Côte-Rôtie

Young Côte-Rôties are normally fairly easy to read, but that wasn’t the case with the 2022s. Many of them appeared very fruity, with soft structures, lacking energy and aromatic detail. There were some excellent exceptions however, often from those originating from old vines grown on schist and fermented with a proportion of whole bunch.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for top-scoring Côte-Rôtie & Condrieu 2022 wines

See all 400 Rhône 2022 tasting notes and scores

Rhône 2022 full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Northern Rhône 2022: Full report and top-scoring wines

Matt Walls’ top-scoring Côte-Rôtie & Condrieu 2022 wines:

The wines below all scored 95 points or above, and are listed Condrieu then Côte-Rôtie in score order.

Related articles

Walls: Côte-Rôtie 2019 in bottle

Walls’ hidden gems: Domaine Garon, Côte-Rôtie

Regional profile: Condrieu plus 12 wines to seek out

The post Côte-Rôtie & Condrieu 2022: Report and top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

It felt like I was tasting two different vintages while working my way through more than 100 St-Josephs this year. Some of the reds were diminutive but fresh and well-balanced; others were soft, luxurious and liqueur-fruited.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for top-scoring St-Joseph 2022 wines

See all 400 Rhône 2022 tasting notes and scores

Rhône 2022 full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Northern Rhône 2022: Full report and top-scoring wines

Matt Walls’ top-scoring St-Joseph 2022 wines:

The wines below all scored 92 points or above, and are listed white then red in score order.

Related articles

Rhône 2022 en primeur diary: The north

Walls: Discovering St-Joseph estate Martine & Christian Rouchier

St-Joseph 2021: report and top-scoring wines

The post St-Joseph 2022: Report and top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

Cornas

It was particularly dry in Cornas, with about 100mm of rain between April and harvest, according to Pierre Clape. It’s no surprise therefore that the ripening blockages are felt more keenly here than elsewhere in the north. ‘But the leaves stayed green, in contrast to 2003,’ says Clape.

Tannins can be difficult, rough and fibrous in places, but, both here and elsewhere, sensitive use of oak has helped to paper over the cracks and add some palate weight.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for top-scoring Cornas & St-Péray 2022 wines

See all 400 Rhône 2022 tasting notes and scores

Rhône 2022 full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Northern Rhône 2022: Full report and top-scoring wines

Matt Walls’ top-scoring Cornas & St-Péray 2022 wines:

The wines below all scored 92 points or above, and are listed in order of St-Péray and Cornas in score order.

Related articles

Walls: 10 exciting estates to know in Cornas

Cornas to drink now: Matt Walls’ top 20

Expert’s Choice: St-Péray

The post Cornas & St-Péray 2022: Report and top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

It’s an unusual style of red Hermitage this year: smaller in structure and stature than a usual year. Again, as with other appellations, it’s primarily down to problems with ripening – Guillaume Sorrel said it didn’t rain at all on the hill of Hermitage in June, July or August, and Maxime Chapoutier remembers the mercury hitting 40 ̊C as early as June.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for top-scoring Hermitage 2022 wines

See all 400 Rhône 2022 tasting notes and scores

Rhône 2022 full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Northern Rhône 2022: Full report and top-scoring wines

Matt Walls’ top-scoring Hermitage 2022 wines:

The wines below scored 92 points and above, and are listed white then red in score order.

Related articles:

Walls: Get to know the 20 lieux-dits of Hermitage

Walls: Tasting Hermitage 2001 20 years on

Getting to know white Hermitage

The post Hermitage 2022: Report and top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

After the disastrous 2021 vintage, 2022 is certainly a step up, though stylistically it couldn’t be more varied.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for top-scoring Crozes-Hermitage 2022 wines

See all 400 Rhône 2022 tasting notes and scores

Rhône 2022 full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Northern Rhône 2022: Full report and top-scoring wines

Matt Walls’ top-scoring Crozes-Hermitage 2022 wines:

The wines below all scored 90 points or above, and are listed white then red in score order.

Related articles:

Crozes-Hermitage 2021: report and top-scoring wines

Rhône producer to know: Domaine Laurent Habrard, Crozes-Hermitage

Northern Rhône whites: Panel tasting results

The post Crozes-Hermitage 2022: Report and top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

‘Most will drink young and into the medium term, but the more tannic, structured wines will take a long time to soften, then age for decades’

Top-scoring northern Rhône 2022 wines:

The wines below all scored 96 points or above, and are listed white then red in score order.

Related articles

Rhône 2022 en primeur diary: The north

Northern Rhône whites: Panel tasting results

Walls: top northern Rhône reds under £30

The post Northern Rhône 2022: Full report and top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

Rasteau

Outside Châteauneuf, the best performing appellation was Rasteau. There were no problems with green tannins here, which Jérôme Bressy of Domaine Gourt de Mautens believes is thanks to the abundance of clay. The 2022 vintage has delivered wines with bright fruit, good concentration and balanced alcohol. They are often robustly tannic however, so pay close attention to drinking windows.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and score for top Rasteau, Cairanne & Vinsobres 2022 wines

Matt Walls’ top-scoring Rasteau, Cairanne & Vinsobres 2022 wines:

See below the top-scoring Rasteau, Cairanne and Vinsobres wines, listed by appellation and white then red in score order.

Related articles

Walls: Rasteau 2020 in bottle

Behind Rasteau’s renaissance plus 10 ‘new look’ bottles to seek out

Regional profile: Cairanne

The post Rasteau, Cairanne & Vinsobres 2022: Report and top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

Lirac

On top of drought and intense heat in 2022, the west bank of the Rhône also had to deal with hail, which caused localised damage.

The reds in Lirac are very concentrated this year, sometimes overripe or sternly tannic. The whites and rosés based on Clairette tend to be the most vibrant.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and score for top Lirac & Tavel 2022 wines

See all 400 Rhône 2022 tasting notes and scores

Rhône 2022 full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Southern Rhône 2022 full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Matt Walls’ top-scoring Lirac & Tavel 2022 wines:

See below all of the Tavel and Lirac wines from the 2022 en primeur report.

Related articles

Walls: Tavel and its unexpected revolution

Guigal acquires Tavel rosé estate Château d’Aqueria

Walls: Tasting Château de Montfaucon – ‘Lirac’s finest wines’

The post Lirac & Tavel 2022: report and top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

Gigondas

The picture is more mixed in Gigondas than in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with more instances of unripe tannin due to higher crop loads or picking too early.

The successful wines have impact, freshness and low alcohol, even if they aren’t always terribly deep or long in flavour. The best however are excellent, and I share the opinion of Louis Barruol of Château de Saint Cosme that these will age with interest.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and score for top Gigondas, Vacqueyras & Beaumes de Venise 2022 wines

Matt Walls’ top-scoring Gigondas, Vacqueyras & Beaumes de Venise 2022 wines:

The wines below all scored 92 points or above, and are listed in order of Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Beaumes de Venise, white then red in score order.

Related articles

Gigondas to produce white wines

Walls: Celebrating 50 years of Gigondas

Walls: Vacqueyras 2015 vs 2016 – how are they drinking now?

The post Gigondas, Vacqueyras & Beaumes de Venise 2022: Report and top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

Antoine Daumen of Domaine de la Vieille Julienne was unsure about the season as it progressed. ‘We were cautious to begin with, we had low expectations,’ he says, ‘but the old vines were still very healthy at the end despite the dryness.’ He was pleased with the domaine’s wines in 2022 – they have silky tannins, moderate alcohol and good acidity.

Châteauneuf rode out the challenges of 2022 better than any other appellation this year, and unpleasantly green tannins are relatively rare.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2022 wines

Matt Walls’ top-scoring Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2022 wines:

The wines below all scored 95 points or above, and are listed white then red in score order.

Related articles

Walls: 26 value Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines to try

Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2019 & 2009: panel tasting results

Expert’s Choice: White Châteauneuf-du-Pape

The post Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2022: Report and top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

‘Hot, dry vintages tend to favour red wines and 2022 is no exception. In general the style is fairly concentrated and fruity, if not profound’

Top-scoring southern Rhône 2022 wines:

A selection of 30 southern Rhône wines which scored 95 points or above, listed white then red in score order.

Related articles

Rhône 2022 en primeur diary: The south

Get to know Southern Rhône: Good, better, best

Southern Rhône white wines: how do they compare?

The post Southern Rhône 2022: Full report and top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

Rhône 2022 en primeur vintage rating:

‘Never before has a vintage so confounded my expectations’

While preparing for my three-week visit to taste the 2022 vintage in the Rhône, I read that the region experienced the hottest and driest growing season since 1950. Even hotter and drier than 2003 – a vintage burned into the memory of local winemakers. So I approached the tastings with a degree of trepidation. Extreme conditions rarely make for balanced wines.

Scroll down for Matt Walls’ top-scoring Rhône 2022 wines

Top-scoring Rhône 2022 wines

See below the 30 highest scoring wines, listed white then red in score order.

Related articles

Rhône 2022 en primeur diary: The north

Rhône 2022 en primeur diary: The south

Walls: Best Rhône wine lists in the UK

The post Rhône 2022 en primeur: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

A week in the life of a Rhône correspondent during en primeur…

Monday 2 October

Gigondas village. Credit: Matt Walls

I start the week with a particularly challenging tasting: 120 samples of 2022 Gigondas, tasted blind. It’s challenging not just because of the number of wines (though high), but their tannic intensity this year. Picking them apart requires sustained concentration. Some are very good this year, others really not: a refrain of the vintage.

Dinner at Les Florets near Gigondas with some friends from the London wine trade who happen to be in town. The restaurant has a great wine list: I order a Domaine des Tours Grande Réserve Côtes-du-Rhône 2014. On paper it might not look exciting: a generic appellation in a weak vintage. But this is Emmanuel Reynaud’s Vacqueyras, declassified in 2014 just because of its pale colour. It’s fabulous – one of my wines of the year so far.

Tuesday 3 October

Frédéri Férigoule at Le Sang des Cailloux. Credit: Matt Walls

An early start today at the Vacqueyras growers’ association to taste a similar number of samples from this appellation. It tastes like a different vintage here compared to Gigondas: juicier and more accessible. Considering the heatwave and drought conditions I didn’t expect such balanced wines.

In the afternoon, I meet with Frédéri Férigoule of Le Sang des Cailloux. His reds are lovely, but he had to discard his white cuvée Un Sang Blanc in 2022 because of the difficulties he faced during vinification. It’s a big loss, as his 2020 and 2021 are among the best white wines of the southern Rhône. If you’re a fan too, snap up these back vintages while you wait for the 2023.

Wednesday 4 October

Serge and Brigitte Mouriesse of Mouriesse Vinum. Credit: Matt Walls

I begin three days of tasting Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the mistral whistling through the courtyard outside. A new discovery for me is Mouriesse Vinum, a tiny estate established by Serge and Brigitte Mouriesse. Serge was a consultant winemaker for many years and gradually amassed some small parcels of Grenache on sand. It’s a deliciously old-fashioned Châteauneuf. Dinner at La Mère Germaine in the village is seriously good – a must-visit if you’re in the region.

Thursday 5 October

The 1957 from Château de Beaucastel. Credit: Matt Walls

Tasting more Châteauneuf today, followed by a visit to Vieux Télégraphe, which had planned to pick its whites on 16 August in 2022. Two days before, however, a band of hail tore through its vineyards on the La Crau plateau. ‘There were no more leaves, no more grapes, nothing – a catastrophe,’ winemaker Nicolas Brunier said, when he visited the vines afterwards. It’s the first time in Vieux Télégraphe’s long history that it’s made no red or white Vieux Télégraphe. Fortunately, the other wines in its Rhône portfolio are on good form.

Later on, I take a look around Château de Beaucastel’s impressive new cellar, which is taking shape now and should be finished by summer 2024. César Perrin opened a 1957 Beaucastel; not a great vintage, but the wine is still in impressive shape. It will easily last 80 years – a reminder of Châteauneuf’s preternatural longevity.

Friday 6 October

Decanter’s Rhône correspondent, Matt Walls, at Château Rayas. Credit: Matt Walls

I finish the Châteauneuf samples in the morning, then visit Vincent Avril at Clos des Papes. After tasting his 2022s, he offered to open some older vintages. Perhaps perversely, I asked if we could taste his 2008 – the worst vintage of the past 20 years. It was beautifully drinkable and complex, confirming my belief in the peerless consistency of these wines.

Afterwards, Château Rayas. Tasting with Emmanuel Reynaud is always enlightening. Whites are rich and opulent this year, reds fresh and precise. He recommends opening bottes of red Rayas well in advance of drinking; certainly one or two days before, even three or four (just pulling the cork then leaving the wine to stand in a cool place, around 15 ̊C, and not decanting). He’s had good results with 10 days prior opening. I’m not sure I’m that brave!

Monday 9 October

Blind tasting at the Institut Rhodanien. Credit: Matt Walls

After a weekend spent in Avignon, I travel to the Institut Rhodanien to taste in the lecture theatre, an unglamorous but efficient setting to work through samples of the remaining six Rhône crus: Beaumes de Venise, Cairanne, Lirac, Rasteau, Tavel and Vinsobres.

My en primeur visit to the Rhône has clashed with harvest dates at Domaine Gourt de Mautens these past few years, but Jérôme Bressy kindly finds an hour to meet this evening. His wines remain under the radar, but there’s no doubt they’re among the best in the Rhône. A man with strong opinions and wines of immense character.

Tuesday 10 October

Châteauneuf-du-Pape tasted blind. Credit: Matt Walls

I wake up to fog, which cleared as I reached the Institut. It felt like a rather obvious metaphor – the questions I had over the 2022 vintage in the southern Rhône are now largely clarified. There are some extremely tannic wines in 2022, but also some elegant, juicy ones with moderate alcohol. Grenache has performed well, as has Mourvèdre.

Wednesday 11 October

Tasting at Domaine de la Chapelle. Credit: Matt Walls

A drive up to the northern Rhône today to mop up a few key producers that I missed the first time around. I visit Paul Jaboulet Aîné, who has created a new distinct estate, Domaine de la Chapelle. From the 2022 vintage, this will be the home of Hermitage La Chapelle red and white. Full article to follow on Decanter Premium.

Thursday 12 October

Vineyards of E Guigal. Credit: Matt Walls

The day starts with an early tasting at Domaine Jean-Louis Chave. It’s never too early to taste with Jean-Louis. The difference between the clay-based Hermitage terroirs and those grown on granite couldn’t be more marked this year. A strong case for blending.

I finish the day with a great honour: the first journalist to taste the inaugural vintage of E Guigal’s Côte-Rôtie La Reynarde – the new, fourth ‘La La’. It’s very good and will feature in my full 2022 vintage report, which will be published in a few weeks’ time.

I write this last entry at the end of a long day, sitting in the Paris Eurostar terminal, computer on my lap, eating a packet of Lay’s bacon flavour 3D Bugles (god-tier crisps) and half a battered baguette. Tomorrow I’ll start writing in earnest. That’s when the real work begins!

Related articles

Rhône 2022 en primeur diary: The north

Walls’ hidden gems: Domaine François Merlin & 12 wines tasted

Regional profile: Condrieu plus 12 wines to seek out

The post Rhône 2022 en primeur diary: The south appeared first on Decanter.

A week in the life of a Rhône correspondent during en primeur…

Sunday 17 September

Tain l’Hermitage train station. Credit: Matt Walls.

If I leave my house in the UK after breakfast, I can reach Tain l’Hermitage by train in time for dinner. It’s a journey I make several times a year, but my autumn visit when I taste the new vintage (in this case the 2022) is the most instructive – and the most gruelling. Tasting around 80 wines a day takes a lot of concentration and you finish the day exhausted. Is that the sound of tiny violins I hear as I pull into the station? I press on undeterred.

For a region so obsessed with rugby, it’s surprisingly difficult to find somewhere to watch this evening’s England game. I’m directed to a new bar on the edge of town that opened a few months ago, called Numéro 9. It does a good burger and the terrace has a panoramic view of the hill of Hermitage – a sight I never tire of.

After the match, my mind turns to the week ahead, five days of intensive tasting and visits. I’ve heard it was a hot and dry vintage, but reading some weather reports clarifies the situation – 2022 was the hottest and driest since 1950. Uh-oh. Will I find a repeat of the jammy 2003s, a year that suffered similar conditions? I sincerely hope not.

Monday 18 September

Tasting 2022s at Chapoutier. Credit: Matt Walls.

I’m woken up at 5am by a clap of thunder. It’s still raining when I get up. Normally I walk up to the Chapelle on Hermitage hill before a day’s tasting in Tain, but the lazy devil on my shoulder is rather smug – I have a satisfactory excuse to skip the morning’s exercise. I drive to the Maison des Vins, windscreen wipers on maximum, which will be my base for the next few days.

After lunch I visit Chapoutier to taste through its 2022s, including some very impressive Hermitage. Maxime Chapoutier says they saw 180mm of rain in certain parcels during the last 12 hours – that’s a quarter of a year’s rainfall. The term ‘climate chaos’ is no exaggeration.

I finish the day at Le Tournesol restaurant in Tournon. It’s run by a welcoming husband-and-wife team serving small plates of seasonal French cooking, and has an exceptional wine list with lots of hard-to-find gems. Worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Tuesday 19 September

Rain damage in Hermitage. Credit: Matt Walls.

I get up early to blue skies. The foot of the hill of Hermitage is cluttered with heaps of sandy soil washed down the slopes, broken échalas (the poles on which the vines are trained), bits of old vine…despite a small tree blocking the path I make my way to the summit. The Rhône River flows a muddy brown below.

Today I’m tasting Cornas and Hermitage. Expecting sweetly ripe fruit and high alcohol, what I find is the opposite – light, just-ripe wines, sometimes with green tannins. It’s confounding.

An afternoon visiting Pierre and Olivier Clape of Domaine Clape, then Franck Balthazar of his eponymous domaine, sheds some light on the vintage – it was so dry in 2022 that some vines shut down and stopped ripening. Things begin to make sense.

Wednesday 20 September

Blind tasting at the Maisons des Vins. Credit: Matt Walls.

I work through the whites today. Some appellations, such as St-Joseph, are more successful than others. It’s certainly not as fresh and tense in style as the cool 2021 – quite the opposite, rich and potent.

A visit to Domaine Gonon is always a highlight of my northern Rhône tastings. Jean Gonon is buoyant but weary after a tough season – he’s just finished harvesting the 2023s. ‘The most stressful moment is deciding when to pick,’ he says, and stresses the importance of having a good team at harvest.

We taste the 2019, 2020 and 2021 wines from bottle; a sample of 2022 from tank; then take a peek at his 2023s, still fermenting, frothy and sweet.

Thursday 21 September

A daunting line-up of red Crozes-Hermitage today – 76 in total. The hot, dry weather is reflected in the wines here: very ripe, powerful, with suede-like tannins. They are certainly more successful than the disastrous 2021s, but not all have good balance.

Afterwards I meet with Grégory Joannès, the new managing director of Paul Jaboulet Aîné. The company has been restructured, and a new property established. The jewel in the Jaboulet crown, Hermitage La Chapelle, has been scythed off, and will now be made in a new winery called Domaine de la Chapelle. Paul Jaboulet Aîné will continue to make its other domaine wines and negociant blends, with a tighter focus on the northern Rhône. I’ll get the full low-down in November.

Friday 22 September

Pierre Rostaing of Domaine Rostaing. Credit: Matt Walls.

A day of visits around Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu today, starting at 9am at Domaine JP Jamet. Wow, its Côte-Rôties are tannic! Certainly more structured than a typical year, but still detailed, fresh and expressive.

Pierre Rostaing’s are softer and more velvety in style. The weather in 2022 made for a relatively relaxed end to the season – there was no grass to cut and no disease pressure due to the drought. But ‘it was hard to watch the vines suffer,’ he says. Usually around 1% of his vines die naturally each year. It was 3%-4% in 2022. There will be a lot of replanting to do this winter.

A comprehensive tasting of Stéphane Ogier’s single-vineyard wines, some brilliant, finishes a long and enlightening week.

I expected wines akin to 2003 or 2019; what I found was a fascinating if curious mix of 2014, 2016 and 2018. Is it a good year? Yes; but not uniformly. It will be interesting to see how the southern Rhône compares. I’ll let you know.

Look out for Matt Walls’ southern Rhône diary next week.

Related articles

Bordeaux 2022: The en primeur experience

Walls: 26 value Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines to try

Northern Rhône whites: Panel tasting results

The post Rhône 2022 en primeur diary: The north appeared first on Decanter.

Fortunately for wine lovers, the news from Burgundy this year is overwhelmingly positive. The quality of the 2022 vintage is very good, and the crop generally was abundant. If prices realistically are not going to decline, neither will they climb as much as they have in recent years.

With the 2021 vintage, the focus was on ‘catastrophic’ frost damage and 80% losses. This year, Burgundians have a single word to sum up their new harvest: ‘generous’.

Related articles

Mâconnais: Value heroes of Burgundy plus the 20 wines to seek out

Value Burgundy: Top 30 reds and whites under £20

DBR Lafite in talks to buy Chablis producer William Fèvre from Artémis

The post Burgundy 2022: What to expect appeared first on Decanter.

The article below was written at the start of the campaign and published in the June 2023 issue of Decanter magazine. See our Bordeaux 2022 en primeur news section for more recent updates on releases in recent weeks, and stay tuned for more analysis on how the campaign has progressed.

As early en primeur releases reflect the trend of rising prices, some wines are selling well in a cautious market.

Bordeaux 2022 en primeur releases have been testing buyers’ appetite in a relatively sluggish fine wine market, with early debuts showing price rises on last year’s campaign.

Châteaux Cheval Blanc and Angélus effectively kick-started the Bordeaux en primeur campaign in May. On an ex-Bordeaux négociant basis, Cheval Blanc 2022 was released at €470 per bottle, up 20.5% on the 2021-vintage release price, with Angélus 2022 at €350 per bottle, up 32%, said Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.

Latest: Figeac 2022 released with 100-point potential

Related articles

Bordeaux 2022: our verdict and top scoring wines

Bordeaux: Figeac 2022 released with 100-point potential

Mouton Rothschild 2022 release likely to ‘sell out’

Château Lafite Rothschild 2022 released en primeur

The post Wine investment: Bordeaux 2022 new releases appeared first on Decanter.

Figeac 2022 was released today (22 June) at €252 per bottle ex-négociant, which represents a 55% jump on the release price of the 2021 vintage in last year’s Bordeaux en primeur campaign, said Liv-ex.

Figeac 2022 was offered in the UK at £3,036 per case (12x75cl in bond).

That’s a notable price jump, even in a Bordeaux 2022 en primeur campaign that has largely pitched wines as among the most expensive in recent years, backed by high ratings from critics.

Decanter’s Georgie Hindle rated Figeac 2022 at 98 points en primeur, adding it is a potential 100-point wine in-the-making. Look out for a possible upgrade once the wine is re-tasted in-bottle.

‘An incredibly impressive wine in 2022 [that is] shaping up to be the wine of the vintage,’ Hindle wrote. ‘It seems to defy the hot and dry conditions in every way [and] delivers such confidence and charm it makes it hard to resist.’

Liv-ex said the volume of wine released was down 20% on last year. Whilst the price is higher than some merchants expected, market confidence in Figeac has also been particularly buoyant following a run of high-quality vintages.

Prices have risen on the secondary market, and Figeac was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé A status in the new St-Emilion Classification last year.

UK-based merchant Bordeaux Index said, ‘This [2022] wine represents an important moment in history for the estate and they couldn’t have done a better job.’

Château Canon 2022 was another major release from St-Emilion this week, at €120 per bottle ex-négociant, around 33% up on the 2021-vintage en primeur release, said Liv-ex.

At £1,440 per case (12x75cl in bond) in the UK, Liv-ex said the 2022 vintage was one of the best value Canon wines on the market. UK merchant Farr Vintners said Canon 2022 was ‘massively oversubscribed and has sold out’.

Hindle rated Canon 2022 at 98 points. ‘A superb Canon in 2022,’ she wrote, describing it as ‘extremely polished and charming’.

Canon has also seen strong market momentum in recent years. Analyst group Wine Lister said high-scoring Canon 2020 has risen in price by 85% since release.

This, it said, indicated ‘potentially strong investment potential for the even higher-scoring 2022 vintage’.

Pomerol’s La Conseillante 2022 is another potential 100-point wine released this week. ‘A sensational effort in 2022, utterly fabulous and one of my favourites,’ wrote Hindle, giving it 98 points en primeur with a potential upgrade on the cards.

It debuted at €222 per bottle ex-négociant, up 42% on last year’s 2021-vintage release price, said Liv-ex. It was offered in the UK at £2,652 (12x75cl in bond), slightly cheaper than the 2018, 2016 and 2015 vintages, showed Liv-ex data.

First growths

This week has also seen the other three first growths joining Lafite on the market.

Mouton, Haut-Brion and Margaux 2022 were all released at €516 per bottle ex-négociant, up nearly 23% on the estates’ 2021-vintage debut pricng, said Liv-ex.

In the UK, Haut-Brion 2022 was £6,180 per case, Margaux 2022 was £6,192 and Mouton Rothschild 2022 was £6,216 (12x75cl in bond). Fellow first growth Château Latour no longer releases its wine en primeur.

Haut-Brion 2022 was rated 96 points by Decanter’s Hindle, with both Mouton 2022 and Margaux 2022 at 98 points.

Margaux 2022’s opening price was broadly in-line with the 2020 and 2019 vintages, showed Liv-ex data. Château Margaux 2015 is significantly more expensive than all other recent vintages. It received high ratings, and was also the final vintage of the estate’s late managing director Paul Pontallier.

Price debate likely to continue

Pricing is always a talking point at Bordeaux en primeur, but releases this year have been at the higher end of some merchants’ forecasts – and above forecasts in some cases, as previously reported.

Some top names have reportedly sold well, yet the wines are also entering a sluggish fine wine market.

Liv-ex said earlier this week, ‘There seems to be a disconnect between the prices set by châteaux, who are increasingly relying on the subset of buyers who will take their allocation regardless of price, and the general market sentiment.’

Related articles

Mouton Rothschild 2022 release likely to ‘sell out’

Château Lafite Rothschild 2022 released en primeur

The post Bordeaux: Figeac 2022 released with 100-point potential appeared first on Decanter.

Mouton Rothschild became the second first growth to release its 2022 vintage en primeur this morning (20 June), emerging at €516 per bottle ex-négociant in Bordeaux, up nearly 23% on the 2021 vintage release last year, said Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.

Mouton Rothschild 2022 was offered at £6,216 per case (12x75cl in bond) in the UK.

Liv-ex data showed this was broadly level with the current price of the 2018 vintage, and slightly below the lauded 2016 vintage.

Decanter’s Georgie Hindle rated Mouton 2022 at 98 points. ‘One of my favourite 2022s,’ she wrote after tasting the wine en primeur. It has the concentration of the hot vintage, she said, but added, ‘this just screams elegance and finesse, and above all drinkability’.

While Mouton Rothschild’s year-on-year release price increase was more modest than some other major properties, it again underlined how Bordeaux’s 2022 vintage is being pitched en primeur as among recent greats on the market.

Analyst group Wine Lister said Mouton 2009 and 2010 were also available at a similar price to the 2022 vintage.

‘With the 2020 and 2019 offering discounts on the current release (c.14% and c.10% respectively), some buyers may consider looking for price-quality ratio in those offers,’ it said. ‘Nonetheless, with volumes down 30% and Mouton’s mythical brand, this [release] will presumably sell out regardless.’

Thomas Parker MW, buyer at Farr Vintners, said the merchant was still working out allocations for Mouton but that it was likely to sell out to pre-orders, given the reduction in volume released.

He said of the campaign in general, ‘I think [it’s] fair to say that the wines in demand have reduced release volumes, and anybody looking to buy these wines has had to pre-order to have a chance of securing an allocation at opening prices.’

Each estate has its own market context, but some châteaux have gone bigger than others on price.

Château Léoville Las Cases 2022 was released yesterday (19 June) at €230 per bottle ex-négociant, up 36% on the 2021-vintage release price, according to Liv-ex.

Farr Vintners said a ‘tiny’ first tranche was offered to buyers who bought Las Cases 2021 last year, with a second tranche then released more widely and available for £3,100 (12x75cl in bond).

‘This makes it the most expensive vintage of Las Cases in the market today after 2000, but this wine has amazing reviews,’ the merchant said.

St-Julien-based Las Cases is already considered a ‘super second’ growth, and Decanter’s Hindle said Las Cases 2022 is a potential 100-point wine. She gave it 98 points at en primeur, pending a possible upgrade once bottled. ‘One of the wines of the vintage with striking power but delivered so perfectly with everything in balance,’ she said.

In St-Emilion, Château Pavie 2022 (96 points, Decanter) was also released en primeur this week, at €300 per bottle ex-négociant, up 28.5% on the 2021 vintage opening price, said Liv-ex. It was offered in the UK at £3,756 (12x75cl in bond).

‘The 2022 comes onto the market above all vintages back to 2005,’ said Wine Lister.

Related articles

Château Lafite Rothschild 2022 released en primeur

Bordeaux 2022: Our en primeur verdict and top-scoring wines

Back to the Bordeaux 2022 en primeur homepage

The post Mouton Rothschild 2022 release likely to 'sell out' appeared first on Decanter.

Lafite Rothschild 2022 was released en primeur this morning at €580 per bottle ex-négociant, which represents a 23.4% increase on the debut price of the Pauillac first growth’s 2021 vintage last year, according to Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.

Lafite 2022 was being offered by the UK trade at £7,140 per case (12x75cl in bond).

Analyst group Wine Lister said of the Lafite release, ‘Following its recent pattern of being the first first [growth] out of the gate, Lafite 2022 enters the market above the [price of] 2021 and 2020 vintages, but below all other comparably-scoring back vintages.’

It said it expected the release to get ‘snapped up’, highlighting brand name, pricing strategy, quality and ‘reduced volumes in 2022’ as all factors playing in Lafite’s favour on the market.

Bordeaux 2022 is shaping up to be a fascinating vintage, with plenty of high scores from critics and the added intrigue of how estates dealt with extremely hot and dry conditions.

Lafite saw its earliest harvest in more than a century, said Decanter’s Georgie Hindle, who gave Lafite Rothschild 2022 98 points after tasting it en primeur. ‘A wonderful example of restraint and delicacy in a year where it was easy to overdo,’ she wrote.

However, there has also been a lot of debate within the trade about pricing levels in the Bordeaux 2022 en primeur campaign so far. A number of estates have pitched their still-in-barrel wines as among the most expensive vintages on the market.

While this has created a degree of consternation among some UK merchants, several of them also note that some top names have still sold through to buyers.

Liv-ex said earlier this week, ‘These price hikes have led to a situation where some individuals are still participating in the campaign, while others simply don’t have the funds to do so.’

Arthur Coggill, at Goedhuis & Co, said that the merchant hasn’t offered some wines, due to prices. Others have found buyers, he said, such as Brane-Cantenac, ‘where they have arguably made their best wine ever, and so the price rise did make sense’.

In the US, meanwhile, Shaun Bishop, CEO of JJ Buckley in California, said he believed Bordeaux 2022 was a vintage that held a lot of appeal to American buyers.

‘People get caught up with the price relative to past vintages,’ he said. ‘2022 will appeal to both old and new world drinkers,’ he said. ‘Plus it will be approachable early and can age. So the vintage uniquely offers more than most previous good vintages.’

He added, ‘If we consider the vintage on its own merit, we realise that the overall value that many 2022 vintage wines are delivering is very high.’

There is buyer demand for top names, he said, although he added that there is an established pattern that en primeur doesn’t work so well for all estates, especially those retailing for under €50-a-bottle.

Retail prices in the US for Bordeaux 2022 wines were around 10% higher than for the 2020 vintage, he noted.

Other big-name releases this morning include Château Montrose 2022, which debuted at €144 per bottle ex-négociant, up 26.3% on last year’s release, according to Liv-ex.

The wine was offered by UK merchants at £1,746 (12x75cl in bond), said Liv-ex. Its data showed the wine was above several recent vintages, but cheaper than the lauded Montrose 2016.

Wine Lister said the volume of wine released was down 40% versus the 2021 vintage en primeur release.

Hindle rated Montrose 2022 at 97 points, writing, ‘This carries the strength of the vintage well, focused and precise with detail and a sense of energy that is so impactful.’

Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the LiveTrade trading platform at Bordeaux Index, said, ‘Both Lafite and Montrose have been released at prices which are neither attractive relative value nor as “out there” as some other prices we have seen this week.’

He added, ‘There will be collector interest in both, but naturally less focus from those with more of a financial leaning.’

O’Connell previously said he believed the campaign overall was more one for collectors than fine wine investors.

On the Right Bank, this morning also saw L’Eglise Clinet released en primeur, while recent days have seen launches for super second star Cos d’Estournel, as well as top names Haut-Bailly, Pontet Canet and Calon Ségur.

The post Château Lafite Rothschild 2022 released en primeur appeared first on Decanter.

Château Pichon Baron 2022 was released en primeur at €134.4 per bottle ex-négociant this morning (12 June), which is up 21.7% on its 2021-vintage release price, said Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade. It was being offered in the UK at £1,620 (12x75cl in bond).

‘A sublime wine in the making,’ wrote Decanter’s Georgie Hindle, rating Pichon Baron 2022 at 97 points after tasting it en primeur.

Liv-ex data showed the wine was more expensive on release than other recent Pichon Baron vintages, and analyst group Wine Lister said the wine ‘may not fly with the price-sensitive, but may work with fans of the estate and buyers excited by the quality of the vintage’.

Relatively ambitious pricing has been a theme of the Bordeaux 2022 en primeur campaign so far.

Rauzan-Ségla 2022 emerged at €84 per bottle ex-négociant on Friday (9 June), up 40% on last year’s release. At £1,010 (12x75cl in bond), ‘the new wines comes at a premium to other vintages on the market’, said Liv-ex.

Strong ratings on many Bordeaux 2022 wines have invited comparisons with some of the best years in Bordeaux’s recent back catalogue, and there is also added fascination in the way winemakers dealt with hot, dry conditions of the 2022 growing season.

Liv-ex warned last week of ‘unease’ in the trade as the Bordeaux en primeur campaign enters a crucial period, however.

Prior to the Pichon Baron and Rauzan-Ségla releases, it said ex-négociant prices were up 14% on average year-on-year in the campaign so far, coming into a fine wine market that has struggled for momentum in 2023.

Some collectors have still swooped on top wines. Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2022 was ‘massively oversubscribed’, said Farr Vintners.

‘Les Carmes Haut-Brion has been released today with a big reduction on last year’s quantity,’ said the UK merchant. ‘We have allocated it as fairly as possibly with last year’s buyers at the front of the queue and this is now sold out.’

Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2022 was released at €108 per bottle ex-négociant, up 34.3% on the 2021-vintage release price, and offered in the UK at £1,320 (12x75cl in bond), according to Liv-ex.

Hindle gave the wine 98 points but said it has the potential to hit the full 100. ‘A standout success’ in the 2022 vintage,’ she said.

Wine Lister highlighted some market context. ‘Les Carmes Haut-Brion has shown strong price performance post-release over the past five years,’ it said. When this is blended with critical acclaim, the 2022 vintage becomes an ‘obvious buy’, it added.

Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the LiveTrade trading platform at Bordeaux Index, said there has been ‘healthy enough’ buyer interest in several top Bordeaux 2022 wines released so far, including Cheval Blanc, Palmer and Pichon Comtesse.

‘Demand has not been off the charts, [but] it’s been a bit healthier than one might imagine just looking at the prices.’

Rather than compare prices to 2021-vintage releases, he said he preferred to look at how an estate’s 2022 vintage compares to 2020, 2019 and 2016.

Prices have been at the upper end of the merchant’s expectations, yet some collectors have decided they want to own these ‘interesting and very high quality examples of Bordeaux’, he said.

Farr Vintners said much of the Pichon Comtesse 2022 released last week sold to pre-orders. It was offered by UK merchants at £2,046 (12x75cl in bond), said Liv-ex, which added the wine debuted ex-négociant at €170 per bottle, up 28.8% on the 2021-vintage release price.

Pichon Comtesse 2022 is a contender for wine of the vintage, and Hindle pinpointed the Pauillac second growth as another prospective 100-pointer.

She gave it 98 points at en primeur, adding, ‘One of my favourite wines from 2022, utterly seductive from the first sip, this is a stunning effort that shows the power of Pauillac in 2022 delivered with elegance and class.’

Related articles

Bordeaux 2022: Our en primeur verdict and top-scoring wines

Lafleur 2022 en primeur release ‘one of best buys’

Bordeaux 2022 en primeur prices forecast to rise, finds Liv-ex

The post Bordeaux 2022: Pichon Baron released en primeur appeared first on Decanter.