanée Conti in price. Loïc Pasquet, the Bordeaux winegrower behind Liber Pater has released a new label, Denarius. “I wanted to make something affordable,” Pasquet says ironically. While it has no intention of surpassing Domaine La Romanée Conti in terms of awards, it is still ahead of the 1855-classified First Growths. “Liber Pater is extremely expensive and rare. Denarius places wines from its own rootstocks on the tables of French restaurants. This is actually very affordable to be able to taste pre-phylloxera wine,” Pasquet explains, making these wines as they used to be made with vines from the same era. He returns to the roots of the Bordeaux wine region and then to the mid-19th century with peaks towards the 1850s and does so by using old vineyard management techniques (mixed crops and trained vines, tillage with a mule , organic sprays and very high planting densities of 20,000 vines/ha) along with extremely old original vines. Liber Pater claims to provide the historic taste of Bordeaux wines.
The Denarius is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot but made from extremely old vines in a way that was done in the past. Everything by hand and extremely scarce. Both in the nose and in the mouth, the wine is soft, elegant and fruity with very nice ripe fruit and lots of character of raspberry, blackberry and dark chocolate. Full and velvety textured in a very juicy style. The wine is still so new that we can only take a shot at the storage potential, but we recommend that you only taste this wine around 2021 and it will last for decades. If what happens to the Denarius happens to what happened to the Liber Prater, then this is also a tip from an investment point of view. So if you want to drink a Bordeaux in the style of 150 years ago and not spend 30,000 euros for a bottle, this is the second best option. Only in the top years around 250 boxes are made. The 2019 is the successor to 2018 (before this was the 2018) and will only be available around March 2022.
Specifications
Type of Wine | Red |
---|---|
Country | France |
Region | Bordeaux |
Appellation | Graves |
Icons | Icon France |
Winery | Liber Pater |
Grape | Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot |
Biological certified | No |
Natural wine | No |
Vegan | No |
Vintage | 2019 |
Drinking as of | 2026 |
Drinking till | 2045 |
Alcohol % | 13 |
Alcohol free/low | No |
Content | 0.75 ltr |
Oak aging | Yes |
Sparkling | No |
Dessert wine | No |
Closure | Cork |
James Suckling rating | 95 |
Tasting Profiles | Earthy, Complex, Dark fruit, Dry, Aged on wood, Powerful, Mineral, Tannines |
Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe, Open haard |
Wijnhuis
Liber Pater: One of the Most Expensive Wines in the World
No longer does the most expensive wine in the world come from the French Burgundy region, but from Bordeaux. It is Liber Pater, which surpasses Romanée Conti in price.
Loïc Pasquet, the Bordeaux winemaker behind Liber Pater, "the most expensive wine in the world" at €30,000 per bottle, has launched a new label, Denarius. “I wanted to create something affordable,” says Pasquet ironically. Although he does not intend to surpass Domaine La Romanée Conti in terms of prices, he still exceeds the 1855-classified First Growths.
Back to the Roots of Bordeaux: Liber Pater’s Old Techniques
“Liber Pater is extremely expensive and rare. Denarius brings wines from own-rooted vines to the tables of French restaurants. This is actually very affordable to taste pre-phylloxera wine,” explains Pasquet. He makes wines as they were made in the past, with vines from the same era.
He returns to the roots of the Bordeaux wine region, going back to the mid-19th century. He does this by using old vineyard management techniques, such as mixed crops, trained vines, organic sprays, and very high planting densities of 20,000 vines per hectare, along with extremely old original vines. Liber Pater claims to offer the historical taste of Bordeaux wines. Pasquet's approach is deliberately confrontational. The wines are produced outside the appellation system and are labeled as Vin de France.
The Vineyards of the Liber Pater Winery
The vineyards currently in production include Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with at least 40 years old vines. The Semillon vines are over 80 years old and are used to make dry white and/or sweet white wine, depending on the vintage and specific conditions.
Pasquet is also in the process of planting several very old grape varieties in his vineyard. These varieties include Castets, Mancin, and Pardotte, which were present in the vineyards of Bordeaux before they were destroyed by the phylloxera aphid in the 19th century.
Innovative Vineyard Management of Liber Pater Against Phylloxera
Today, his vineyard is the only one in Bordeaux – and the world – where these historic varieties are grown. In addition, Loïc Pasquet plants his vines with an extremely high density of 20,000 vines per hectare, which is twice the density of the Premiers Grands Crus in the Médoc.
To prevent attacks from the phylloxera aphid, Pasquet created three small lakes, allowing him to flood the vineyard when necessary, as phylloxera cannot survive in water.

