2022 Pauillac Ratings, Tasting Notes, and Wine Buying Guide
2022 Pauillac wines are headed to future legendary status. It is the character and unique style of the vintage. Pauillac, often known for its stoic personality, especially in its youth, is ebullient. Concentrated, tannic, and structured, the wines are also sensuous, silky, refined, and deeply concentrated. With a depth of color and complex aromatics in the years to come, collectors are going to want these gems in their cellars. For a detailed look at the 2022 Bordeaux, the wines, the growing season, and harvest 2022 Bordeaux Vintage Detailed Analysis
As you can see, there are a few wines we have not tasted yet: The First Growths, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Latour, Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Pontet Canet. I will taste all of those wines in April.
2022 Batailley – Pauillac – The debut vintage sporting its new label is smoking’! From start to finish, this is a fabulous Pauillac. The seemingly endless layers of perfectly ripe, chewy, vibrant currants and blackberries warrant your attention. There is length, volume, and purity here, leaving you with a juicy mouthful that lingers long after the mineral-tinted fruits have been drained from your glass. You can age this for 3 decades with ease. The wine blends 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2028-2055. 96 Pts
2022 Batailley Lions de – Pauillac – Soft, round, and fresh with loads of sweet currants, and a refreshing touch of orange citrus, and cocoa in the bright, crisp, energetic finish. Drink from 2025-2038. 90 Pts
2022 Bellegrave (Pauillac) – Pauillac – Peppery red, with black currants, tobacco, cedar, and floral notes fills the aromatic profile. On the palate, the wine is fresh, crisp, and chewy, with sweetness in the finish. Give this a few years of aging, and it will be even better. Drink from 2027-2042. 92 Pts
2022 Bellevue-Cardon – Pauillac – Earthy, leafy, cedary, and floral, you also find red currants in the nose. The palate is medium-bodied, refreshing, and loaded with chewy, firm, chalky tannins, and bright red fruits with a minty, herbal accent in the finish. This small, new, Pauillac estate is going to be hard to find as the production is close to 350 case per year. Drink from 2026-2040. 91 Pts
2022 Clerc Milon – Pauillac – Medium bodied, elegant, fresh, vibrant, refined, and fragrant, the wine shows off its immutable charms with a single swirl, and sniff. On the palate, the wine is lively, silky, and elegant. Refined in nature, the wine focuses on its softness, and purity which is made even better with a light touch of chocolate-mint in the finish that pairs perfectly with all of its sweet, vibrant, red berries. While you can enjoy this in its youth, remember, patience is a virtue. So give it some time in the bottle to fill out, and gain complexity. The wine blends 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Carmenere. Drink from 2027-2050. 94 Pts
2022 Clerc Milon Pastourelle de Clerc Milon – Pauillac – Silky, stylish, and fresh, the wine offers layers of elegant, ripe, soft, red fruits from start to finish. Drink from 2025-2038. 91 Pts
2022 DArmailhac – Pauillac – The elegance, and purity in the dark red, and black fruits, coupled with its display of spices, flowers, and cigar box makes this stand out in a crowd. Round, supple, firm, and refined, the lush, creamy, spice, mint, blackberry, and currant endnote hits everything right from start to finish. The wine blends 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2028-2050. 96 Pts
2022 Duhart-Milon – Pauillac – Lush, rich, round, ripe, and refined, the wine jumps in with its vivid display of graphite, flowers, red, with black currants, and black cherries in the aromatic profile. The palate is refined, precise, and, most importantly, poised as it finishes with its ripe, sweet, fresh, cherry, and currant profile. The wine is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon with 22% Merlot. Drink from 2027-2050. 95 Pts
2022 Fonbadet – Pauillac – On the lush, round, juicy side of the style range, here you experience a wealth of ripe, sweet, fresh, blackberries, and black currants in every sniff and sip. The wine finishes with a richly-textured palate and a slight, salty accent with a touch of mint in the endnote. The wine blends 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Merlot. Drink from 2027-2048. 93 Pts
2022 Fonbadet L’Harmonie de Fonbadet – Pauillac – Lighter-styled, medium-bodied, early-drinking, fresh, juicy, blackberry, and currant-filled wine that is perfect for a cafe, or bistro. Drink from 2025-2032. 89 Pts
2022 Grand Puy Ducasse – Pauillac – This has filled, and rounded out during its aging. Now, you find a creamy-textured, cassis-packed wine with a solid depth of flavor and a true Pauillac profile. The finish, with its sweet, and salty cassis character keeps on going. This should age for at least 2 decades or more with ease. Drink from 2028-2050. 94 Pts
2022 Grand Puy Ducasse Prelude – Pauillac – Soft, forward, chewy, and fresh, the wine is medium-bodied, forward, and packed with red, and black currants from start to finish. You can easily enjoy this while waiting for the Grand Vin to develop. Drink from 2025-2037. 90 Pts
2022 Grand Puy Lacoste – Pauillac – Cigar box, mint leaves, black currants, licorice, spice, and smoke pack the complex aromatics. The palate is loaded with layers of sweet, bright cherries, currants, and a gorgeous, refreshing, freshness in the finish that expands as it lingers. The wine blends 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot. The earliest harvest in the history of the estate has created one of the best vintages ever produced here! Drink from 2030 – 2060. 96 Pts
2022 Haut Bages Liberal – Pauillac – The nose, with its flowers, tobacco, blackberries, leaves, herbs, and cedar grabs your attention. And so does the palate with its elegantly styled, fresh, mint-accented, currants, marine influences, and chocolate complexities that add to all the wine’s layers of black, with red fruits. There is a lot of energy, vibrancy, and freshness in this wine allowing it to linger on your palate. The wine has really come alive since its barrel aging. The wine blends 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 13% Merlot. Drink from 2028-2055. 96 Pts
2022 Haut Batailley – Pauillac – Dark in color and profile, the wine is vibrant, crisp, and juicy, showcasing black, red, and blue fruits, along with pepper, flowers, and currants on the nose. On the palate, it is chewy, intense, powerful, tannic, and long. The finish lingers with its fruit and a minty edge in the endnote. The wine consists of a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot. Drink from 2029-2055. 95 Pts
2022 La Fon du Berger – Pauillac – Underbrush, cigar box, cedar, and crisp red fruits open the nose. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, firm, and fresh, with a peppery, chewy, savory endnote. Drink from 2027-2040. 91 Pts
2022 Les Sadons – Pauillac – Bright, fresh, crisp, styled, medium-bodied wine, with a refreshing orange-citrus accent that should be ready to go with just a year or so in the cellar. Drink from 2026-2038. 90 Pts
2022 Lynch Bages – Pauillac – A vibrant, energetic vintage with intensity and a palate-staining presence, this wine is also balanced and fresh, perfectly reflecting its Pauillac style. The finish captivates your attention for 50 seconds or more as the wine develops, expands, and refreshes with a cool touch of mint on the backend. The blend consists of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2029-2060. 96 Pts
2022 Lynch-Moussas – Pauillac – Flowers, black with red currants, cedar, and tobacco fill the nose. The wine is medium-bodied, refined, fresh, and loaded with chalky blackberries, and currants from start to finish. The wine will age for 2 or more decades with ease. The wine blends 74% Cabernet Sauvignon with 26% Merlot. Drink from 2028-2050. 93 Pts
2022 Pauillac – Pauillac – Blackberries, black currants, cedar, and cigar box notes light up the perfume. Rich, plush, long, and with a serious depth of flavor, the wine leaves you with layers of sweet, ripe, fresh, blackberries in its roundly-textured finish. Drink from 2027-2048. 94 Pts
2022 Pedesclaux – Pauillac – Flowers with black currants, cigar wrappers, herbs, and underbrush in the complex aromatics. There is energy, vibrancy, refinement, and purity in the spicy currants on the mid-palate, and in the long, expressive, juicy finish. I like the brush of chocolate in the endnote. This is the finest vintage of Pedesclaux ever produced! Give it a few years in the cellar, and enjoy it over the following 2 decades or more. The wine blends 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2028-2050. 95 Pts
2022 Pedesclaux Fleur de Pedesclaux – Pauillac – Soft, forward, fresh, and chewy, as well as charming. The wine is a perfect Pauilac for early-drinking pleasure in a cafe or restaurant. Drink from 2025-2035. 90 Pts
2022 Pibran – Pauillac – Earthy black currants, underbrush, and cigar box aromatics pop as soon as the wine hits the glass. The palate is even better with its sweet, chewy, black, with red fruits that linger. I like the fresh edge to the finish. This is a steal of a deal for savvy, Pauillac wine buyers. The wine is made from blending From a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot. Drink from 2028-2048. 92 Pts
2022 Pichon Baron – Pauillac – Just one sniff reveals that this wine is not only stunning, but it also stands apart in a class of its own. Almost opaque in color, the wine’s aroma bursts with an extravagant mix of tobacco, blackberries, black currants, licorice, lead pencil, cedar, and cocoa. However, it’s that first sip, with its palate-staining levels of fruit, that compels you to pause and taste it again. The exceptional mouthfeel, showcasing its length, intensity, depth of flavor, and expansiveness, along with its refinement and purity, indicates that this is one of the vintage’s greatest achievements. The first vintage crafted under the guidance of the estate’s new Technical Director, Pierre Montegut, is undeniably successful. Fans of Pichon Baron will undoubtedly want this gem in their cellar. Drink from 2030-2065.
2022 Pichon Baron Les Griffons de Pichon Baron – Pauillac – Black fruits, flowers, and creme de cassis aromatics are all over the place. On the palate, the wine is juicy, fresh, lifted, elegant, round, and long. There is sweetness, and vibrancy that makes you want to take another sip before the finish is over. The wine blends 50% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2027-2047. 94 Pts
2022 Pichon Baron Les Tourelles de Longueville – Pauillac – Flowers, cigar wrappers, citrus peel, herbs, and blackberries are found in the nose. There is a softness to the tannins and freshness to the fruits on the mid-palate that creates a lot of style, and energy here. 2026-2040. 92 Pts
2022 Pichon Lalande – Pauillac – Inky in hue, the wine is equally dark, and deep on the palate. There is so much going on here, it takes some effort to discover all the wine offers, but, it’s worth the effort. On the palate, which is the star of the show due to its silky tannins, incredible depth of flavor, length, intensity, and gorgeous purity, this will be one of the great vintages of Pichon Comtesse. But it will take patience before the wine opens, fully expressing itself. The wine blends 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2030-2065. 99 Pts
Up next, we continue our focus on 2022 Left Bank Bordeaux wines with a detailed look at all of the best 2022 St. Julien Wines which will be followed by our report on the top
2022 Margaux before covering the best 2022 Pessac Leognan, and Graves red and white Bordeaux wines.
