2022 Bordeaux En Primeur - Key Releases So Far
We have seen the first flush of releases from the 2022 Bordeaux En Primeur Campaign in the last two weeks, and demand has been strong. The likes of Cheval Blanc and Leoville Barton were instant sell-outs, and many more are in short supply. With the most attractive wines going fast, we thought now was the perfect time to send a round–up of what we still have available.
Angelus entered the market on a high with a 98-100 point score and has been snapped up by fans for the estate. Batailley is a value pick for Pauillac connoisseurs, and Beychevelle, as is usually the case, looks very well priced against back vintages (hence us only having three cases left!). Duhart-Milon, sister winery to Lafite, is a lovely wine this year, as is La Clotte which comes from the Ausone stable.
We complete the list with a trio of bargains: Laroque, Moulin St Georges and Tronquoy. All have a combination of quality, score and price that prove Bordeaux is still one of the best regions on the planet to find value fine wines.
2022 Chateau Angelus
£2,148 per case (6*75cl) in bond
£2,154 per case mags (3*150cl) in bond
98-100 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2022 Château Angélus is made up of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc with a pH of 3.65. Deep garnet-purple colored, it prances out of the glass with flamboyant notes of red currant jelly, wild blueberries, cassis, and candied violets, followed by suggestions of jasmine tea, star anise, and crushed rocks. The full-bodied palate is impactful from first sip, yet slowly expands in the mouth, ultimately over-delivering on the nose’s promise with layer upon layer of perfumed black and red fruits, supported by super fine-grained, silt-like tannins, finishing long and achingly shimmery.
2022 Chateau Batailley
£186 per case (6*75cl) in bond
£192 per case mags (3*150cl) in bond
96 points Jane Anson
You can’t ignore the construction of the tannins here, but there is a plenty of juice in between and this is a gorgeous Batailley. On brand Pauillac, as it so often is, delivering slate, liquorice, energy, cassis, blackberry, orange peel, cardamom, black pepper, graphite, grip. Classic balance also, you don’t feel you are in an extreme vintage here. Two thirds of the production is in the first wine of Batailley in this vintage. 55% new oak.
2022 Chateau Beychevelle
£417 per case (6*75cl) in bond
94-96 points Antonio Galloni
The 2022 Beychevelle is fabulous. In most recent vintages Beychevelle has been a flamboyant, extravagant Saint-Julien, but in 2022 is it’s surprisingly vibrant and fresh, almost shockingly so. Ripe red cherry/plum fruit, blood orange, rose petal and spice are all beautifully delineated. More than anything, I admire the wine’s freshness and drive, qualities that have not often been present in recent vintages. That makes the 2022 one of my favorite recent vintages here. Tasted three times.
2022 Chateau La Clotte
£365 per case (6*75cl OWC) in bond
£371 per case mags (3*150cl OWC) in bond
94-97 points Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from vines southwest of the village and 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Château La Clotte is one of my favorites in the lineup from the Vauthier family in 2022. Ripe black cherries, red plums, espresso, baking spices, and a beautiful sense of minerality all define the aromatics, and it’s medium to full-bodied, with nicely integrated oak, ripe tannins, and a great finish.
2022 Chateau Duhart-Milon
£378 per case (6*75cl) in bond
£384 per case mags (3*150cl) in bond
94-96+ points Jeb Dunnuck
The 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.
2022 Chateau Laroque
£293 per case (12*75cl) in bond
£305 per case mags (6*150cl) in bond
95-97 points Jeb Dunnuck
Clearly one of the new superstars in the appellation, Château Laroque is located on the cooler, eastern edge of Saint-Emilion and consists of pure, classic upper plateau limestone soils. The estate covers a whopping 54 hectares, which gives director Davie Suire ample flexibility when putting together the Grand Vin. Looking at the 2022 Laroque, it’s a blend of 98% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc from healthy yields of 41 hectoliters per hectare, representing just 45% of the total production, and it will spend 16-18 months in 50% new French oak. This deep purple-hued beauty offers a classic Saint-Emilion bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, tobacco, and a liquid rock-like sense of minerality. It’s medium to full-bodied, has incredible purity, and ultra-fine tannins. It’s unquestionably another beautiful vintage for this chateau that readers will love.
2022 Chateau Moulin St Georges
£145 per case (6*75cl OC) in bond
£151 per case mags (3*150cl OC) in bond
95 points Jane Anson
A luxurious feel, with velvety tannins, enjoyable ripe black fruits, gourmet touches of smoked vanilla root and liqourice, all well drawn out through the palate, and providing plenty of estate signature. A well balanced luscious wien with a saline limestone twist. 3.55ph, 100% new oak. 28hl/h yield, smaller than across the rest of the Ausone range because of 50 year old vines planted almost entirely by Alain Vauthier when he arrived 1970. Harvest September 19 to 26.
2022 Chateau Tronquoy
£118 per case (6*75cl OC) in bond
94-96 points Jeb Dunnuck
Lots of plums, blue and black fruits, earth, chocolate, and hints of earth all emerge from the 2022 Château Tronquoy-Lalande, a full-bodied, pure, powerful Saint-Estèphe with impressive tannins and a great finish. It shows more floral and red-fruited nuances with time in the glass, and this is clearly a beautiful wine in the making. It shows the ripeness of the vintage while staying pure, balanced, and seamless. (2023) www.jebdunnuck.com
Offered subject to final confirmation. Available in 2024/2025.
