The 2022 Bordeaux wine vintage is brilliant – and a big surprise

ABOUT a month ago, I was swirling, sniffing, sipping and spitting a stunning barrel sample of first growth Chateau Mouton Rothschild. It was my first taste of Bordeaux’s 2022 vintage. Over the next two weeks in the region, I sampled impressive wines at dozens of chateaux and official press tastings. Most of them completely upended all my expectations – and everyone else’s.

After all, the 2022 growing season was a drama of non-stop extreme weather: April frosts, June rainstorms, record-breaking heat waves, severe drought and hail.

Emmanuel Cruse of Chateau d’Issan said: “We were thinking it might be a vintage of hot, heavy, overripe, unbalanced wines. Considering all the bad conditions, we are extremely lucky to have such an amazing, unique vintage.”

Buyers from 71 countries and 5,300 journalists descended on the region for this year’s official en primeur week from Apr 24 to 27, with many others arriving before and after, reported the Union des Grands Crus, the organisation of 132 top chateaux that sponsors group tastings for the trade and media. The purpose of the annual event is to showcase the latest vintage even as wines are still ageing in barrels, and to woo merchants around the world to buy the wines as futures.

The best 60 of the 400 or so I tasted are gorgeous, with stellar examples in every appellation and at all price points. That said, note my word “best”. Not every chateau got it right, and the wines aren’t as homogeneous as they were in 2016 or 2019. Meaning, you have to know which ones to pick. (See my list below.)

“We were surprised by the wines’ freshness” was the mantra repeated by just about every winemaker and chateau owner. The top ones have the richness, ripe fruit and concentration of a warm year, but also the bright flavours and vivid floral aromas of a cool one. Combine these attributes with velvety textures and ripe tannins, and you have winners on your hands.

Guillaume Pouthier of Les Carmes Haut-Brion declared: “The 2022 vintage has the power of 2020, the elegance of 2019, the richness of 2018 – it’s like three different vintages in one bottle.”

How did winemakers pull off such bright, fresh wines in a season all about heat and drought?

Every winemaker seemed to have a different explanation, but agreed the tricky year was not as bad as 2003, in which the human cost far overshadowed industry concerns. In France alone, more than 14,000 people died from extreme heat that summer.

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Christian Moueix, owner of many great properties in Pomerol and Saint Emilion, laid out important weather numbers: “There were 249 hours of sun in July and 248 in August – 11 hours and 15 minutes of sun every day for two months – more than in Miami! But we had a good quantity of rain in June to face the summer.”

Though the amount varied from spot to spot, the timing of the rain was key to the vines’ resilience, giving them a good start ahead of the tumultuous weather. At Lafite Rothschild, I heard it meant the vines were more ready to adapt to the extreme drought of July and August.

Pierre-Olivier Clouet of Chateau Cheval Blanc gave a nod to the “intelligence” of the vines: “From the beginning in the spring, they didn’t have a lot of water, so they managed themselves, and grew slowly.”

Others credit cool night temperatures for preserving the freshness and intensity of aromas despite daytime heat.

Some stress is good for vines. It generally produces more intense and better wines. Too much heat and drought will prompt leaves to yellow and drop off, and the vines to stop growing. In most places that didn’t happen, and the leaves looked green, even when nearby trees suffered.

“We were more stressed than the vines,” says Guillaume Thienpont of Vieux Chateau Certan, another star in 2022.

And since 2003, the top winemakers have learned what to do and what not do in hot, dry conditions. For example, planting cover crops between the vine rows, which you now see all over Bordeaux, trains roots to go deep to obtain water.

At Pichon Comtesse, one of the year’s great successes, Nicolas Glumineau says biodynamic farming techniques, which use special organic sprays and plants to boost soil health, also kept the soil temperature 7 to 10 deg C lower and helped vines survive.

Pontet-Canet and Les Carmes Haut-Brion coated grapes and vine leaves with white clay to reflect the sun’s heat and act like sunscreen.

The grapes were small, so one worry was the resulting ratio of tannin in the skin and seeds, relative to the amount of juice. Chateau Margaux’s Philippe Bascaules, who worked and still consults at Napa’s Inglenook, used the One Xray software program he had helped develop for California conditions to analyse tannin levels during fermentation. If the amount in the juice increased too much, he adjusted his extraction methods.

Soil composition mattered, too. “This is a vintage made below ground and not on the surface,” Aymeric de Gironde of Troplong Mondot insists. “The word of the year in Saint-Emilion is limestone. In our vineyards, it’s like a sponge, capturing rain in winter and releasing it in summer.”

Ultimately, this was a climate change-driven vintage. At Mouton, it was the earliest harvest since 1893. Some chateaux, such as Troplong Mondot and Lafite Rothschild, started picking red grapes at the end of August instead of in September, or, as with historical harvests, October.

But Pierre-Olivier Clouet warns: “The year 2022 was bad news for Bordeaux. Yes, heat and rain happened at the right times. With global warming, there’s no guarantee that will happen in the future.”

Bordeaux wine futures: Should you buy now? 

To recap how the futures game works, you put your money down now while the wine is still ageing in barrels and, in about two years, you get your bottled wines.

Collectors used to presume prices would always be higher later, but in recent years, some wines have been cheaper when they arrive in bottle. The real reason to buy now is to lock in your favourite wines and pick the format (be they magnums or half bottles, for example). 

Prices have begun to roll out, and they are not unreasonable, from unchanged to 25 per cent higher than last year. Shaun Bishop, CEO of retailer JJ Buckley, points out that “the 2019 vintage faced tariffs, the 2020 vintage was released during Covid, 2021 is a lesser-quality vintage, and the dollar is now in a pretty strong position at (about) US$1.10 to the euro, too”.

One huge caveat: Buy only from a merchant with a top track record for delivering the wines, like Millesima USA, JJ Buckley, Zachys, Sotheby’s or K&L Wine Merchants in the US, or Farr Vintners or Bordeaux Index in the UK. There have been cases of merchants not delivering on futures (recently Premier Cru, and lawsuits against Sherry-Lehmann). You may not get your money back either.

What 2022 Bordeaux futures to buy

As usual, all the first growths, as well as Right Bank stars Petrus, Lafleur, Le Pin and Ausone, are among the best wines of the vintage. Mouton Rothschild stands out for its power, lush density and polished velvety texture, while Margaux is the definition of seamless harmony, with aromas of lilies and violet-y flavours.

I have listed below the other wines that especially wowed me, including five that offer value. Prices are for single 750ml bottles, unless otherwise noted.

12 TOP BORDEAUX WINES

Cheval Blanc (US$670) My top wine of the vintage, this deep, plush, layered red is charged with vibrant energy, and its sumptuous velvety texture makes you feel almost like drinking it right now.

Vieux Chateau Certan (Not yet priced) Seamless and pure, with aromas that recall peonies, wild herbs and wet limestone, VCC is a sensual and structured Pomerol, with bright fruit and spicy notes.

Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (Not yet priced) A polished, ultra-refined Left Bank classic, it is even better than the superb 2016, with aromas of violets, licorice and rose petals and complex deep fruit and truffle flavours.

Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse (Not yet priced) In 2021, 30-year-old Josephine Duffau-Lagarrosse was able to keep her Saint-Emilion family estate with an investment from 30-year-old Prisca Courtin-Clarins of the cosmetic company. This vintage is compelling, vivid and seductive, with a rippling texture like raw silk unrolling.

Leoville Las Cases (Not yet priced) This beautiful red from Saint-Julien is a confident mix of power, density and precision, as well as a very long finish. It’s a “don’t touch me for 20 years” wine.

Figeac (Not yet priced) In 2022, Figeac was promoted to the top classification in Saint-Emilion, and the team went all out to make a great wine. Filled with energy and lift, it is also creamy and rich, with smoke and flower aromas.

La Conseillante (Not yet priced) A gorgeous, vibrant, almost juicy wine, with lilac scents and spicy blueberry and cassis flavour notes, it is one of the best from this estate in Pomerol.

Domaine de Chevalier (Not yet priced) This vintage will carry a special galloping horse label to celebrate Olivier Bernard’s 40th year running the domaine. The wine tops recent vintages with its racy, cool fruit, licorice and rose petal aromas, and has enough structure to age well.

Brane-Cantenac (Not yet priced) This red manages to be both charming and serious at the same time. It is polished and smooth, with bright cranberry and cassis flavours, with tang and spice in the finish.

Troplong Mondot (Not yet priced) Full-bodied and a bit exotic, this combines the taste of dark berries, with a chalky minerality. It is multidimensional, concentrated, intense and vivid.

Les Carmes Haut-Brion (Not yet priced) Very pure, deep, complex, mineral-tinged flavours, suave tannins and herb and floral aromas add up to one of the best wines this estate has made.

L’Eglise Clinet (Not yet priced) Fine cigar aromas, deep sweet-fruit flavours with a mineral element, rounded tannins and a savoury finish – what’s not to like?

FIVE VALUE BORDEAUX WINES

Siran (US$33) The wines from this Margaux chateau get better and better. This vintage is glossy, balanced, silky and charming, with ripe blackberry juiciness.

Bellefont-Belcier (US$45) This estate, with a new owner since 2018, is in the throes of a major revival. Cassis-and-raspberry-scented, it also boasts fine rounded tannins and serious structure.

Batailley (£372 for 12 bottles) This classic Pauillac is generally good value, and this year, it is more sophisticated, with refined tannins, a long finish and a special label to honour Queen Elizabeth II.

Tronquoy (£236 for 12 bottles) Very smooth, rich, powerful and spicy, it is all about cassis aromas and complex black fruit flavours. The label used to be Tronquoy-Lalande.

Langoa-Barton (US$50) A classic St Julien that punches way above its price, with mint, cassis and smoky plum aromas and deep, tangy, cherry-and-spice flavour notes. There is plenty of tannin for ageing, too. BLOOMBERG