Wine Ratings

wines

The 2022 Château Clinet showed beautifully, with an almost Médoc-like style in its darker cassis, graphite, cedar pencil, and tobacco aromas and flavors. Full-bodied on the palate, it has ripe, velvety tannins, a round, layered mouthfeel, and remarkable purity. Pomerol was one of the erratic appellations in 2022, but this beauty does everything right and brings a beautiful mix of richness and elegance. It should round into form with just short-term bottle age and evolve for two decades. The blend is the usual 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.Jeb Dunnuck | 96-98 JDStreamlined and sleek, silky smooth but also gorgeously textured, clean and clear with grip and interest. Less fleshy and chewy than some, more charming and elegant with tannins that have a weight in the mouth. There is clear power and concentration underneath the juicy acidity with a straight backbone and direct energy from start to finish. Appealing layers of salinity, blackcurrant fruit, creamy vanilla, cool cola touches and crushed stones on the finish. Feels well made and sophisticated. 3.74pH. A yield of 34hl/ha. Earliest harvest ever starting on 6 September for Merlot and 20 and 21 September for Cabernet Sauvignon.Decanter | 96 DECA blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon that represents the earliest harvest in this estate’s history (beginning on September 6), the 2022 Clinet is a success, offering up aromas of cherries and dark berries mingled with hints of spices and a discreet patina of new oak. Medium to full-bodied, ample and layered, it’s impressively vibrant, with a rich core of fruit framed by powdery tannins from judicious extraction. This has more in common with the more refined 2018 and 2019 vintages at this address than with the powerhouse 2020, and that is no mean feat in an even more extreme vintage. Bravo to Ronan Laborde and his team.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RPThe 2022 Clinet is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon picked from 6-21 September at around 34hL/ha. There were apparently many bunches, but the berries were small. Aged in 80% new oak and 20% 2nd fill barrels, the 2022 offers black fruit on the nose with traces of Japanese nori probably emanating from the Cabernet. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, well-judged acidity and a fine backbone that gently grips the mouth. This is a linear Pomerol with impressive delineation on the almost pastille-like finish. I appreciate this Clinet’s persistence and discrete spiciness on the aftertaste. Excellent. But it is a vintage that requires time in bottle.Vinous Media | 94-96 VMA very fine and polished red with silky tannins, medium body and a savory finish. Hints of hazelnut to the currant and berry fruit.James Suckling | 94-95 JSThe 2022 Clinet is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, aging in 80% new oak. It was harvested from harvest from the 6th to the 21st of September and yields were 34 hl/ha. Deep garnet-purple in color, it storms out of the glass with powerful notes of plum preserves, crème de cassis, and boysenberries, leading with suggestions of sandalwood, mossy tree bark, sassafras, and mocha with a waft of tar. The full-bodied palate is rich and densely laden with black fruit preserves, supported by firm, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and opulent. This is a wonderfully decadent wine that will be very long-lived but will require some patience.The Wine Independent | 94-96+ TWI

Moving to the Grand Vin, it’s a slightly more Merlot-influenced blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot, raised in new barrels. It brings the same level of concentration and structure as the La Croix but has another level of class, elegance, and purity, with sensational aromatics of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed stone, sandalwood, and graphite. The purity here is truly remarkable, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, perfectly integrated oak, silky tannins, and a great finish. This beauty hit 14% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.8 and an IPT of 95. Given its balance as well as its texture, it’s going to offer pleasure with just short-term cellaring yet also evolve for decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDBeautiful and beguiling nose, perfumed blackcurrants and dark fruits; damsons, plums, raspberries and rose petals. Lovely crunchy fruit, real bite and presence in the mouth. Excellent precision, tannins are succulent and ripe they fill the mouth with a juicy, intense granular texture. There is such depth to this - perfume, tobacco, earth, violets and concentrated fruits that have a verticality to them with an unprecedented 98% of Cabernet Sauvignon providing the support and the backbone. There is a crystalline purity to the fruit giving tension to the overall frame, it’s focused and driven all with excellent definition. This is not a wallflower of a wine - it’s charming and confident, strutting its stuff right now and giving you absolut St-Julien terroir and vintage markers in the glass with slate, graphite and liquorice salinity on show. Skilled winemaking on show.Decanter | 97 DECSome much creme de cassis and blackcurrant aromas and flavors here. Full-bodied with powerful tannins, yet fine and layered. Chewy. You can really feel the thick grape skins here. Excellent length. Tannins spread across the palate. Minerally and crushed stone.James Suckling | 97-98 JSMade from 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot, the 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou is deep garnet-purple in color. It comes barreling out with powerful notes of blackcurrant cordial, boysenberry preserves, and licorice with hints of mocha, graphite, and cedar. The medium to full-bodied palate is rich and super firm with ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with epic length and purity.The Wine Independent | 97-99 TWIThe 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou contains less Cabernet than last year and is closer to the normal blend of the Grand Vin, picked between 7 September and 4 October - the longest harvest in their history. The IPT is 95. Matured in 100% new oak, the bouquet bides its time in the glass, almost reluctantly unfurling with scents of blackberry, briary, cigar humidor and sous-bois. At this nascent stage, it is more backward than its peers. The palate is undoubtedly one of the most dense and muscular that I have encountered over many years tasting at the estate, full-bodied with vice-like tannins. Continuing the theme of the estate’s other cuvées, there is a lovely Pauillac-like presence throughout, with graphite/pencil lead infusing the black fruit. The finish exerts a considerable grip and feels saline, almost briny on the aftertaste. This Leviathan Ducru-Beaucaillou threatens to overwhelm the senses, uncompromising in many ways, and it will patently take many years for the tannins to soften. I feel that it is only once in bottle that one will be able to gauge its trajectory.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMOne of the Médoc’s most powerful wines this year is the 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou, a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot that opens in the glass with aromas of dark cherries and berries mingled with pencils shavings, vanilla pod and spices. Full-bodied, broad-shouldered and muscular, with a core of ripe but lively fruit underpinned by a chassis of powdery, liberally extracted tannin that asserts itself on the finish, it’s a punchy, modern Saint-Julien reminiscent of a hypothetical blend of the 2018 and 2020.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RP

Very Pauillac in its blackcurrant, dark chocolate and walnut husk character. Full-bodied yet compacted. Wet earth, mushroom, earth, black tobacco. Fine and intense tannins. Fresh and complex. 78% cabernet sauvignon and 22% merlot.James Suckling | 95-96 JSThe Grand Vin 2022 Château Duhart-Milon is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot. It brings more richness as well as classic Pauillac character in its lead pencil, graphite, tobacco, and red and black fruit-driven aromatics. With gorgeous richness, a medium to full bodied mouthfeel, and a great finish, this utterly classic, seamless, balanced Pauillac should be snatched up by readers. It’s going to give the 2009 a run for its money.Jeb Dunnuck | 94-96+ JDRipe fruit on the nose, cherries, blackcurrants and plums, fresh, open and inviting. Sleek and smooth, this is intense but juicy giving tannic strength, just shy of chewy but appealingly chalky and fleshy giving a mouthfilling texture while the stony, saline, spiced edge to the tannins and cool blueberry and mint give the freshness. The tannins stand out here, present and at the fore, but well textured, crushed velvet but juicy with high acidity and a sharpness that counters the clear power underneath. Ageing will incorporate 40% of new oak plus up to 15% of amphora based on current trials. Harvest 31 August to 28 September.Decanter | 94 DECThe 2022 Duhart-Milon underwent a short 15- to 18-day maceration and is raised in 50% new oak and the rest one-year-old barrels. It has a very graphite/mint-scented nose that is Pauillac through and through. The palate is fresh and vibrant with fine tannins. This is beautifully sculpted with a vibrant pencil lead-tinged finish reminiscent of Grand Puy Lacoste. The 2022 is a fabulous Duhart-Milon that should give 30 to 40 years of drinking pleasure. It’s a Pauillac a bit like the late Steven Spurrier insofar that it’s a Pauillac always conservatively dressed in a pin-striped suit, but that’s the essence of Duhart.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMThe 2022 Duhart-Milon unwinds in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cedar box, loamy soil, herbs and spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, supple and velvety palate with a broad attack that segues into a lively, nicely concentrated core of fruit, concluding with a youthfully firm finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RPMade from 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot, the 2022 Duhart-Milon is deep garnet-purple in color. It rocks up with ready-to-impress notes of warm cassis, blackberry preserves, and menthol, followed by hints of cinnamon stick, rose oil, and fallen leaves. The medium-bodied palate is chock full of lively black berry and minty flavors, framed by grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long and lifted.The Wine Independent | 90-92 TWI

This is a big move forward for Giscours. Full-bodied yet agile and fresh with tannins that are precise and integrated, with great beauty and length. Well-structured and vivid. Extremely fine yet defined tannins, and then it opens like a butterfly.James Suckling | 97-98 JSA seriously impressive and beguiling Giscous in 2022 and one of the most elegant. A remarkable wine with gorgeous clarity and purity and just the most gentle seduction, even more so because it really doesn’t feel as if it’s trying too hard yet still delivering depth and complexity. Fresh and lifted, fragrant and so juicy but with textured tannins that give both the weight, structure and density to the quite bright, tangy, vibrant fruit. Nicely composed, feels quite powerful yet restrained and finessed offering lots of immediate drinking appeal but with a serious backbone that suggests long ageing too. Elegant, fineseed, subtle confidence with such cool minerality that gives freshness all the way through. It’s not the most dense, or fleshy, but so refined. A compelling wine. Possible upscore in bottle. 3% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. 3.70pH. A yield of 27hl/ha, the lowest ever. No Sirene de Giscours this year. 100% grand vin. Ageing 17 months, 50% new oak. 10-15% press wine. Tasted twice.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2022 Giscours was picked between 1 and 29 September, one of the earliest ever, with no SO2 added until blending and using bio-protection (yeasts) to protect the must. It has a delightful and sensual bouquet with lifted, violet and peony-scented blueberry and black cherry fruit. This is very well-defined and perhaps the purest I have encountered from barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with a disarming silky texture, harmonious and focused. It’s mineral-driven with a poised and pixelated finish. Certainly, this represents one of the best wines from this Margaux estate in recent years, echoing their golden period of the 60s and early 70s. Tasted twice with consistent notes.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMWith the 2022 Giscours, this estate takes another step up, delivering a deep and characterful wine redolent of cherries, dark berries, violets, peony and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, broad shouldered and layered, it’s deep and elegantly muscular, with impressive concentration, abundant but refined tannins and a structural authority reminiscent of the great Giscours vintages of the 1970s. Why is it so good? There are many reasons, but one is the high proportion of old vines—almost 60% of the blend deriving from vines that are over 50 years old—in a vintage that favored vines with deep, well-established root systems. Another is the increasing precision of harvesting at this address: Giscours’s old vines are frequently co-planted with younger replacements that have filled any gaps in the ranks over the years; so, blocks are now picked in two or three passages instead of all at once, with the younger vines picked first.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RPClearly one of the finest vintages from this château, the 2022 Château Giscours reveals a dense purple hue to go with beautiful Cabernet-driven aromatics of smoky blue fruits, iron, lead pencil, and spring flowers, as well as an almost marine-like character developing with time in the glass. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has silky, perfectly integrated tannins, a great mid-palate, and outstanding length. It’s a serious, age-worthy, incredibly impressive wine in the making.Jeb Dunnuck | 94-96 JDA blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Giscours has a pH of 3.7 and 13.6% alcohol. It has a deep garnet-purple color and bursts with notes of baked black plums, warm cassis, and blackberry preserves, giving way to subtle suggestions of sassafras, roses, and Sichuan pepper. The delicately played medium-bodied palate is soft-spoken and refreshing, featured very fine, silt-like tannins and seamless freshness to frame the subtle red and black berry layers, finishing on a mineral note. If you love blockbusters, look elsewhere, this is all about grace. Note that no second wine (La Sirène de Giscours) was made in 2022 and the yield for Giscours was just 27 hl/ha.The Wine Independent | 94-96 TWI

The 2022 Château Haut-Bailly is going to be one of the legendary vintages at this château, and it should be a no-brainer purchase for readers. Based on 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, it has an incredible perfume of cassis, ripe black cherries, crushed stone, smoke tobacco, and wood smoke. Earning more than a few expletives in my notes, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, and ultra-fine, silky tannins. Hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen, this is an incredible wine in the making!Jeb Dunnuck | 98-100 JDIncredible complexity of aromas here with ripe currants and blackberries, but also dried flowers like violets and roses. Then there’s forest flower character such as bark, mushroom and sandalwood. Black truffles. Full-bodied with tight and chewy tannins that are polished and pure, with a solid and tight finish. It builds on your palate and frames the wine beautifully. 56% cabernet sauvignon, 37% merlot, 5% petit verdot and 2% cabernet franc.James Suckling | 97-98 JSThe 2022 Haut-Bailly was picked between 7 and 27 September and underwent a four-week cuvaison, taking longer to consume the sugar and was matured in 50% new oak. It has a bouquet that compels you just to sit and contemplate. It gradually unfolds with blackberry, raspberry, potpourri and iris flower scents, well-defined, not showy but suave. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannins. Minerals, black pepper and clove off a gentle grip with an impressive crescendo. It will need a decade in bottle. This Haut-Bailly has a haunting beauty, the kind of wine that will bring people to tears!Vinous Media | 96-98 VMFragranced nose, purple fruits, blackcurrants, juniper, liquorice, crushed stones, salt, violets, roses, dark chocolate and cherries - perfumed, alive and expressive. Smooth, but generous with crunchy fruit and salty touches that come in and coat the super fine tannins with a powdery sensation that really fills the mouth. Nice terroir aspects, smooth, well textured and elegantly weighted. Gives dark fruit, subtle savoury tones with dark chocolate and herbal aspects giving nuance. Excellent length and freshness, it’s graceful but almost a bit light in terms of fruit density and plushness - although the tannins are exceptional, really so sleek and silky with definition and detail. Feels well worked, gentle, confident and shiny. It’s missing a touch more excitement and juicy liveliness but it’s extremely finessed and you can’t fault the attention to detail of the tannins and the moreish quality they give. Great potential. 3.92pH. 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. A yield of 30hl/ha. Consultants Christophe Olivier and Axel Marchal. Harvest 7-27 September.Decanter | 96 DECA blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Haut-Bailly is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a fair bit of swirling to bring out fragrant notes of kirsch, warm cassis, black raspberries, and underbrush, followed by hints of star anise, peonies, graphite, and wood smoke. The full-bodied palate is densely laden with ripe, expressive black fruit and earthy accents, framed by firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and minerally. pH 3.92.The Wine Independent | 96-98 TWIThe 2022 Haut-Bailly offers up aromas of dark berries complemented by accents of iris, lilac, rose petals, graphite and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, dense and concentrated, dense, it’s layered and textural, with a deep core of fruit, powdery tannins and a penetrating, saline finish. Vinified along traditional lines, it is a structured wine that will take some time to hit its stride, but at this early stage it appears suppler and more seamless than its 2020 and 2019 predecessors. A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc from grapes picked from September 7 to 27, it’s maturing half in new barriques and half in one- or two-year-old barrels.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RP

Extremely perfumed with sweet tobacco and blackcurrants as well as cedar and dark chocolate. Aromatic. Medium-bodied with an intense center palate of blackcurrant, orange peel and peaches. Nervy. 53% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot.James Suckling | 96-97 JSPlums, blackcurrants, dark chocolate and perfumed aromas on the nose. Smooth and bright, silky, sharp, intense but so likeable, a shot of high acidity really sets the tone, this is zinging with energy, bite and power. It’s a look at me wine with a strawberry and red cherry sweetness as well as herbal savouriness that hits the mid palate creating a mouthwatering juiciness and sense of structure. The power comes in after a few minutes, alongside minerality and wet stone touches to the fine but present tannins. Streamlined, focussed and confident. Cleverly constructed with lots to like, will age well and has lovely Pauillac touches. 64IPT. 3.75pH. Harvest 31 August to 24 September. 16% press. 3% Petit Verdot completes the blend.Decanter | 94 DECThe second wine of Lafite checks in as 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. This smoking good second wine has more than a little Lafite character and offers ample red and black fruits, notes of tobacco, graphite, and leafy herbs, medium to full-bodied richness, silky, polished tannins, and a great finish. As with the Grand Vin, it’s concentrated, powerful, and flawlessly balanced.Jeb Dunnuck | 93-95 JDThe 2022 Carruades de Lafite is a real showstopper. I don’t remember tasting a Carruades quite like the 2022, a wine that combines the richness of the year with tons of supporting structure. Super-ripe red-fleshed fruit, blood orange, mint, cinnamon and rose petal all race across the palate, supported by bright citrus-driven acids that keep the flavors vibrant. I can’t wait to see how this turns out.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMAromas of sweet cherries and berries mingled with hints of cedar box, loamy soil, warm spices, violets and orange zest introduce the 2022 Carruades de Lafite, a medium to full-bodied, bright and velvety blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot.Robert Parker Wine Adocate | 91-93 RPThe 2022 Carruades de Lafite is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a swirl or two to reveal evocative notes of blackcurrant jelly, black raspberries, and Morello cherries, plus suggestions of iris bulb, tilled soil, and crushed cloves. The medium-bodied palate is typically elegant, minerally, and refreshing, with firm, fine-grained tannins to provide support, and a long, lifted finish.The Wine Independent | 91-93 TWI

Currants and cedar with sandalwood and peaches. Fascinating aromas. Violets. Full-bodied with a crunchy and electric palate of primary fruit, with hints of tangerines and citrus. Great finish with structure and polish. 53.6% merlot, 35.4% cabernet sauvignon and 11% cabernet franc. Interesting to have such high merlot in the blend.James Suckling | 98-99 JSThe 2022 Haut-Brion comes across as a bit restrained, given the natural opulence of the year and the other wines in the Clarence Dillon portfolio. Deep and wonderfully layered, the 2022 possesses remarkable depth but also a bit less of the explosive energy that is such a Haut-Brion signature. I suspect that will come in time, as the 2022 starts to show quite a bit better with a little aeration. Violet, gravel, incense, leather, tobacco and scorched earth linger. Superb.Vinous Media | 97-99 VMDeep garnet-purple in color, the 2022 Haut-Brion is a blend of 53.6% Merlot, 35.4% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 11% Cabernet Franc aging in 62.9% new oak. The nose is typically closed and broody, requiring a lot of shaking to wake up enticing notes of iron ore, red roses, lavender, mint tea, and forest floor, leading to a tantalizing core of plum preserves and blueberry pie. The medium to full-bodied palate is very tightly knit with vibrant black and blue fruit layers and red berry sparks, framed by very fine-grained tannins and a refreshing backbone, finishing long and minerally. A classic, breath-taking expression of Haut-Brion, I expect this to remain shy and restrained for the first 10 years so in bottle, and then watch it soar.The Wine Independent | 97-99+ TWISlightly better than its sibling La Mission Haut-Brion, the 2022 Château Haut-Brion has a full-bodied, concentrated, structured style that’s going to demand bottle age. Cassis, graphite, scorched earth, and tobacco are just some of its nuances aromatically, and it shows the ripe, powerful style of the vintage. There are lots of tannins here, especially on the finish, and it’s going to need 7-8 years in the cellar.Jeb Dunnuck | 96-98 JDMilk chocolate and blackcurrants on the nose, fragrant ripe black cherries and some floral notes. Sleek, supple, suave, really confident and shiny. This keeps the tension more than La Mission at this point with a vein of freshness and intensity. It’s not out to charm but it’s out to impress. Excellent construction, clean depth and power, tense, strict and streamlined, a touch of creaminess and saltiness. You get waves of flavour intensity with ripe, concentrated fruit, soft acidity and a clean stone freshness. Tannins fill the mouth with edges of both minerality and toasted spices. Calm and controlled, impressive with focus. 3.8pH. A yield of 35hl/ha.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2022 Haut-Brion shows considerable promise, revealing aromas of dark berries and plums mingled with notions of pencil lead, licorice, tobacco leaf, spices and incense. Full-bodied, broad and seamless, it’s rich and muscular, with a deep, layered core of fruit framed by an ample endowment of tannin. This blend of 53.6% Merlot, 35.4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc, the result is a lip-smacking exemplification of controlled power. Analytically, the 2022 possesses a similar level of tannins to the 2010, and a similar pH to the 2009, yet it is more suave and polished than the 2010 at the same stage, and seemingly more dynamic than the 2009.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RP

Wow. Blackcurrants, blueberries, blackberries and flowers. Full-bodied with beautifully integrated tannins that melt into the wine. Persistent and precise. A fantastic wine for the cellar. 66% cabernet sauvignon, 28% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot.James Suckling | 98-99 JSBlackcurrant and bramble fruit with savoury herbal nuances on the nose, this smells rich and potent. Tense and focussed, compact from the get go, present tannins give grip and hold. This is definitely not out to charm, more serious, stern and focussed but there’s such overall precision. This is in high definition, supremely controlled and well worked with mouthfilling ripe tannins. I like the chewy aspect and there’s balancing acidity, hidden now by the density, that will sustain the wine for decades to come. Floral notes and some minerality come through giving the nuance so it’s not all heft, but there’s clear muscle on show. A long finish gives the sense of structure and style. An impressive wine. 95 IPT. 3.71pH. Ageing 18 months, 75% new oak. 3% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 4.1 g/L total acidity. Harvest 12 September - 24 September.Decanter | 97 DECThe Grand Vin 2022 Château Lynch Bages checks in as 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It actually reminds me slightly of the 2019, and while it’s a classic Lynch Bages powerhouse, it has beautiful balance and purity. Cassis, graphite, lead pencil, and chalky minerality all define the aromatics, and it’s full-bodied, with terrific tannins and a layered, incredibly impressive profile that continues to open and evolve with time in the glass. Tasted twice with consistent notes.Jeb Dunnuck | 96-98+ JDThe 2022 Lynch-Bages was picked 12 September, around 15 days earlier than usual until 24 September at around 35hL/ha. Aged for 18 months in 75% new oak, it has a backward nose that demands a lot of encouragement. This is not as immediate as the 2016 or 2019 at the same stage. Powerful blackberry and boysenberry fruit, cedar and light tobacco notes, this feels like an edifice of aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, beautifully balanced, very harmonious yet there is an enormous backbone here that (again) is reminiscent of Mouton. Extremely long on the finish, this will need its barrel maturation to fully knit together and it is going to be a Pauillac for the long haul.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMThe 2022 Lynch-Bages is composed of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is a little closed to start, soon revealing evocative creme de cassis, blueberry pie, and chocolate-covered cherries notes with suggestions of cast-iron pan, black truffles, and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is taut with muscular black fruit and loads of mineral sparks, framed by very firm, grainy tannins and a refreshing line, finishing long and earthy. pH 3.71, TPI 95.The Wine Independent | 95-97 TWIOne of the vintage’s most powerful, muscular wines is the 2022 Lynch-Bages, a full-bodied, broad-shouldered Pauillac that unfurls in the glass with aromas of cassis, cherries, mint, pencil shavings and petroleum jelly, framed by nicely integrated new oak. Liberally extracted, its deep core of fruit is underpinned by an imposing chassis of rich, powdery tannin and lively acids. Always rather forbidding from barrel, Lynch Bages always seems to come together in bottle, and the 2022 has the makings of another success for this address.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-96 RP

So much class in the nose with a sophisticated kaleidoscope of dark fruit such as blackcurrants, and spices such as salt and pepper, as well as cloves and nutmeg. Full-bodied. Compacted and dense yet weightless. It opens beautifully. The tannins go on and on with wonderful presence. Salty undertones.James Suckling | 98-99 JSThe 2022 Château Palmer is utterly brilliant, so much so that I questioned in my notes if this would challenge the 2018. A blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot, from tiny yields of 22 hectoliters per hectare, its mammoth-sized personality offers layers of blue and black fruits, notes of melted chocolate, crushed stone, and spring flowers, building, velvety tannins, and a great, great finish. While many estates commented that they extracted less in the vintage, Palmer went in a different direction and extracted more during the vinifications to provide a solid backbone to match the concentration and power of the vintage. It appears to have worked brilliantly, and hats off to Thomas Duroux for having the confidence to go his own path. He has produced a truly Grand Vin in 2022. The alcohol here is a normal 14.4%, and the pH is a healthy 3.79.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDSharp, energetic, racy and electric. The power and concentration is evident in the dark, rich, concentrated fruit with tannins that grip and take hold with a crushed stone texture, liquorice, graphite, tobacco and cool mint spice. The expression is exceptionally delineated with focus and push from start to finish. Quite bold and charged, but I love the succulence, the perfumed fruit, chalky sensation and overall sense of confidence. In high definition in terms of sharpness and tang to the fruit. A big wine but delivered with poise. 3.79pH. 13% press wine. Harvest took one month from 7 September to 5 October. 70% grand vin, 30% Alter Ego.Decanter | 97 DECThe 2022 Palmer was cropped at just 22hL/ha due to the berries being 25-30% smaller than usual. It bursts forth on the nose with precocious black cherries, blueberry, violet and touches of marmalade and tobacco in the background. Complex and expressive. The palate is structured, with the tannic backbone, that winemaker Thomas Duroux talked about, lending this Palmer a sense of verticality. Hints of black pepper emerge with time, multi-layered, a powerful Margaux and yet the IPT is actually lower than elsewhere (76). Quite linear on the tobacco-infused finish, which is just quintessential Palmer. Do reserve a bin in your cellar for this and let it gather dust for at least a decade. 14.4% alcohol.Vinous Media | 96-98 VMComposed of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot, the 2022 Palmer is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a lot of shaking and swirling to lure out a soft-spoken perfume of roses, lavender, star anise, and cloves, leading to a profound core of Morello cherries, fresh, juicy blackberries, and blackcurrant cordial. The full-bodied palate is stacked with layer upon layer of black, blue, and red fruits, supported by a skyscraper structure of very firm, very ripe, grainy tannins and superb tension, finishing with epic length and depth. This is a monumental achievement. pH 3.79.The Wine Independent | 96-98+ TWIAs is the case at neighbor Château Margaux, the 2022 Palmer is one of the most powerful wines this estate has ever produced. A blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, it offers up aromas of blackberries, burning embers, violets, iris and sweet soil tones, followed by a full-bodied, broad and expansive palate, its velvety attack segueing into a rich and layered core. Supple, seamless and concentrated, it checks in at 14.4% alcohol and a rather high pH of 3.79.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RP

Another wine that’s going to flirt with perfection is the 2022 Château Pavie Macquin, and this might be the finest vintage I’ve ever tasted from this address. A blend of 80% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, and a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon, it reveals an inky purple hue as well as a stunning bouquet of pure cassis, liquid black raspberries, truffle, scorched earth, and graphite. Full-bodied, concentrated, and massive on the palate, it may be the largest-scaled Pavie Macquin ever produced. But don’t let that scare you off – it stays flawlessly balanced, has pure, fine-grained tannins, and a great finish. I’ll be a buyer.Jeb Dunnuck | 96-98+ JDPerfumed and aromatic, smells rich but not too intensely with roses and soft purple flowers. Succulent and really quite crisp and clear, such clarity to the fruit, with both a sharpness of acidity and mineral bite to the tannins. Liquorice, blue fruits, cool chalky tones, You get a sense of the power and structure, it’s wide and full, thick but keeping the freshness and tension with super high acidity giving the mouthwatering nature and a touch of austerity. Precise and detailed with energy and tension as well as depth and clarity. Great potential. A yield of 31hl/ha.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2022 Pavie Macquin, 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, is deep garnet-purple in color. It is quite closed to start off, revealing scents of cedar chest and dried roses before giving way to a fragrant undercurrent of blackberry pie, Morello cherries, and boysenberry preserves, plus suggestions of Indian spices and cast-iron pan. The full-bodied palate is super-taut and muscular, delivering a firm frame of ripe, grainy tannins and fantastic tension to support all the tightly wound layers, finishing very long and minerally. Likely to require considerable patience before it hits its stride, its a Pavie Macquin for marathon runners, not sprinters.The Wine Independent | 96-98+ TWIThe 2022 Pavie Macquin is a gorgeous wine, not quite as exotic as it can be, which will no doubt please those who find this wine on the richer side within the context of Saint-Émilion. Dark red fruit, chalk, mint, white pepper and spice all race across the palate. Given the small size of the berries and the heat, the winemaking team led by Nicolas Thienpont opted for gentler vinification with fewer punchdowns than the past. The result is a decidedly linear, vibrant Pavie Macquin that bristles with the chalky, saline energy that is a signature of this part of Saint-Émilion, but that has not always been present in a wine that in the past has been more about textural opulence. The blend is 80% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasted four times.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMThis site can deliver such powerful, tannic wines that I was left especially impressed by the supple, harmonious style of the 2022 Pavie Macquin. Unwinding in the glass with notions of sweet wild berries, rose petals, spices, violets, bay leaf and new oak, it’s full-bodied, deep and vibrant, with a layered core of fruit, bright acids and a long, penetrating finish, where powdery structuring tannins make themselves felt but without any asperity. Of course, this remains a deep and powerful wine, but Nicolas Thienpont and his team continue their shift toward more judicious extraction, with excellent results.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RP

You could easily mistake the 2022 Pavillon Rouge De Margaux for the Grand Vin here, and truth be told, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this actually evolve better than some of the Grand Vins from just over 10-15 years ago. A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot (the second wine got all the Petit Verdot in 2022), it offers a deep, medium to full-bodied, seamless profile as well as solid framboise, darker raspberry, currants, sandalwood, and spice aromatics, silky tannins, and outstanding length. The purity and precision paired with this level of texture and richness far exceeds the vast majority of second wines out there.Jeb Dunnuck | 94-96 JDBeautiful vivid colour, bright and intense. Dark chocolate, cherries and subtle perfume on the nose. Bright and lively thought also lean and straight on the palate. A generous weight and intense grip to the tannins. It’s on the tense side, focussed with extreme precision to the fruit profile with racy acidity unpinning the tannins which are at the fore. Feels refined and elegant, more serious than some other second wines in its construction but is classy, juicy, sculpted and softly plush. The fruit has bite and tang, with liquorice and graphite edges and spiced accents giving angles but all enjoyable and really building to the whole. Great freshness and length. 7% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.61pH. 84 IPT - highest IPT, highest before was 2018 which was 82. 15% press wine. 31% production.Decanter | 94 DECRich and dense with lots of fruit and juiciness. Redcurrants, black berries, strawberries and orange peel on the nose. Full and layered with fine, velvety tannins and a juicy finish. Big presence.James Suckling | 94-95 JSThe 2022 Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux is made from 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs quite a lot of swirling to bring out notes of blackcurrant pastilles, Morello cherries, and preserved plums, followed by hints of dusty soil, cumin seed, and garrigue. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers commendable grace and backbone, with firm grainy tannins and well-knit freshness supporting the muscular black fruits, finishing with a fragrant lift. pH 3.65, TPI 85, alcohol 14.8% - but you don’t feel it.The Wine Independent | 93-95+ TWIThe 2022 Pavillon Rouge is deep and perfumed, wafting from the glass with notions of cherries, raspberry preserve, lilac, violets and spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, velvety and concentrated palate that’s deep, rich and vibrant, with a tannic grain that resembles the grand vin this year. It represents just under a third of the estate’s production.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPThe 2022 Pavillon Rouge is a rich, sumptuous wine. A burst of red/purplish fruit, rose petal, lavender and blood orange makes a strong opening, followed by unexpectedly bright, saline notes that bring it all together on the mid-palate and finish. The Pavillon Rouge is an eye-opening wine that embodies the style of the year so eloquently. I especially admire the vibrancy here. The purity of the flavors and quality of the tannins really elevate the 2022.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

The 2022 Rosé BY.Ott is such a complete wine. It’s just so elegantly put together. Orange oil, strawberry fruit, strawberry top (yes, the leafy part), ruby red grapefruit and fresh mint form an intoxicating bouquet as the 2022 puts on weight in the glass, especially in the mid-palate. Fresh, lively, juicy, salivating—all of these apply. A satisfying mineral bitterness tugs at the tongue as the wine exits the mouth, lingering with the subtlest hint of fruit sweetness. The finish is long and measured. Very well done. - Billy NorrisVinous Media | 92 VM

A bright yellow hue with green highlights, the 2022 Chardonnay Durant Vineyard is expressive in its lacy perfume of jasmine, tarragon, salty earth, and bright green apple. Medium-bodied, it offers beautiful, pristine, ripe fruit, a pithy texture, and a delicate arch to its rounded mouthfeel, with no harshness. It’s refined and graceful, with a floral flourish of lemon blossoms lasting long on the finish. Drink 2024-2034.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDThe 2022 Lark Block bottling of chardonnay from Durant Vineyard is truly one of the finest white wines I have yet had the pleasure to taste from Kelley Fox. The bouquet is very precise and has a gently exotic floral sheen to it, offering up scents of pear, casaba melon, fresh almond, a beautiful base of soil tones, lemon peel, orange blossoms and a touch of honeysuckle. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and complex, with superb depth at the core lovely soil inflection, a fine spine of acidity and a long, vibrant and impeccably balanced finish. This is very easy to drink out of the blocks, but there is so much more lurking here right below the surface that I would definitely try to give the wine three or four years in the cellar to allow its secondary layers of complexity to start to emerge. It is a great wine. (Drink between 2024 - 2040)John Gilman | 94 JGThe 2022 Chardonnay Durant Vineyard blossoms in the glass as wildflowers and crushed apples give way to mint and crushed stone suggestions. This opens with a lovely inner sweetness and supple texture contrasted with zesty acids and crisp orchard fruits. It tapers off with amazing tension, grippy and cheek puckering with a citrusy concentration as savory herbs and a sensation of liquid stone fade.Vinous Media | 93 VM

The dark red 2022 Pinot Noir Seaview Ridge Vineyard offers another level of complexity and a touch of umami richness in its notes of black cherries, sea brine, brushy herbs, and licorice. Medium-bodied, it takes on greater intensity and concentration on the palate, with ripe tannins, a darker mineral tone, and a long finish. It is another very well-styled wine that has the potential to age gracefully over the next 10-12 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDDelicious and delicate from Flowers Sea View Ridge site just over 3 km from the ocean and surrounded by dense evergreens, this wine reflects the climatic edges of coastal viticulture at over 500m.—aromas of seaspray, tart cranberry and a squeeze of blood orange. The palate is reflective of elegance, with hints of smoky clove, tart wild red strawberries and white peppercorn.Decanter | 94 DECAn open-knit version, showing nice energy as its light, briary matrix holds a core of black and red cherry and singed wood spice notes together. Offers a zip of blood orange zest and a twang of minerality on the finish. Drink now through 2031. 750 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2022 Chablis Vaillon 1er Cru Cuvée Guy Moreau, matured half and half in vat and barrels, has a cohesive nose with shucked oyster shells infusing the citrus fruit. Quite classic in style. The palate is well-balanced with impressive depth and elegance. Sapid towards the finish with gentle grip, this Cuvée Guy Moreau is extremely promising.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMA slightly cooler nose reflects notes of white pepper and a touch of the exotic while the wood treatment, while subtle, is a bit more noticeable. The old vines are in evidence as the mouthfeel of the medium-bodied flavors is markedly denser as the sappy extract coats the palate while buffering the moderately firm acid spine shaping the very dry, more complex and slightly long finale. Lovely.Burghound | 90-93 BH

The 2022 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru has a beautifully defined bouquet with yellow plum, wet stone, hints of baked bread and pressed white flowers. Very good intensity. The palate is well-balanced with fine delineation, very good salinity and tension with superb precision towards the finish. This Les Clos doesn’t want the Valmur to get all the acclaim.Vinous Media | 94-96 VMModerate wood is present on the overtly floral-suffused nose of mostly white fleshed fruit, especially pear and apple, along with notes of citrus confit, acacia and oyster shell whiffs. There is excellent richness and concentration to the markedly powerful larger-scaled flavors that coat the palate on the overtly stony, dry and compact finale. At least moderate patience will be required as this is pretty tightly wound.Burghound | 92-95 BH

A wine of intense concentration, tension and focus, even in the warm conditions of 2022. Aroma notes of ripe apple, peach and quince, then the volume and density you’d expect from 2022, but it’s well balanced by the fresh acidity that draws it to a lingering finish. Grapes from Niellon’s plot of old vines are fermented on native yeasts in 40% new cask. This wine is among the best from this vintage and will make old bones if you are so inclined.Decanter | 98 DECThe vines were planted in 1962 and 1968. Pale to mid lemon in colour. A light reduction on the nose. The limestone is close to the surface on the nose, a little biscuit note, this is discreet but evidently with a fine tensile strength. Just leave this the time to blossom and it will become a really fine example. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 95 JM

This bottling is made from the same tuffeau-based vineyard as the Silex Noir and Trois Argile Demi-Sec bottlings from Domaine Pinon. It is handled the same in the cellars as the regular Sec bottling, with indigenous yeast fermentation and aging in a variety of older, large oak barrels. The wine offers up a beautifully refined aromatic constellation of apple, sweet quince, bee pollen, white lilies, a gorgeous base of chalky soil tones and a nice touch of lanolin in the upper register. On the palate the wine is vibrant, focused and full-bodied, with a rock solid core, superb mineral drive and cut, snappy acids and great balance on the long, complex and very precise finish. This is outstanding juice. (Drink between 2023 - 2065)John Gilman | 94 JGThe 2022 Les Déronnières Sec is the domaine’s limestone-derived dry Chenin that sits almost above the cellars on the appellation’s premiere cotes. Julien Pinon calls it a parcel for lazy people (!) as it’s easier to maintain than clay parcels, leading to better drainage, fewer frosts and requiring less work while making smaller bunches with smaller berries. It may offer tenderness initially but remains a fresh, well-defined style. There is plenty of concentration here, and the balance is impeccable. In addition to attractive apple fruit, it has spiced pastry flavors.Vinous Media | 93 VM

The magnificent, carousel-like sweep of the hill of Corton – almost 100 m top to bottom, and revelling in every exposition save north – means that exact location on the hill is critical for quality. The white wines of Corton-Charlemagne come overwhelmingly from south-west- and west-facing vineyards, coolly exposed, so often these are among the least articulate of all Burgundy’s great white Grands Crus in their youth. Not, though, in the case of this wine from the generous 2022 vintage. It’s promisingly pale, but already compelling on the nose, with subtle oak, wild hawthorne blossom and refined grape and cool citrus. It has all the controlled breadth you’d expect on the palate with more white blossom and subtle, vinous, breath-freshening fruits. The finish is long and lingering, mingling ripe, fruit-bonded acidity with a quiet pulse of ripeness. It will, of course, be better after a decade in a cool cellar, but there’s nothing to stop you enjoying the wine soon, either. Alcohol 13.0%. (DWWA 2024). - Decanter | 97 DECFour plots all in Pernand. Pale in colour with ripe apple notes. The bouquet suggests a leaner style of wine than the palate delivers, which may be a question of being just after bottling. There is some complexity on the palate, a little lime, a phenolic touch. I don’t notice the 40% new wood, so there is clearly good fruit concentration.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JM

Starts ripe and fleshy in the mouth, then the minerality comes through. Fresh and direct, a very nicely balanced wine which, although approachable now, will age. The vines here lie on very steep slopes with full exposition to the sun. Early harvesting is the key to freshness.Decanter | 93 DECA small lot so better to assemble early, which has just been done. A fresh green light shines through the clouds nonetheless. Picked among the first, a little yellow fruit plums and fresh white peaches. Salty rather than saline, with a fine firm backbone. The finish is particularly impressive, with the fruit becoming ever fresher at the back of the palate. Drink from 2030-2040. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMSlightly more evident wood can be found on the cool and elegant aromas of mineral reduction, spiced pear and pretty floral whiffs along with a plenitude of classic Chablis elements. The understated, pure and borderline delicate flavors are at once supple yet beautifully detailed as well as almost aggressively mineral-driven on the superbly long finish. This is pretty much textbook Vaudésir.Burghound | 92-94 BHThe 2022 Chablis Vaudésir Grand Cru has a less immediate nose than the Bougros, with hints of lanolin and estuarine scents, lemon verbena and fern. This builds with confidence in the glass. The palate is well-balanced with fine delineation and cohesion, a welcome sour lemon edge, and salinity with a primal grapefruit finish. Again, this will require time once in bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

Showing a distinct green tinge in the glass. Plenty of purity and finesse, but not as dramatic as some premier crus. Missing a bit of complexity at the moment, although this will evolve with more time in bottle. Didier Séguier emphasised the need to pick early to preserve freshness. 20% matured in old barrels after malolactic fermentation.Decanter | 91 DECLocated at the very start of Troesmes, 55 to 60 year old vines. Fine fresh lemon yellow. A clean and elegant fruit forward nose, lighter in style than most 1ers crus, hence its place in the line-up. Youthful bitters again, then a serene follow through, pure and precise. Fine elegant finish. Drink from 2026-2031. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 90-93 JMThe 2022 Chablis Beauroy 1er Cru comes from 1.1 hectares of vines near the Troesmes vineyard, aged in 25-30% used oak. It takes a few swirls of the glass to get into its groove, scents of white flowers complementing green apple and Conference pear aromas. The palate is well-balanced with a peppery entry, a fine bitter lemon note lending nerve. Quite strict and classic in style, this Beauroy will deserve a couple of years in bottle.Vinous Media | 89-91 VMA whiff of exotic fruit lurks in the background of the aromas of white peach, spiced apple and seaweed nuances. Here too there is very good energy to the appealingly textured medium-bodied flavors thanks to the abundance of dry extract that also buffers the moderately firm acid spine shaping the lemon zest-inflected finale. While this could also use better depth, the underlying material is here for that to occur in time.Burghound | 89-92 BH

The domaine’s 2022 Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume, a parcel selection in Vaulorent, opens in the glass with notes of sweet citrus fruit, white flowers and oyster shell, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and pillowy palate that’s cool and fleshy, concluding with a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

Didier Séguier notes that Montmains, with it’s deep clay soil, imparts extra richness. A favourite cuvée for Séguier, this is very mineral in character, tempering the richness and power on the palate. Fèvre owns 3.8ha of Montmains, coming from 10 plots across all three sub-climats.Decanter | 93 DECClear lemon and lime colour. Just a very light coquillage reduction. Then the wine builds a beautiful level of intensity on the palate, a lime thread, very salivating for its dry finish. An impeccable balance, this is faultless. And so persistent! Nothing heavy, nothing over sunny. Drink from 2027-2035. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JMThe cool and almost reticent nose makes clear that it could be from nowhere but Chablis with its array of prominent mineral reduction, shellfish and iodine-scented pear and floral aromas. The more refined if perhaps slightly less generous middleweight flavors possess both good volume and vibrancy on the lightly stony, persistent and balanced finish. This lovely effort should be more than capable of delivering 7 to 10 years of cellaring potential.Burghound | 90-93 BHThe 2022 Chablis Montmains 1er Cru has a tightly wound bouquet, maybe a little reduced now, rendering it challenging to read. The palate is well-balanced with a malic entry, fine acidity, and modest depth, with a peppery touch lingering on the aftertaste. This needs a little more personality and engagement.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

Get ready to pop the cork on a wine that’s as bold as it is beautiful! The 2022 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon struts its stuff with a deep purple-black hue that practically begs you to take a sip. A delightful bouquet of crème de cassis, violets, and a tantalizing hint of chocolate box. Once you take that first sip, the full-bodied experience unfolds like a velvet blanket. The finish is long lasting that will have you dreaming of your next glass. Sokolin Tasting Panel | 95 SP

Gaja Chardonnay competes with top white Burgundies, and why wouldn’t it.  You can actually taste the pedigree. I had the pleasure of tasting back vintages at Hotel Pellicano in Tuscany and actually think it ages better than most white Burgundy today. A masterpiece!Dave Sokolin | 97+ DSWhat a beautiful chardonnay, with sliced cooked apples, pears, light cream and pineapple, but so well knit together with a mouthfeel that is caressing and fine textured. So enticing to drink now, but will improve with age. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JS