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Pauillac en primeur 2022: full tasting notes

15 May 2023 By Colin Hay

The 2022 vintage in Pauillac has fared very well indeed, doing so at all class and price points, Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay reports. Here he gives his full tasting notes.

As Hay points out in his appellation overview, Pauillac – along with St Julien – has proved one of the most homogeneous appellations of the vintage – not something he expected to be writing when he left Paris to start the marathon of en primeur tastings a month ago.

In essence, it is a small harvest of high quality fruit with excellent wines and quality that is relatively homogeneous.

A note on the ratings

This year, as for the 2021 vintage before it, I have decided to provide an indicative rating for each wine alongside the published comment. All such comments and ratings are necessarily subjective (they cannot be anything else, when one thinks about it). I would urge you to look at the two together and, if anything, to privilege the comment over the rating. My aim is more to describe the wine in the context of the vintage, the appellation and recent vintages of the same and similar wines, rather than to judge the wine per se.

The ratings, of course, reflect my subjective evaluations and relative preferences between wines. Your palate is likely differ from mine. I hope that my comments give you at least enough information to be able to recalibrate my ratings and, in so doing, to align them more closely to your palate. To give an example: if the idea of the ‘new classicism’ leaves you cold, you may well wish to discount the (typically high) ratings I have given to wines described in such terms.

2022 is, of course, a far from entirely homogeneous vintage – and, consequently, my ratings span a considerable range (from the very top of the scale downwards). I see little interest, either for the consumer or the producer, in publishing very low scores. Consequently, I have decided not to publish scores for wines that I have rated below 90 (here the range 89-91). Where no rating is published, the wine would have scored 88-90 or below.

Finally, élevage is likely to be very important in determining the quality in bottle of these wines (like 2021 and rather more so than in other recent vintages). I am no soothsayer and cannot predict how that will turn out. All en primeur ratings should be treated with caution and taken with a certain pinch of salt.

Detailed tasting notes

D’Armailhac 2022 (Pauillac; 60% Cabernet Franc; 22% Merlot; 16% Cabernet Franc; 2% Petit Verdot; pH 3.83; 14.5%; tasted at the UGC press tasting and then at Mouton Rothschild with Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy). Sweetly-scented, red and darker berry fruited, lifted and fresh, this is quite distinctive and very complex. In comparison with Clerc Milon it is a little less chiselled by the tannins and has a correspondingly broader frame. A wine defined by the Cabernet Sauvignon – with lovely pepper and cassis notes enrobing the briary bramble fruit. The greater amplitude gives space for the sapidity to dance and build eddies of freshness. The tannins are considerable but really well managed. The evolution at d’Armailhac in recent vintages is most impressive and it continues here. I find this much more gracious than it used to be. Very detailed, layered and precise with the tannins both pixilating the mid-palate horizontally but also vertically (helping one appreciate the layering, in effect). Excellent. 93-95.

Batailley 2022 (Pauillac; 75% Cabernet Sauvignon; 22% Merlot; 3% Petit Verdot; tasted at the UGC press tasting and at Trottevieille). Gorgeously Pauillac with a nose exuding cedar and rather less oak than it used to. There’s a hint of violet florality too and a lovely marriage of black cherry and black berry fruit. Supple, elegant, well-structured with considerable density and layered complexity, this is both stylish and yet reassuring substantial. It will age graciously. A special engraved bottle to commemorate the life of Elizabeth II, Batailley 1947 having been served at her wedding. 93-95.

Carruades de Lafite 2022 (Pauillac; 53% Cabernet Sauvignon: 40% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc; 3% Petit Verdot). A little closed at first aromatically, slowly revealing its core of plum and dark berry fruit. This has impressive density and mid-palate concentration and highly refined, fine-grained, glossy, tannins. Broadly-structured, ample and profound in its layering, this is subtle, a little understated, pure and sapid even if it doesn’t really exactly scream Lafite to me. There’s a pleasing touch of graphite, the cedar that will follow will bring with it even more gravitas. All the ingredients are there for a very fine and composed Carruades, even if it doesn’t wow me at this stage. 92-94.

Clerc Milon 2022 (Pauillac; 59% Cabernet Sauvignon; 32% Merlot; 8% Cabernet Franc; 1% Carménère; pH 3.83; 14.5% tasted at the UGC press tasting and then at Mouton Rothschild with Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy). Much more floral than it usually is and incredibly refined, this is has the habit of a being something of a bruiser en primeur. Here, however, and in keeping with the recent evolution in its wine-making, we have a wine of great delicacy but also of pure fresh-fruited intensity. The tannins are ultra-fine grained and polished and they really do chisel and structure the flow of the fruit over the palate. Pepper, a little spice too and plump croquant (‘crunchy’) berries of all hues (well, all ripe hues), notably lots of blackcurrant and the additional freshness of redcurrant. Staggeringly concentrated and yet so light and lithe. The best en primeur sample I’ve tasted ever from here, with a striking freshness and a vivid raw energy. The product of passionate wine-making and those limestone tannins. 94-96.

Croizet-Bages 2022 (Pauillac; tasted at the UGC press tasting). It’s exciting to see the upward trajectory here. Always a rather classic, sometimes stolid, claret, this is now classy and appealing. Quite saline, but with a lovely full palate of crushed berry and stone fruit, a little walnut and graphite. Not yet the refinement of some of its peers, but heading in the right direction. The tannins I find just a little dry on the finish. 91-93.

Duhart-Milon 2022 (Pauillac; 78% Cabernet Sauvignon; 22% Merlot; tasted at Chateau Lafite). Plump, plush, full and bright with an intensely crunchy dark berry fruit full of juice (ironically, given the tiny size of the grapes). Cedar. Walnut. Very classical, as it always is. I find this engagingly sweet on the palate. Soft, layered, gracious and glassy, with finely polished beady tannins. It’s quite creamily textured in the mid-palate and for me does not have quite the definition and delineation of the 2019 or 2020. A little like Carraudes, all the ingredients are there, but at this stage (and tasted under far from ideal meteorological conditions it should be added), I miss a little the slightly sombre classicisim that I tend to associate with this wine even en primeur. 92-94+.

Fleur de Pédesclaux 2022 (Pauillac; 49% Merlot; 46% Caberent Sauvignon; 5% Petit Verdot). Pleasingly floral aromatically. Loganberry. Cedar and graphite. This is amply-framed, broad-shouldered, with good layering and quite impressive density. A wine that puts old vintages of the grand vin in the shade and a marker of the impressive momentum now established at Pédesclaux. There’s a lot of wine here – even if there are still quite a lot of tannins to resolve. Salivating on the finish. 91-93.

Fonbadet 2022 (Pauillac). Likely to be fabulous value in this vintage, a classy (if unclassified) Pauillac that sings harmoniously of its terroir. Aromatically this is very classical, if perhaps a little creamy, with red cherry and assorted freshly picked berries supported gently by cedar and graphite. On the palate, this is soft and unctuous, with ultra-fine grained tannins gently reinforcing the impression of detail and focus. There’s a nice pinch and lift towards the finish, even if the granular tannins remind you that this will really need 5 years in bottle. 90-92.

Les Forts de Latour 2022 (Pauillac; 58.7% Cabernet Sauvignon; 37.9% Merlot; 3.4% Petit Verdot; IPT 80; 14.47% alcohol; tasted at Latour). Glossy berry and cherry fruit. Quite sweet on the palate, but with just enough balancing acidity, if not the tension from the start of some of its neighbours and the grand vin Rich, ample, quite opulent and gracious and with those supremely fine-grained but crumbly ‘Latour’ tannins. Long and with a lovely natural sweetness on the finish. Grippy, chewily-textured and not quite the plush velvet of , say, Le Petit Mouton. I like the slightly wild moor-side herbal touch. There’s plenty of freshness here, too, but not yet the total harmony and balance that it sometimes achieves. But still very fine and I look forward to re-tasting this. 92-94.

Grand-Puy Ducasse 2022 (Pauillac; 58% Cabernet Sauvignon; 40% Merlot; 2% Petit Verdot; a final yield of 36 hl/ha; pH 3.72; 14.5% alcohol; tasted three times over 2 months, first in Paris, then in Bordeaux and then at the UGC press tasting). Resplendent in its new label that seems to capture well the new sense of energy and momentum of this wine. I like the choices made here. This is finer, less extracted and has much more freshness, brightness, lift and elegance than in recent vintages. On the nose, which is slightly restrained at first, there’s a subtle hint of graphite and of the cedar that will bring additional opulence to this with bottle age. Ripe blueberry and blackberry, a little bramble too, sweet almond and frangipane. On the palate the fruit is a little lighter in hue – with raspberries joining the blackberries and, in so doing, accentuating the sense of freshness. There’s nice detail too – and that will be aided further in the years to come with the considerable investment in small parcel vinification now underway. The tannins are just a little coarse on the finish. But this is very promising and the best recent vintage from here. 92-94.

Grand-Puy Lacoste 2022 (Pauillac; 79% Cabernet Sauvignon; 21% Merlot; pH 3.60; a final yield of 38 hl/ha; Eric Boissenot is the consultant here; tasted at the property with Emeline Borie). Wonderful in this vintage. Initially this is a little closed and restrained aromatically (and it was tasted first thing on a rather damp and cloudy morning). Fresh mint leaf, crushed red and darker berry and stone fruit show first – most notably the redcurrants and then the cassis. A glorious stalky leafiness gives added dimensionality and complexity to the fruit profile. I am struck by the gorgeous freshness of the mid-palate – which is cool and seems it impart considerable forward momentum, the freshness projecting the wine across the palate, the fine-grained tannins detailing and pixilating the layers as it does so. This brings wonderful clarity. A very crunchy berry fruit. Brambles, blackberry and more blackcurrant on the palate. With aeration in the mouth, lovely classic cedar notes are released, though this not yet expressive on the nose. The tannins are wonderfully supple, delicately the tight frame tight and binding the fruit to a very well defined central spine. Salivating, sapid and, because of that, incredibly precise and ‘clean’ on the finish with a little whisper of redcurrant and grape-skin as a parting note. 94-96.

Les Griffons 2022 (Pauillac; from the plateau overlooking the estuary; tasted at Pichon Baron). Tasted after Les Tourelles, this is fresher still, bright and crunchy and crisp and aromatically very open and expressive. The tannins are soft, the frame ample and broad-shouldered, but there’s nothing fore-square about this. Limpid, lithe and very impressive, with the kind of mid-palate detail and pixilation that you normally only expect to find in a grand vin. Very fresh and very juicy. The little touch of Petit Verdot (infused in amphorae) brings additional spice and pepper and reinforces the leafy undernotes. Really excellent. 92-94.

Haut-Bages Libéral 2022 (Pauillac; 87% Cabernet Sauvignon; 13% Merlot; a final yield of 45 hl/ha; pH 3.54; 13.9% alcohol; tasted with Claire Villars-Lurton at Ferrière; certified organic and biodynamic). As ever the wine is the greatest possible advert for organic and biodynamic viticulture and not just because, once again, Haut-Bages Libéral has achieved the highest overall vineyard yield of the appellation. A glorious hue in the glass – with a radiant lilac rim. This is extremely refined and gracious. Very, very soft for a grand Pauillac en primeur and very much at the summit of the appellation this year. Sandalwood. Candlewax. Bright red berry fruits – wild strawberry, red cherries, raspberry, loganberry and redcurrant. Fruit bonbons The limestone in the soil here gives this added lift and intensity. A pleasing but very natural sweetness. Above all, this is dynamic, the fine-grained tannins seem to enter into the core and create little currents, eddies and whirlpools releasing freshness as they do – and with it the salinity. Cool and lightly mentholated. A fascinating and very dynamic wine that seems to encapsulate the personality of its owner. 94-96.

Haut Batailley 2022 (Pauillac; 70% Cabernet Sauvignon; 30% Merlot; tasted at the UGC press tasting). Very pure, precise and focussed on the nose and with a lovely subtle austerity that I really like and that I now associate with this terroir. A delicate cedar seems to resonate perfectly with the blackcurrant fruit and redcurrant leaf undertone, bringing a cool focus to this that I particularly like. Slightly understated and less demonstrative than many and all the more classy for this, this is gracious, focused, precise and staggeringly beautiful. The most cassis-focussed of the Pauillacs in this vintage. 94-96.

Lacoste Borie 2022 (Pauillac; 56% Cabernet Sauvignon; 35% Merlot; 9% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 38 hl/ha; tasted at Grand-Puy Lacoste with Emeline Borie). Plush and with a lovely dark berry fruit – mulberries and black berries and brambles. Pure and fresh, but creamy and everything feels well-integrated. Gorgeous cedar and walnut notes too. A truly excellent second wine, as it so often is. Classy. Cool, fresh and dynamic. 91-93.

Lafite 2022 (Pauillac; 94% Cabernet Sauvignon; 5% Merlot; 1% Petit Verdot; pH 3.85; tasted at Lafite). Succulent. Svelte. A little closed at first. Ample in structure, incredibly soft despite the considerable density and vertical layering. A wine defined by its essential Cabernet Sauvignon cassis and the leafiness and additional freshness it brings. With aeration, fresher raspberry notes lift the wine further still. A very croquant (‘crunchy’) berry fruit. But the freshness is already so well enrobed and inscribed in the texture of the wine that this feels incredibly harmonious, well-integrated and complete. At this stage, one is struck by the finesse, the guile, the class and the elegance. But one feels that there’s a little more opulence to come with the cedar and graphite that, for now, are there but very delicate undertones. Pure, precise, very articulate and detailed but much more so on the palate that the nose. The potential is extraordinary, but like a lot of the very best wines of the vintage, this is rather closed, a little serious and even a tad grumpy for now. If ever there were a wine to re-taste it’s this! 97-99.

Latour 2022 (Pauillac; 92.45% Cabernet Sauvignon; 7.4% Merlot; 0.15% Petit Verdot; IPT 75; 14.2% alcohol; tasted at the property). Cool. Refined. Classy but somewhat closed and intimate at this stage. A touch of wild flowers and wild herbs – notably thyme. Dark cherry fruit, with its plump sapid berry freshness building in intensity with aeration. A little graphite with the cherries, a little cedar with the cassis notes. Lovely deep dark autumnal fruit notes almost spring up from below like a fountain to refresh the palate and break up the softer plump black cherry that one feels first. Texturally very interesting and dynamic. Juicy, sapid, fresh, bright and croquant. Good grippy tannins. Long and rippling on the finish. Like the other first, more of a vin de garde with the considerable tannins much more obvious on the finish. 96-98+.

Lynch Bages 2022 (Pauillac; 66% Cabernet Sauvignon; 28% Merlot; 3% Cabernet Franc; 3% Petit Verdot; tasted at the UGC press tasting). Gosh, this is fabulous. A wondrously dark and very pure fruit profile – like Haut Batailley but darker and more complex – cassis, blackcurrant, bramble and blackberry, more graphite than cedar and assorted aromatic peppercorns, freshly pounded in the mortar. A lovely subtle hint of lilac and patchouli too (though without the sweetness one sometime finds with the latter). Crystalline purity and pixilating precision in the mid-palate, which staggers with is shimmering whirlpools of juicy freshness. A simply glorious wine and a coup de coeur. 96-98.

Lynch Moussas 2022 (Pauillac; tasted at the UGC press tasting and then at Trottevieille). Onwards and upwards at Lynch Moussas too. Less oaky and with much more precision, detail, finesse and layering than before. This is excellent, if not perhaps with the softness and refinement of tannins of the truly great. But a wine that will age gracefully and express very well its Pauillac typicity. 92-94.

Moulin de Duhart 2022 (Pauillac; 87% Merlot; 13% Cabernet Sauvignon; tasted at Lafite). This is enticing and engaging. Soft, caressing with lots of cedar. Dark crushed berry fruit – very ripe brambles – and a distinct if subtle sweetness on the nose. Soft and sinuous this lacks density but compensates with a crystalline purity that is both captivating and very impressive. A great success. 89-91.

Mouton Rothschild 2022 (Pauillac; 92% Cabernet Sauvignon; 8% Merlot; pH 3.89; 14% alcohol; 49% grand vin; tasted at Mouton with Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy). The highest proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the final blend other than the 2010. Incredible. Magisterial. Almost pure Cabernet and defined of course by that. Fabulous. Succulent, refined, but with incredible finesse, guile and subtlety. Complete. Cassis and cassis leaf, black cherry, bramble, mulberry and damson. A little chocolate, very dark. So dense and compact yet this has an incredibly ample frame too. Dark cherry and stone fruit at first, then ripples of freshness breaking up the surface of the dark mirror-pool as if charged by cool undercurrents from the depths. And what depths! A wine of such gravitas. This is so thoroughly Mouton but with so much vivid energy and yet restraint. Infinite on the finish. Texturally so complex and yet so complete. A so staggeringly fresh and vivid. 98-100.

Pastourelle de Clerc Milon 2022 (Pauillac; 52% Cabernet Sauvignon; 40% Merlot; 5% Cabernet Franc; 2% Carménère: 1% Petit Verdot; pH 3.81; 14.5% alcohol; tasted at Mouton-Rothschild with Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy). This has great purity – cassis and bramble, a hint of loganberry. It’s leafy too, bringing freshness. A little graphite with air. Tight, taut, incredibly fresh and pure with impression precision. Creamy and racy. Lithe and with a great forward momentum across the palate. This is all about the fruit and the softness of the mid palate, but it has excellent concentration and depth too. 91-93+.

Pauillac de Château Latour 2022 (Pauillac; 48.8% Cabernet Sauvignon; 46.2% Merlot; 5% Petit Verdot; pH IPT 74; 14.2% alcohol; tasted at Latour). Limpid and viscous in the glass, with a radiant lilac rim. Cool graphite and a touch of cedar, dark black cherry fruit, a little red cherry, cassis, with leafy undertones and a wild herbal notes. Quite succulent. Svelte texturally, despite the considerable tannic grip. A nice balance. 91-93.

Pédesclaux 2022 (Pauillac; 68% Cabernet Sauvignon; 22% Merlot; 7% Cabernet Franc; 3% Petit Verdot; the first vintage certified organic; tasted at the property). A property that has undergone a very profound transformation over recent vintage. This is excellent and a step up to a new level. Lovely deep, dark cedary Pauillac, a little Duhart Milon in style, with gracious plump and plush dark berry fruit. Autumnal briary fruits and wild aromatic herbs. It also feels very organic in its energy and brilliance. Walnut and a little nutty creaminess in the mid-palate but not at the expense of the detail. Very impressive. Loaded and layered, yet succulent and soft, with each layer finely delineated by the tannins – offering almost a form of horizontal pixilation. Sapid, salivating, juicy. The best yet. 93-95.

Le Petit Mouton 2022 (Pauillac; 71% Cabernet Sauvignon; 19% Merlot; 7CF/3; pH 3.86; 14.2; 60% new oak; 25% Petit Mouton; tasted at Mouton Rothschild with Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy). Wow. Lovely. Deep, dark, plunge-pool cool with incredible finesse and incredible density. Lovely dark berry fruits, black cherries, cedar and copious amounts of graphite intermingle to impart a subtle, calm and cool graciousness. Sublime. How can the grand vin (tasted afterwards) be a step up from this? I love the dark shade of the fruit in the mouth on the attack and how aeration in the mouth releases the more leafy Cabernet/cassis undertones and their fresh sapid juiciness. This is very tense. There’s also more tannin in this (in grams per litre) than the grand vin itself – you’d have no idea (or I didn’t). A little rose petal florality too. A lightness that is gravity-defying. The best of the first growth seconds. 94-96.

Pibran 2022 (Pauillac; 55% Merlot; 45% Cabernet Sauvignon; tasted at Pichon Baron). Glossy, full, quite rich and plump. Radiant with a crunchy raspberry and loganberry fruit. This comes from the north of the appellation near Pontet Canet on a limestone and clay terroir (hence the preponderance of Merlot); the Cabernet Sauvignon is on gravel. Very fresh and vertical (from the limestone), elegant and yet with a very dynamic freshness. This has a traditional claret structure, with lots of mid-palate density but with those lovely, crumbly, limestone tannins. Clean and long on the finish. 91-93.

Pichon Baron 2022 (Pauillac; 81% Cabernet Sauvignon; 19% Merlot; from the very best plots and the older vines overlooking the river; tasted at Pichon Baron with Pierre Montégut). A very fine Pichon Baron and a continuation, indeed an acceleration, of the subtle change in style here over the last few vintages. This is quite vertical on the nose, but actually a little closed and almost intimate at first. But with time in the glass and gentle aeration it starts to relax and unfurl, becoming ever more expansive and expressive in the process. Raspberry, bramble, mulberry, subtle floral elements – mimosa, assorted white flowers and saffron – that are revealed by the restraint in the vinification here (one feels that more is on display due to the deftness of touch). In the mouth, this is fabulous texturally. Ample and broad-framed yet super-svelte and with less evident oak that just gently supports the fruit. Vinified in smaller containers and with more precision – and it shows. There is more delineation and definition than ever before and a fine sense of pixilation. Very fresh and just gorgeous in its purity and focussed precision. I love the Pauillac growl from the abundant graphite. Ample in breadth and yet so light and aerial. Pierre Montégut’s signature is already very present. A refinement of a much-loved style. 96-98.

Pichon Comtesse de Lalande 2022 (Pauillac; 78% Cabernet Sauvignon; 17% Merlot; 5% Cabernet Franc; 13.5% alcohol; tasted at the UGC press tasting and at Pichon Comtesse de Lalande). Even though this is introvert it could not be any other wine, and it is even more introvert at the property when tasted a second time. Intimate, beautiful, gracious and elegant in its total refinement and precision, this unfurls slowly with violets and lilacs emerging first, then the plump stone and berry fruit – damson, sloes, blackcurrant and blueberry – and only then the cedar. On the palate, the same. The tannins are so soft – beads of the finest polished glass – that it takes a little while to notice the weight and density of the wine in the mouth … it is the sensation of weightlessness and coolness that comes first, then one tunes in on the tannins, picking up their granularity as they in turn start to pick out and pixilate every glorious detail and then paint every pixel. When you return to the glass, the violets and cedar are just profoundly wondrous. Captivating. It’s less demonstrative at this stage than the 2020 and more subtle and just a little more profound too, perhaps. 97-99+.

Pontet Canet 2022 (Pauillac; 57% Cabernet Sauvignon; 35% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc; 4% Petit Verdot; yields are down around a fifth here; 14.75% alcohol; tasted at the property). The earliest start to the harvest and the longest ever recorded at Pontet Canet. The old vines coped very well with the hydric stress. Limpid, very dark purple/black in the glass with crimson and lilac highlights and a punk pink rim. Crushed and concentrated bramble fruit picked at perfect ripeness with a lovely natural sweetness. A little mocha and a hint of tobacco smoke. An impact wine with lots of intense berry fruit sapidity and a dense and compact mid-palate. Vivid, bright, energetic and dynamic. Glossily-textured too and yet very substantial, almost colossal. At first it’s tight and closed and the fruit almost seems a little blitzed and blended, though aeration seems to bring greater clarity and delineation. This is quite slender in its frame but amazingly densely packed as a consequence. The tannins are considerable and quite crumbly and tactile on the finish, but they remain fine-grained and polished. Not as crystalline or luminous as some, the mid-palate is almost too compact and hence too charged with fruit for that. Very chewy. But that is its style and it is undoubtedly very impressive. That said, this feels a little hot just before the finish but a cool mint leaf freshness returns. There’s lots going on here and this feels like it’ll need time to cohere, but the ingredients are impressive. 94-96.

Reserve de la Comtesse 2022 (Pauillac; 54% Cabernet Sauvignon; 34% Merlot; 10% Petit Verdot; 2% Cabernet Franc; tasted at Pichon Comtesse). That creamy subtle violet florality, those glossy dark plump juicy black cherries and dark berries, those glorious tannins. You know you’re at Pichon Comtesse! Ethereal and mysterious. Cool, yet naturally sweet and a little less austere than the 2020, more opulent but equally gracious. A stunning second wine, reminding me a little of Le Petit Mouton and even more so of Pichon Comtesse itself. 94-96.

Domaine Les Sadons 2022 (Pauillac; a tiny property of three parcels next to the Pichons and Latour and just 0.87 hectares in total; over 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, a little Petit Verdot and the rest Merlot). A lovely archetypically Médocain nose of cedar and walnut shell over brambles, blackberries and blackcurrant. I adore the little hints of violet and wild rosemary. Impressively structured with great depth and concentration really showing off the high quality of the terroir(s) here – one can’t help ask oneself where these parcels might end up if the neighbours were to acquire them (whilst also enjoying the fact that they haven’t)! Gracious and opulent, yet brimming with fresh-fruited sapidity. Put me down for a case or two! 92-94.

Tourelles de Longueville 2022 (Pauillac; 65% Merlot; 26% Cabernet Sauvignon; 9% Cabernet Franc). Darker fruited than Pibran, as ever – with mulberries and brambles alongside the raspberries. Great freshness. This comes from the western part of the appellation near Batailley on a darker, sandy gravel terroir with the parcels planted in 1989. A little sweet spicing – nutmeg and clove, but just a hint. Accessible, soft and gracious. Limpid and fresh and quite dynamic with lovely glossy tannins and that fresh acidity bubbling up from below. This is easy and accessible but with plenty of structure too. 91-93+.

Please click link for db’s 2022 en primeur vintage report, along with appellation-by-appellation reviews (links updated as they become available) on Margaux, St Julien, Pessac-Leognan & Graves rouge and blanc, St Estèphe & Haut-Medoc, Pauillac, Pomerol, Saint-Émilion and Sauternes.

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