Denarius 2018 Liber Pater

Denarius 2018 is Loïc Pasquet's red from ungrafted vines in Landiras, in the Graves, and it is the successor to the 2015. From 2018 onward the wine has been aged in amphorae, the clay vessels that replaced barrels. 

The vines grow as free-standing bushes on their own roots, 80 cm apart in rows 60 cm apart. Yields are tiny by design.

2018 was a year of two halves in Bordeaux. Persistent rain through spring brought the worst mildew pressure in decades, particularly in organically worked vineyards, and a hail storm on 25 May hit the southern Graves. Then, from mid-July, barely a drop of rain fell, with daytime temperatures averaging 29°C right through a September and early October harvest. Berries came in small and concentrated, with high alcohol and no rot to worry about.

The result is a dense, structured wine that needs time. Volumes are minimal even in good years, so this is a bottle few people will ever open.