There, it's done. My first primeur season is over. A wonderful week of sharing, discovery, but above all learning. How do you project yourself on a wine that is still only at the beginning of its ageing? I must admit that it was not very complicated given the character of the wines tasted throughout the week.

Every year the world of wine meets for a big week in the Bordeaux region, it is the famous period of primeurs. The objective is to allow traders, journalists and various players in this universe to discover the latest vintage, which is still in aging.

The vintage of resilience

Adaptation of the vine, better understanding of solar vintages or both combined? It is still difficult to explain how this vintage, which gave winegrowers so much trouble, was able to establish itself as one of the most promising vintages.

After a remarkable 2020 vintage, a most contrasting 2021, here is 2022, of which everyone is unanimously praising the marvelous potential. In a first part, a presentation of the vintage from a climatic point of view then in a second part the tasting notes by appellation, finally, you will be able to find my tasting comments as the week progresses.

Climatological presentation

It is said that the years pass and are not alike, however a phenomenon is now well in place, global warming. Over the last decade we have been able to observe that there are more and more solar vintages, which leads to a permanent adaptation of winegrowers, from the work of the vineyard to the cellar.

2022 is no exception to the rule, it is part of this kind of vintage with unexpected results, this kind of vintage which highlights the hard work of the winegrowers to produce an exceptional wine. A successful bet, after having experienced a most trying summer season, the wines, still at the start of their ageing, are of exceptional quality. Who would have believed it at the end of August?

A dry winter

A modestly drier winter than usual, a few cool nights during the month of March allow the vine to bud (or awaken) later than in 2021, this is what will more or less preserve it consequences of late frosts. These famous frosts arrive at the beginning of April and will have considerably less disastrous consequences than in 2021.

The spring is coming

The vine is developing peacefully, with April being the only month in 2022 with average temperatures (minimum average temperature of 8.1 and maximum of 18°C). A tranquility that will give way to concern from the month of May.

If, until then, the temperatures were rather mild, the month of May will accelerate the development of the vine to the point of making it early. The fault has summer climatic conditions with days above 30°C, making it the hottest month of May since 1950. The flowering of the vine begins in mid-May in a fairly homogeneous way, but again, the climate will make the winegrowers sweat. Violent hailstorms (lasting about ten days) will cause significant damage, which fortunately will remain very localized.  

Summer is setting in and will be historic

In line with the previous month, in June the heat wave sets in with a first episode lasting 3 days (June 16, 17 and 18). Following that, come many storms, with torrential rains for a period of about 9 days. Once again, this rain was accompanied by hail locally, with very little impact on the vineyard. A rainy episode that will be appreciated by the vines and beneficial in the months to come.

In July the heat is well established, and more and more intense, with a new heat wave from mid-July. This time the temperatures are very high, going up to 35°C without rain.

This intense and lasting dry heat will suggest the arrival of water stress for the vines, the lack of water is felt on some of the most drained terroirs. Only the vines planted on the least drained soils still benefit from a small lull, in particular thanks to the rains of June. However, the early character of the vintage is accentuated and the berries stop growing. This will explain, at harvest time, the small size of the grapes.

Veraison will begin from the 20th. Moreover, at the end of July the first signs of scalding appear and will call on the mastery of viticultural practices by winegrowers to limit its impact. In particular, they will limit the leaf stripping of the plots as much as possible.

If July is trying, August is no less so, however, the moderate night temperatures will relieve the vines a little of all the heat and drought felt during the day. Veraison will end after the weekend of August 15.

The maturation process will then begin, and to do so, the vine will have the chance to benefit from an ideal climate. Temperatures are gradually returning to normal with the arrival of a few small rainy episodes without having any real impact on the size of the grapes. The date of the harvest is approaching peacefully.

Who says early vintage says early harvest, and here again, 2022 will be remembered as a vintage harvested at historically early dates.

Beginning of the harvest with the dry whites

Sauvignons reserved for dry whites will open the ball, with the start of the harvest on August 9 in the Sauternes to extend to the entire white vineyard the following week. The harvested grapes will suggest a fairly low acidity with a good aromatic potential.

The Semillons will be harvested from August 13 with sweet and concentrated grapes, with great aromatic intensity.

Such a harvest bodes well for the production of fine dry white wines, with great potential.

Make way for reds

The red grapes are small in size, but with a fairly high sugar concentration and a potential alcohol content above 13%Vol from the end of August.

The first Merlots are harvested from the first week of September, in complete serenity with ideal climatic conditions, to end in the middle of the month. The grapes are fruity, sweet, with an acidity among the lowest noted for 10 years.

The Cabernet Sauvignon bunches are harvested in mid-September until the beginning of October under equally ideal climatic conditions. Like the Merlots, the Cabernets have a beautiful aromatic intensity, very sweet with one of the lowest acidities measured for 12 years, which is quite unusual for such a late-ripening variety.

Harvests so far perfect, where the winegrowers will have simply based themselves on the analytical and taste criteria as the grapes were in a remarkable sanitary state.

If the dry whites and the red wines benefited from ideal conditions for the harvest, the Sauternes and its sweet wines are still far from it.

Big fright for sweet wines

If everything has gone without a hitch for the moment, there is a problem that persists. The total absence of Botrytis Cinerea, a fungus essential to the production of sweet Sauternes wines.

At the end of August, when the harvest of dry white wines ends, the grapes used to make these unique wines are ripe, healthy and in sufficient quantity. The first visits to the plots begin in the second half of September, with the aim of harvesting the raisined grapes.

The humidity arrives on September 24 and will allow Botrytis to settle rather quickly and homogeneously on the vineyard, the only downside being the low concentration of the grapes. It is from there that the fear of a total loss of harvest will emerge.

Some will take the decision to harvest at the beginning of October, even if it means having imperfect grapes but which will allow them to guarantee production, while others will make a bet, that of waiting for the arrival of climatic conditions allowing a better concentration of the grapes. .

A successful bet, since in mid-October the heat mixed with a vigorous easterly wind will allow a dazzling and homogeneous concentration of the grapes. The harvest will begin at the beginning of the second half of October. The grapes harvested are of extraordinary quality, pure, low in acid, with a remarkably high sugar content. Volumes are higher than in previous years with extraordinary potential.

End of harvest

It is therefore at the end of October, almost three months after the first harvest for dry whites, that the ban on the harvest of the 2022 vintage sounds in Bordeaux. Once again, the nerves of the winegrowers will have been put to the test, but will not have flinched. A year that was as trying for the vines as it was for the people, but with exceptional results.

So we can legitimately ask ourselves several questions: Has the vine shown its resilience? Is it a better approach to solar vintages combined with a perfect mastery of viticulture techniques? Nobody really knows, the only thing we know now is that the 2022 vintage will go down in history.

Firstly for its climatic conditions with the sequence of several heat waves, secondly for the earliness of its harvests and especially for their duration, and finally, for the exceptional potential of the wines which have been produced and which are still in farms. A vintage that will leave its mark on the vineyard, with the certainty of one thing, it is more than ever time to take into account the evolution of climatological conditions.

Rates

From the left bank to the right bank, passing through the Graves and the Sauternes, the 2022 vintage is clearly full of promise, with a singular expression on each of the appellations.

After having been able to taste more than 150 wines, here is a small tour of the different appellations with these few notes.

Pauillac

• Château Batailley 95 – 96/100
• Château Clerc Milon 95 – 96/100
• Château Croizet-Bages 92 – 93/100
• Château D’Armailhac 95 – 96/100
• Château Duhart-Million 95 – 97/100
• Château Grand Puy Ducasse 95 – 96/100
• Château Grand Puy Lacoste 95 – 96/100
• Château Haut-Batailley 94 – 95/100
• Château Lynch Bages 97 – 98/100
• Château Lynch Moussas 93 – 94/100
• Château Pichon Baron de Longueville 97 – 99/100
• Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse De Lalande 98 – 99/100

Saint-Estèphe

• Château Cos Labory 93/100
• Château De Pez 94/100
• Château Les Ormes de Pez 95/100
• Château Phélan Ségur 96 – 97/100

Saint-Julien

• Château Beychevelle 97 – 98/100
• Château Branaire Ducru 96 – 97/100
• Château Gloria 94/100
• Château Gruaud Larose 96/100
• Château Lagrange 96 – 97/100
• Château Langoa-Barton 95 – 96/100
• Château Léoville Barton 97 – 99/100
• Château Léoville Poyferré 97 – 98/100
• Château Saint-Pierre 95 – 96/100
• Château Talbot 96 – 97/100

Margaux

• Château Cantenac Brown 95 – 96/100
• Château Dauzac 95 – 96/100
• Château Desmirail 94 – 95/100
• Château Du Tertre 95 – 96/100
• Château Giscours 95 – 96/100
• Château Labégorce 94/100
• Château Lascombes 95 – 96/100
• Château Marquis de Terme 94 – 95/100
• Château Monbrison 93/100
• Château Prieuré Lichine 95 – 96/100
• Château Rauzan Gassie 93 – 95 /100
• Château Siran 94 – 95/100

Haut-Médoc

• Château Beaumont 92/100
• Château Belgrave 93 – 94/100
• Château de Camensac 92 – 93/100
• Château Cantemerle 94 – 95/100
• Château Citran 91/100
• Château Coufran 92/100
• Château La Lagune 94 – 95/100
• Château de Lamarque 93 – 94/100
• Château La Tour Carnet 93 – 94/100

Listrac-Médoc

• Château Clarke 93/100
• Château Fonréaud 92/100
• Château Fourcas Dupré 93/100
• Château Fourcas Hosten 93/100

Moulis-en-Médoc

• Château Chasse Spleen 94/100
• Château Poujeaux 94/100
• Château Maucaillou 92/100

Pessac-Léognan blancs

• Château Bouscaut 92 – 93/100
• Château Carbonnieux 93 – 94/100
• Domaine de Chevalier 95 – 96/100
• Château De Fieuzal 94 – 95/100
• Château De France 90 – 92/100
• Château Larrivet Haut-Brion 93/100
• Château Latour-Martillac 95/100
• Château La Louvière 92 – 93/100
• Château Olivier 93 – 94/100
• Château Pape Clément 96/100
• Château Picque Caillou 91/100

Pessac-Léognan rouges

• Château Bouscaut                        92 – 93/100
• Château Carbonnieux                 94 – 95/100
• Domaine de Chevalier                 97 – 99/100
• Château De Fieuzal                      93 – 95/100
• Château De France                       91 – 92/100
• Château Haut-Bergey                  93 – 95/100
• Château Larrivet Haut-Brion      93 – 94/100
• Château Latour-Martillac            94 – 95/100
• Château La Louvière                    92 – 93/100
• Château Malartic-Lagravière      95 – 96/100
• Château Olivier                           94/100
• Château Pape Clément                97 – 98/100
• Château Picque Caillou 91 – 93/100              

Sauternes

• Château d’Arche 93 – 94/100
• Château Bastor-Lamontagne 91-92/100
• Château Broustet 91/100
• Château Coutet 95 – 97/100
• Château Climens 94 – 96/100
• Château Doisy-Daëne 94 – 96/100
• Château Doisy-Védrines 93 – 94/100
• Château de Fargues 96 – 98/100
• Château Filhot 92 – 93/100
• Château Guiraud 95 – 97/100
• Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 96 – 98/100
• Château Lamothe Guignard 91 – 92/100
• Château Myrat 91 – 92/100
• Château de Rayne Vigneau 95/100
• Château Rieussec 95/100
• Château Sigalas Rabaud 93 – 95/100
• Château Suduiraut 96 – 98/100
• Château la Tour Blanche 95 – 96/100
• Clos Haut-Peyraguey 94 – 96/100

Pomerol

• Château Beauregard 95 – 96/100
• Château le Bon Pasteur 94/100
• Château la Cabanne 93 – 94/100
• Château la Croix de Gay 93 – 94/100
• Château Clinet 97 – 99/100
• Château le Gay 95 – 97/100
• Château Gazin 95 – 97/100
• Château Mazeyres 94 – 95/100
• Château la Patache 92 – 93/100
• Château Petit-Village 96 – 97/100
• Château la Pointe 95 – 96/100
• Château Rouget 94 – 95/100
• Enclos Tourmaline 95 – 96/100

Saint-Emilion

1er crus classés:

• Château Canon La Gaffelière 96 – 97/100
• Château Clos Fourtet 97 – 98/100
• Château Larcis Ducasse 96 – 97/100
• Château Pavie Macquin 97 – 98/100
• Château Valandraud 98 – 99/100

Grands crus classés:

• Château Balestard la Tonelle 93 – 94/100
• Château Bellefont-Belcier 96 – 97/100
• Château Cap de Mourlin 92 – 93/100
• Château Croix de Labrie 97 – 99/100
• Château la Couspaude 93 – 94/100
• Château Dassault 95 – 97/100      
• Château la Dominique 94 – 95/100
• Château Fonplégade 95 – 96/100
• Château Fonroque 93 – 95/100
• Château Franc Mayne 94 – 95/100
• Château Grand Corbin Despagne 94 – 95/100
• Château Grand Mayne 94 – 95/100
• Château Jean Faure 93 – 94/100      
• Château Larmande 93 – 94/100
• Château Mangot 94 – 95/100
• Château Soutard 94 – 95/100
• Château Tour Saint Christophe 95 – 96/100
• Château la Tour Figeac 94 – 95/100
• Château Villemaurine 94 – 95/100

Saint-Emilion Grand Cru:

• Château la Fleur 93-94/100
• Château la Gaffelière 96 – 98/100
• Château Haut Brisson 93 – 94/100
• Château Puyblanquet 94 – 95/100
• Clos La Gaffelière 92 – 93/100

Castillon-Côtes de Bordeaux

• Château d’Aiguilhe 93 – 94/100
• Château Alcée 91 – 93/100
• Château Ampélia 90 – 91/100
• Château la Brande 92/100
• Château Cap de Faugères 91 – 93/100
• Château la Croix Lartigue 91 – 92/100
• Château le Rey Les Argileuses 91 – 92/100
• Château le Rey Les Rocheuses 92 – 94/100
• Clos Puy Arnaud 93 – 94/100      
• Domaine de l’A 92 – 93/100