With close to 200 wines tasted from 2022 St. Emilion, we needed to publish our reviews in three parts. This is 2022 Saint Emilion Part 2, Wines F-L. For Part One and Part Three… 2022 Saint Emilion Pt. 1 Wines A-E and 2022 St. Emilion Pt. 3 Wines M-Z
2022 Faugeres – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Sweet, lush, opulent, and silky, the wine is hedonistic and sexy. Medium/full-bodied, with length, and as I mentioned, sexy textures, you can enjoy this on release, or age it for a few years for more earth complexity. This is substantially better after its aging, blending 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink from 2027-2040. 94 Pts
2022 Figeac – St. Émilion Grand Cru – During its time in the barrel, the wine has blossomed, gaining a bit more structure on the palate, making it an excellent candidate for aging while maintaining its sensual character. The levels of depth, richness, opulence, and vibrancy are remarkable, enhanced by seemingly endless waves of black, blue, and red fruits, showcasing their natural spiciness and purity. The smooth finish extends to the 60-second mark and continues on! This is the first vintage for Chateau Figeac as Premier Cru Classe A. With this wine, it is clear they deserve it. The wine blends 35% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc, and 31% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink from 2029-2065. 99 Pts
2022 Figeac Petit-Figeac – St. Émilion Grand Cru – This is a beautiful, baby Figeac. Medium-bodied, elegant, and fresh, the wine remains focused on its core of sweet, silky, red fruits, tobacco, herbs, spices, and menthol from start to finish. Refined and ready to go, you can enjoy this on release or age it for more complexity. Drink from 2025-2040. 93 Pts
2022 Fleur Cardinale – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Luscious layers of chocolate-drenched plums, black cherries, licorice, espresso, spice, and smoke are all over your palate here. This hedonistic expression is at its best here, with lift, length, and a bite of chalk in the finish. The blend is 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. All that extra Cabernet really makes a difference adding more freshness, complexity, and individuality here. In fact, I would like to some in the vineyard over the years. Drink from 2026-2042. 95 Pts
2022 Fleur Cardinale Croix Cardinale – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Medium-bodied, vibrant, and savory, with a strong, leafy, tobacco, and cedar edge that shows in the nose, palate, and finish. There is fruit, and freshness that is apparent all the way through. You can enjoy this on the young side. Drink from 2025-2038. 92 Pts
2022 Fombrauge – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Espresso, smoke, flowers, licorice, plums, and cherries create the perfume. Polished, round, and loaded with fruit, the wine finishes with a beautiful, silky edge. With its lush style, this will be approachable just a year or so after release. The wine blends 71% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2026-2042. 93 Pts
2022 Fonbel – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Bright, vibrant, red fruits with a drizzle of orange rind are all over the place here. The wine is medium-bodied, sweet, juicy, fresh, lifted, and a tiny bit spicy, which makes everything work here from start to finish. The wine blends 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Carmenere. Drink from 2025-2038. 92 Pts
2022 Fonplegade – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, oceanic influences, licorice, cherries, smoke, and underbrush pop in the nose. The palate is packed with ripe, salt-crusted, red, with black pit fruits, that serve up a spicy edge in the endnote. The wine blends 85% Merlot, and 15% Cabernet Franc. Give it a few years of age and it will develop gorgeous complexities. Drink from 2027-2047. 95 Pts
2022 Fonroque – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, smoke, citrus, and plums capture your attention with their perfume. But, the elegant, medium-bodied, vibrant, fresh-palate, with its energetic fruits, chocolate, and orange rind is what seals the deal. If that wasn’t enough, the refreshing sprig in the back of the finish makes everything even better! Drink from 2027-2040. 93 Pts
2022 Franc La Rose – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, mint, cherries, and black raspberries create the core of this soft, forward, medium-bodied, early-drinking wine. Drink from 2025-2034. 90 Pts
2022 Franc-Lartigue – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Medium-bodied, fresh, lively, charming, and deceitfully easy to drink, this is going to offer its licorice, plum, with chocolate charm on release. Drink from 2025-2038. 90 Pts
2022 Franc-Mayne – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Elegant, but not light, there is more than ample, ripe, fruit, weight, and lift here. The fruit expresses a purity, and silkiness making this the best vintage ever produced by Franc Mayne. Drink from 2026-2045. 95 Pts
2022 Gourdins – St. Émilion – Quite light on the palate, this ready-to-go wine already offers its vibrant, sweet, red cherry, and cocoa accented character. You can enjoy this with ease on release. Drink from 2025-2031. 88 Pts
2022 Grand Destieu – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Medium-bodied, round, forward, ripe, and loaded with espresso, dark chocolate, plums, cherries, and, cocoa, the wine is going to deliver its ample pleasures on release. Drink from 2025-2037. 91 Pts
2022 Grand Mayne – St. Émilion Grand Cru – With touches of espresso, incense, flowers, marine influences, cherries, and spice, the perfume quickly gains your focus. The palate is even better with its silky, freshness, supple, elegant-textures, and lively-energetic finish. The is purity and grace in a glass. While it can be enjoyed in its youth, it is only going to get better with age. This is the finest vintage of Grand Mayne ever produced! Drink from 2025-2045. 95 Pts
2022 Grand-Barrail-Lamarzelle Figeac – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, cherries, strawberries and a touch of cocoa create the profile here. Light, fresh, and refreshing, the red fruits are sweet, lifted and already quite nice in your glass. This will be just fine on release. Drink from 2025-2038. 90 Pts
2022 Grand-Corbin – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Medium-bodied, silky, fresh, and vibrant, the salt-tinted fruits are ripe, sweet, vibrant, and creamy in the mid-palate, and in the elegant, supple finish. You can enjoy this on release, or age it for more complexity. This is a superb effort from Grand Corbin. Drink from 2025-2040. 93 Pts
2022 Grand-Corbin-Despagne – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Mint, chocolate, espresso, flowers and red pit fruit aromatics shoot from the glass as soon as the wine is poured. The palate is what steals the show with its expression of perfectly ripe, silky-textured, black cherries, and plums. This is a hedonistic wine with freshness, elegance, and purity in the lengthy finish. The wine blends 75% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink from 2027-2047. 95 Pts
2022 Haut Brisson – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Espresso, truffle, red fruits, and chocolate fill the nose. The medium-bodied wine is fruity, juicy, and round, with a nice polished character in the plummy finish. The wine blends 95% Merlot with 5% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2026-2038. 92 Pts
2022 Haut Rocher – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Cherries with citrus and a floral edge are what you find here. Medium-bodied, soft, vibrant, and fresh, there is an easy-going sweetness on the mid-palate, and in the finish, which is chalky in the endnote. The wine blends 65% Merlot, with 20% Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Malbec, Drink from 2025-2037. 90 Pts
2022 Haut Rocher – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Cherries with citrus and a floral edge are what you find here. Medium-bodied, soft, vibrant, and fresh, there is an easy-going sweetness on the mid-palate, and in the finish, which is chalky in the endnote. The wine blends 65% Merlot, with 20% Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Malbec, Drink from 2025-2037. 90 Pts
2022 Haut Simard – St. Émilion Grand Cru – All of the Cabernet Franc, a record-setting 70% defines the wine. With the floral nose, elegant textures, and minty-fresh, mid-palate, and finish, this is the best Haut-Simard ever produced. Drink from 2025-2040. 92 Pts
2022 Haut Veyrac – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Fresh, bright, and crisp, there is good energy that provides lift to all the layers of red cherries, plums, raspberries, citrus, and a hint of peach in the backend. The wine blends 85% Merlot with 15% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2025-2038. 91 Pts
2022 Haut-Sarpe – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Truffle, smoke, licorice, espresso, and red fruits take some effort before you find them in the aromatics. The medium-bodied palate is fresh, with a nice chocolate edge to the mineral-driven red fruits in the finish. Drink from 2027-2040. 91 Pts
2022 Jean Faure – St. Émilion Grand Cru – The perfume pops with notes of sweet, cherries, plums, flowers, herbs, and a hint of truffle. However, the palate is where the wine shines. Silky, elegant, long, lush, polished, and refined, I love the purity of the fruit on the palate, along with its energy in the finish. The wine blends 64% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot and 6% whole-bunch vinification, Malbec. Drink from 2027-2040. 95 Pts
2022 L’Archange – St. Émilion – Chocolate-covered cherries are all over the place here, in the aromatics, and on the medium-bodied, fresh, light, fruity, round-textured palate. Produced from 100% Merlot, the wine is ready to go on release. Drink from 2025-2035. 91 Pts
2022 L’Eclat de Valentin – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Chocolate, espresso, licorice, and flowers create the nose on this medium-bodied, soft, round, and polished wine that will be open on release, though a year or two to allow the oak to better integrate should help the wine. Drink from 2025-2038. 91 Pts
2022 La Bienfaisance Sanctus – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Still a bit oaky in the nose, the wine is forward, soft, supple, medium-bodied, and creamy, leaving you with layers of elegant, vibrant, fresh, floral cherries, spice, espresso, and juicy plums on the backend. You can enjoy this on release for all of its up front fruity characteristics, or age it for additional complexities. Drink from 2025-2038. 92 Pts
2022 La Clotte – St. Émilion Grand Cru – This is the best vintage of La Clotte I have ever tasted. The wine offers layers of perfectly ripe, sweet, red, with black pit fruits, floral aromatics, and a lush, polished finish with volume, length, purity, and silky-textured, tannins. The wine blends 85% Merlot, with 15% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2025-2040. 95 Pts
2022 La Commanderie – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Medium-bodied, soft, fresh, and sweet, with good energy, and a light, fruity finish that will deliver its pleasures on release. Drink from 2025-2037 92 Pts
2022 La Confession – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Black plums drenched in chocolate open the perfume. The palate, with its layers of opulent, salt-tinted fruits, herbs, licorice, and dark chocolate-covered black cherries in the finish is lifted and lingering. The wine blends 70% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Malbec. Drink from 2027-2045. 94 Pts
2022 La Croix Younan – St. Émilion Grand Cru – With a hint of wood in the intro, the wine quickly shifts to its core of sweet, juicy, lush, dark, red fruits. Round, and creamy in the finish, with some oak to resolve, this is already quite nice to imbibe. Drink from 2025-2037. 90 Pts
2022 La Croizille – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Espresso, cocoa, black plums, and cherries show effortlessly in the nose. The palate expresses its layers of sweet, ripe, chalky red, with black fruits, licorice and cocoa with equal ease. Supple, and creamy in the finish, the showy, orange label would be at home in any Hermes store. You can enjoy this young, or age it for more complexity. Drink from 2025-2042. 92 Pts
2022 La Dominique – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, black cherries, black raspberries, truffle, mint, and herb aromatics open the wine. Medium-bodied, silky, fresh, and creamy on the palate, the wine exudes purity in its silky, vivacious finish, which is made even better with the addition of dark chocolate that shows up at the end of the finish. The wine blends 88% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink from 2026-2045. 96 Pts
2022 La Fleur Pourret – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Espresso, licorice, and black cherries form the core of the wine here. The medium-bodied wine is clean, fresh, and pure, with a nice vibrancy in the delicate red fruits and spice on the mid-palate and finish. The Manoncourt family, who own Chateau Figeac, the same team that produces Chateau Figeac, also makes this wine. Drink from 2025-2038. 93 Pts
2022 La Grace Dieu Haut Troquart – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Medium-bodied, with a core of sultry cherries, salty-drying tannins, and chocolate, you can drink this with just a year or so of age. Drink from 2025-2035. 88 Pts
2022 La Grace Dieu Les Menuts – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Forward, round, lush, and packed with fruit, it is also packed with a lot of oak, which you can taste and feel. Less oak would have allowed this wine a higher score. Still, once past the oak, the fruits were ripe, lush, and sweet, with good intensity. Drink from 2026-2035. 89 Pts
2022 La Marzelle – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Espresso, smoke, and licorice crowd into the dark, red pit fruit perfume. The palate is round, lush, and polished, with a silky edge to ripe fruits on the backend. Drink from 2026-2042. 94 Pts
2022 La Mondotte – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, sea salt, mint leaves, licorice, spice, and red fruit aromatics burst on the nose. On the palate, the wine is concentrated, powerful, long, rich, and intense. The fruits envelop your palate with layers of black and dark red fruits, influenced by oyster shells, finishing with uplift, length, depth, and richness. Elegant in nature, the long finish harmonizes its mineral-driven aspect with its power and freshness. The wine blends 80% Merlot with 20% Cabernet Franc. 2029-2060. 98 Pts
2022 La Rose Pourret – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Medium-bodied, red pit fruit, and cocoa-filled wine with a leafy edge in the finish. This will be quite easy to enjoy with pleasure on release. Drink from 2025-2035. 88 Pts
2022 La Serre – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Medium-bodied, fresh, long, supple, and creamy, the finish is loaded with cherries, plums, and chocolate, with a refreshing finish replete with sprigs of mint, and a salty edge on the backend. Drink from 2025-2042. 93 Pts
2022 La-TourFigeac – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Silky, fresh, supple, and creamy, the vibrancy in the fruits pairs perfectly with the sensuously textured, chocolate-tinted fruits in the mid-palate and long, medium-bodied finish. Drink from 2025-2045. 94 Pts
2022 Lafon La Tuilerie – St. Émilion Grand Cru – The initial notes of espresso, and chocolate are enticing. But, it is on the fruit-filled, medium-bodied, ripe, lush palate where you find the most pleasure. The fruits are ripe, sweet, and already delicious from start to finish. Allow it a year or two in the cellar and enjoy it over the next 15 or more years. Produced from 100% Merlot planted in a small, 2.3 hectare parcel of vines, recently purchased by Silvio Denz. Drink from 2026-2040. 91 Pts
2022 Laforge – St. Émilion Grand Cru – The oak from the barrel tastings has subsided, and now you find a wine of plum, with cherry-filled charm, cocoa, spice, and licorice. The wine is soft, polished, and most importantly, it is easy and already delicious in your glass today. The wine blends 92% Merlot with 8% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2025-2038. 93 Pts
2022 Laniote – St. Émilion Grand Cru – I like the floral-edged perfume, that quickly adds in its red fruit character. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, soft, and silky, with a chocolate-edge to the vibrant red fruits in the mid-palate, and finish. Drink from 2025-2040. 91 Pts
2022 Laporte Reine Blanche – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Medium-bodied, fresh, open-styled, elegant wine with a core of sweet, ripe, juicy cherries, along with a vibrant, fruit, and cocoa-filled finish. Drink from 2025-2037. 90 Pts
2022 Larcis Ducasse – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Opaque in color, just a single swirl brings out the flowers, oyster shell, licorice, smoke, black cherries, blackberries, and plum aromas. The palate is the perfect blend of intensity, concentration, lift, and length. The fruit glides and coats your palate with its non-stop, opulent waves of ripe, sweet, vibrant fruits, with their unique touch of crushed rocks and dark chocolate that show in the aftertaste. The finish builds, lingers, and expands for close to 60 seconds. I would not be surprised to see this score even higher after the wine has matured. The wine blends 86% Merlot with 14% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2028-2060. 99 Pts
2022 Larcis Ducasse Murmure – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Black raspberries, flowers, spice, berries, and touches of mint sprigs create the perfume. On the palate, the wine is forward, lifted, and open, with ample fruit, making this a perfect example of a baby Larcis Ducasse. Drink from 2023-2032. 90 Pts
2022 Laroque – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Opulent, lush, and all about your pleasure, the wine shows off its licorice, black cherries, plums, and chocolate-edged perfume with nary swirl. The hedonistic palate is where the wine shows its best stuff, due to its layers of ripe, rich, creamy fruits that have true staying power. The finish is long, creamy, pure and while powerful, it is elegant as well, leaving you with a saltiness on the backend, providing lift and precision. The wine was made with 98% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. 2026-2045. 95 Pts
2022 Laroque Les Tours de Laroque – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Medium-bodied, soft, fresh, and forward, the wine is light, but there is more than ample fruit to make this a delicious wine that is perfect for cafe’s, or restaurants for easy-drinking. Drink from 2025-2032. 90 Pts
2022 Laroze – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, tobacco leaf, licorice, cherries, and plums create the perfume. Fresh, and vibrant are the keywords here, with creamy tannins and lush, red cherries in the finish. Drink from 2026-2042. 93 Pts
2022 Le Conte – St. Émilion – Medium-bodied, with a core of vibrant cherries, and red plums, with a chalky, drying, savory edge is what you find here. You can enjoy this on the young side for its fruit, and freshness. Drink from 2025-2032. 87 Pts
2022 Le Dome – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Intense, concentrated, rich, and full-bodied, once past the oaky overtones, you find black, with dark red berries, flowers, licorice, smoke, and chocolate in the perfume. Lush, ripe, and rich, the palate is loaded with sweet and red black pit fruits and the added complexity of minerality that shows on the backend of the finish, just before you find the refreshing touch of mint. The wine blends 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot. Drink from 2027-2055. 96 Pts
2022 Le Prieure – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, red fruits, licorice, and black cherry aromatics take a single swirl before popping from your glass. On the palate, the wine is long, intense, and sexy. The fruits coat your palate, tasting as good as they feel. The finish with its chocolate, pit fruits, and salty edge lingers, expands, and remains balanced while poised on your palate. The wine blends 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc.15% ABV, 3.75 pH. Drink from 2026-2045. 95 Pts
2022 Les Gravieres – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, licorice, cherries, and cocoa aromatics are on display in the perfume. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, soft, round, and fruity, with a lush, polished, silky, fresh, mint, and chocolate-tinted finish. 2022 was the last vintage for the owner, Denis Barraud, who passed away shortly after the wine was made. He will be missed. His 2022 will be a tribute to him. Drink from 2025-2042. 94 Pts
2022 Leydet-Valentin – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Licorice, chocolate, espresso, and red pit fruits are all over the place here. Soft, plush, and polished, the layers of chocolatey fruit in the mid-palate, and finish keep on going. Drink from 2025-2038. 92 Pts
2022 Lif – St. Émilion Grand Cru – The perfume grabs you with its flowers, mint, plums, cherries, plums, and tobacco characteristics. On the palate, the wine is lush, lively, and fresh, with concentration, depth, and width. The mid-palate features ripe, sweet, and energetic fruits all touched by its limestone terroir that carry through to the finish. The wine blends 80% Merlot with 20% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2027-2055. 97 Pts
2022 Louis – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Lush, round, and creamy in texture, the wine pops with its espresso, incense, smoke, licorice, and red pit fruit aromatic profile. Medium/full-bodied, supple, and polished, the fruits have lift, paired with elegance in the finish. Drink from 2025-2040. 92 Pts
2022 Lucia – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Forward, creamy, fruity, round, and supple, the wine features a core packed with licorice, spearmint, espresso, chocolate, spice, and sweet, ripe, dark red pit fruits. The wine is a blend of 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc. This is already easy to imbibe and it is only going to get better from here. Drink from 2025-2040. 92 Pts
2022 Lynsolence – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Simply great from start to finish, this gem is all about its luscious, layers of perfectly ripe, black with red fruits, licorice, and chocolate. The wine is rich, plush, and polished, with length, purity and lift, allowing the finish to build and expand. 2022 was the last vintage for the owner, Denis Barraud who passed away after the wine was made. He will be missed. His 2022 will be a tribute to him. Drink from 2026-2042. 95 Pts
Up next, 2022 Saint Emilion Pt. 3 Wines M-Z followed by 2022 Pomerol Wines
