Bordeaux en primeur 2022 diary: day 1 – back with a bang
Today was the first of en primeur week in Bordeaux and the first opportunity for me to try the much-vaunted 2022 vintage for the first time. Is 2022 as good as people have said it is? Absolutely. This is a superb vintage and whilst it is perhaps not uniformly accomplished as 2010 and 2016 were, the overwhelming majority of Châteaux that we tasted today have made superb wines.
A reminder for those that have not yet read my pre-primeurs blog post that 2022 was an extremely hot and largely dry year, placing vines under enormous hydric stress. Never one to shy away from a marketing challenge, I heard the phrase ‘solar vintage’ espoused several times today! However, whilst the hottest days (and there were many above forty degrees) were much hotter than the rolling 30-year average, the daily lowest temperature remained in step with the average, meaning that the diurnal range was huge, with the cooler nighttime temperatures enabling the vines to calm down and for the grapes to maintain acidity. I believe it is this facet of the vintage, even more than the godsend of a downpour in June to give the vines much needed water, that contributed to balanced wines.
Following last year’s largely average vintage (incidentally heralded by the bordelais as a ‘classical’ vintage), which was at times hard to taste, my experience today has been of incredibly fruit forward, ripe wines, with opulent perfumes and huge structure. Whilst I’m yet to try a disappointing wine I have noted a handful of properties which are not in the most blue-blooded sites (either because they’re farther from the cooling influence of the Gironde river, or because they have less water-retaining clay and limestone in their terroirs) making for big, ripe wines but without the necessary acidity to bring the juice to an exciting and persistent finish, with some mid-palate dying off of intensity.
Wines which did have the vineyard positioning, agronomic acumen and technical knowhow to deal with all that ‘solar’ 2022 threw at them were an absolute delight to taste, with intoxicating aromas, intense fruit ripeness, confident structure and persistent finishes. From what I’ve tasted already I am sure that this is a vintage that wine lovers should be securing, from the Cru Bourgeois level up to the great First Growths of Bordeaux. Whilst these wines offer immediate pleasure, mad when you consider that these are nascent barrel samples, they have all the ingredients to age and unfurl over many decades and I for one can’t wait to see how they develop.
Our first stop was the UGCB tasting at Hangar 14, an excellent space on the river which houses all the members of the UGCB under one roof, grouped by appellation. I first tried the wines of Saint-Julien with Gruaud Larose (‘a triumph’ 95-97 points) and Léoville Barton (‘plush tannins with a luxurious feel’ 96-98 points) impressing most. In Margaux, Siran, Giscours and Rauzan Gassies impressed for their respective price points and Brane Cantenac (‘the structure is superb’ 95-97 points) showed as the leading offering.
Pauillac was perhaps the most consistent appellation, perhaps due to the high concentration of Cabernet Sauvignon across most of the wines. Pichon Lalande de Comtesse blew me away as one of the wines of the day (‘acids are superb, the length is wonderful, this is potentially perfect’ 97-100 points), as did Lynch Bages with its slightly smokier hues (‘a real kaleidoscope of a nose & exquisite balance on the palate’ 97-99+ points). Other stand out stars were the triumvirate from the Right Bank of Berliquet, Canon and Rauzan Segla which all scored extremely highly: I look forward to trying these wines again at the property on Wednesday.
After the UGCB tasting we headed to Domaine de Chevalier where we also enjoyed a lovely lunch with exceptional wines, with a focus on vintages ending in three. The Domaine de Chevalier 1983 and 2003 served as excellent portents of what wines from this region can do with twenty to forty years of ageing on them. Our next stop was the beautiful surroundings of Smith Haut Lafitte, whose Grand Vin impressed with its opulent nose and confident, balanced structure (94-96+ points) whilst in a surprise for a vintage where the white wines have been written off, their two blancs were outstanding, with gorgeous freshness and ripe, tropical fruit hues on the palate.
We then headed onwards to Château Haut-Bailly and their space-age chais, which never fails to impress as did their wines, with the Grand Vin offering up a particularly inviting bouquet (96-97+ points). Les Carmes Haut Brion was one of the stars of the day, with a second and first wine showing real panache without losing their classical DNA. Le ‘C’ des Carmes Haut Brion was so impressive (‘a total triumph in this vintage’ 93-95+ points) and Carmes Hait Brion is a candidate for perfection (The balance given by the acidity is extraordinary, all the way across the long, opulent finish: wow’ 97-100 points).
Our first day finished at La Mission Haut Brion, part of the famous Clarence Dillon stable which encompasses Château Haut Brion and their second wines and white wines, too. One of the joys of en primeur week is that you quickly build up a vinous picture of how each appellation has performed in a particular vintage and having tried several wines in Pessac / Graves this afternoon it seemed obvious that for Haut Brion and La Mission 2022 was an open goal, just needing the winemaking equivalent of a tap in. Rather than a tap in we had an overhead scorpion kick and a Panenka (sorry, non-football lovers!), with La Mission offering up incredible fruit ripeness and finesse (‘this might just touch perfection’ 98-100 points) and Haut Brion a massively profiled beast with layers upon layers of structure, nuance and surprise (‘a multi-faceted giant & triumph’ 98-100 points).
Whilst these days spent criss-crossing Bordeaux tasting are exhausting, a vintage like 2022 is invigorating and the wines have been a joy to get to know. Tomorrow, we venture up to the Medoc, focussing on Pauillac and Saint-Estephe and you’ll be able to read my next report soon after.