2022 Saint Julien Wine Buying Guide
To say that 2022 St. Julien wines are stunning is selling the vintage short. These wines are off the hook. They have everything you could ask for and more. They are deeply aromatic, rich, concentrated, and silky, with depth, freshness, and the ability to evolve successfully for decades. And we are not just talking about the Grand Vin, the Second Wines are also quite charming. Perhaps of equal, if not greater importance, is their wide window of drinking.
Many 2022 Saint Julien wines are going to be delicious in their youth, so you will not need to wait for a decade or more before pulling a cork. For a detailed look at the 2022 Bordeaux, the wines, the growing season, and harvest 2022 Bordeaux Vintage Detailed Analysis
All of the following 2022 Saint Julien wines were tasted in non blind conditions in my office in early January.
2022 Beychevelle – St. Julien – The complex aromatic profile offers its black cherries, tobacco wrappers, cedar, herbs, and blackberries with a single swirl. The palate is even better with its multiple layers of perfectly ripe, elegant, deep, concentrated black, and dark red pit fruits. The finish is silky, fresh, vibrant, and long. The purity in the back end leaves a lasting impression! The wine blends 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2028-2060. 97 Pts
2022 Beychevelle Amiral de Beychevelle – St. Julien – Creamy, fresh, fruity, and supple, with loads of ripe, sweet, red fruits, soft textures, and the perfect, judicious drop of chocolate in the finish. The wine blends from 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot. You can enjoy this on release while waiting for the Grand Vin to develop. Drink from 2025-2035. 92 Pts
2022 Branaire Ducru – St. Julien – Elegance, vibrancy, and purity are at the heart of this stunning gem. Competing for the title of the best vintage of Branaire Ducru ever produced, it’s easy to understand why once you pop the cork. Displaying a deep color, the wine offers a floral bouquet before unveiling its medley of dark red fruits, spice, mocha, nutmeg, vanilla, and black cherries. The palate is even more impressive with its show-stopping, refined, creamy profile and purity of fruit. There is concentration, length, and lift on the finish that allows the wine to persist. This represents an entirely new level of quality. The wine consists of 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc, and 2.5% Petit Verdot. Enjoy from 2027 to 2060. 97 Pts
2022 Du Glana – St. Julien – Tobacco, cedar, underbrush, and sweet red pit fruits show in the nose with a single swirl. The palate is medium-bodied, fresh, fruity, and creamy, with a refined, elegant, earthy, red currant endnote. This is already quite charming and will be perfect for near-term-drinking. This is a nice step-up with more concentration than you normally see in du Glana. Drink from 2025-2037. 91 Pts
2022 Ducru Beaucaillou – St. Julien – The striking, black-purple color lets you know this is going be good. The nose, with its array of black, blue and red fruits, smoke, flowers, and Cuban cigars definitely grabs your attention. But, make no mistake, it is the multi-layered palate, with its opulence, and density that somehow also manages to be equally diaphanous that steals the show. The seamless finish effortlessly glides across your palate for more than 60 seconds! Give this beauty some time in the cellar before popping a cork. With tannins this soft, it is going to be effortless in their youth. Yet, it will age for 3 or more decades with ease. The wine blends 81% Cabernet Sauvignon with 19% Merlot. Tasted twice, this competes with the 100 Pt. 2016. Drink from 2028-2065. 100 Pts
2022 Ducru Beaucaillou La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou – St. Julien – Touches of espresso are overwhelmed by the flowers, black cherries, chocolate, cassis, and tobacco leaves in the perfume. The medium-bodied, elegant, creamy palate is lush, refined, long, and supple from start to finish. The wine blends 66% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2026-2045. 94 Pts
2022 Ducru Beaucaillou Le Petit Ducru – St. Julien – Espresso, flowers, cocoa, licorice, and black cherries create the nose. Medium-bodied, elegant, fresh, pure, and vibrant, there is a touch of chalk and chocolate mint at the back of the finish. The wine blends 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2025-2038. 92 Pts
2022 Finegrave – St. Julien – Blackberries, tobacco, espresso beans, and currants create the profile. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, forward, and fruity, with a crisp, bright finish that delivers a bite of black pepper in the endnote. Drink from 2025-2031. 90 Pts
2022 Finegrave – St. Julien – Bright, crisp, medium-bodied, forward, and already delivering its vibrant, fruit profile. The finish is simple, direct, and short. One of the few Bordeaux wines produced from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the small-production wine is only bottled in magnum. Drink from 2025-2030. 88 Pts
2022 Gloria – St. Julien – The finest vintage of Gloria ever produced pops with its show bouquet of flowers, currants, black cherries, and spice. The wine is medium-bodied, silky, elegant, soft, and polished, with layers of plums and cocoa from start to finish. And you don’t need to wait to drink it. Enjoy it young, or age it. Drink from 2026-2042. 95 Pts
2022 Gruaud Larose – St. Julien – Tobacco, cigar wrappers, licorice, spice, flowers, blackberries, and currants provide the aromatic profile. From there, the palate, with its layers of ripe, round, polished, sweet, black, and dark red fruits kick in. The concentrated mid-palate and finish ends the experience with ample volume, length, vibrancy, and complexity. 2022 marks the first vintage Gruaud Larose was organically certified. The wine lends 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2029-2060. 96 Pts
2022 La Bridane – St. Julien – Forward and already open, the wine is light, bright, and fruity, with a lean to the cherry and red currant side of the style range. Drink from 2025-2035. 90 Pts
2022 Lagrange – St. Julien – These guys have been on a hot streak, and their 2022 shows why. The show nose, with its cigar box, mint, black cherries, and flowers opens the wine. Full-bodied, fresh, and vibrant, with a juicy, fruity, long, elegant, deep finish seals the deal. The wine blends 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2028-2055. 95 Pts
2022 Lagrange Les Arums de Lagrange – Bordeaux – Green apples, lemon rind, and spice with a touch of floral characteristics come through easily, in this sweet, juicy, forward, ready-to-drink white Bordeaux. Drink from 2025-2031. 90 Pts
2022 Langoa Barton – St. Julien – Cassis with a touch of a spicy edge, and a shot of sweet cranberries, tobacco, flowers, and blackberries get the aromatic profile going. There is volume, freshness, and roundness on the palate finishing with loads of sweet, ripe, dark red fruits, creamy tannins, and blackberries. This clearly shows a new face for Langoa Barton with more fruit, and softer tannins. The wine blends 56.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, and 2.5% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2028-2050. 95 Pts
2022 Leoville Barton – St. Julien – Once past the floral bouquet, you find luscious blackberries, cassis, black cherries, creamy tannins, cigar box, and lead pencil nuances. The wine delivers intensity, layers of fruit, and a finish that takes hold of your palate, leaving you with a juicy, vibrant, creamy ending that builds and resonates. The wine is a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11.5% Merlot and 5.5% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2028-2060. 97 Pts
2022 Leoville Las Cases – St. Julien – In competition for wine of the vintage, this is the finest Leoville Las Cases ever produced. Majestic on the palate, with layer after layer of perfectly ripe, black with red fruits that start strong, and keep on going. But, what makes this so good, is that with all its weight, and density, the wine manages to remain light on its feet, making it effortless to drink. The fruit is uncommonly rich in the mid-palate with a seamless finish, that hits the 60-second mark with ease. Leoville Las Cases requires bottle aging. But, with 2022, part of the magic here is tit will be enjoyable with only a decade of age, evolving, and improving for 40-50 years with ease. The wine blends 83.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.5% Cabernet Franc and 6% Merlot. This is only the second time in the history of the estate that you find more Cabernet Franc than Merlot in the blend. Drink from 2030-2065. 100 Pts
2022 Leoville Las Cases Clos du Marquis – St. Julien – Flowers, blackberries, black cherries, and creme de cassis accented by Cuban cigars hit the spot. The wine is long, supple, creamy, and elegant. There is freshness, length, and purity with a regal touch to the finish that makes you take a step back, think about it, and enjoy another sip. Already effortless to drink, the next two or more decades are going to be even better! The wine blends 45.5% Merlot, 44.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2026-2045. 95 Pts
2022 Leoville Las Cases Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases – St. Julien – The wine displays a depth of flavor equal to many Classified Growths. Layers of black currants, blackberries, mint, and an array of spices are all over the place here. Texturally, the wine is rich, creamy, and supple, with loads of sweet, dark red fruits, and a touch of salt in the finish. This is a good example of a baby Leoville Las Cases. The wine blends 55.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38.5% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc. Give it just a year, or two of aging, and this is going to provide pelasure for up to 2 decades of pleasure. Drink from 2026-2042. 93 Pts
2022 Leoville Poyferre – St. Julien – The explosive nose with its show display of flowers, espresso, licorice, black cherries, spice, and tobacco grabs your attention. But, the palate is where the seals the deal with its non-stop display of luscious, silky-textured, black with red fruits that coat your taste-receptors with pure, deep, black with red berries. The sensuous endnotes hit all the right notes from start to finish. The wine blends 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2029-2055. 98 Pts
2022 Leoville Poyferre Pavillon de Léoville Poyferré – St. Julien – Medium-bodied, rich, lush, ripe, and round, the wine deftly serves up its showy display of chocolate-coated black fruits, espresso, spice, and a touch of savory herbs in the nose and on the palate just for the asking. Already delicious, this is ready to go. The wine blends 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2025-2038. 92 Pts
2022 Moulin-Riche – St. Julien – Flowers, blackberries, currants, and cigar box aromatics shine with a single swirl. The palate is fresh, supple, and fruit with sweet, ripe, cherries on the backend. You can enjoy this on release and for at least a decade after that. The wine is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 10% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2025-2037. 92 Pts
2022 Saint-Pierre – St. Julien – The initial blast of dark, red berries with black cherries, flowers, and spice leads the way to the wine’s wealth of sweet, ripe, fruit on the palate, finishing with lush, rounded textures, espresso, and a hint of dark chocolate. The wine blends 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 10% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2028-2050. 96 Pts
2022 Talbot – St. Julien – Fresh, lively, long, and aromatic, the palate is elegant, and vibrant, delivering its fruit-packed profile, with its lift, sweetness, length, and complexity easily. This is the best vintage of Talbot I’ve tasted in ages, as well as a contender for the best wine produced in the history of the estate. The wine blends 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2028-2055. 94 Pts
2022 Talbot Connetable – St. Julien – Cigar wrappers, herbs, flowers, and spicy, red fruits work in the nose. The medium-bodied palate is fresh, forward, and fruity, with lift and energy in the red currants and spice in the finish. The wine blends 56% Cabernet Sauvignon with 44% Merlot. Drink from 2025-2032. 90 Pts
2022 Talbot Caillou Blanc – Bordeaux – White peaches, with green apples, are in abundance here, in the perfume, and on the juicy, sweet, rounded palate. Drink from 2025-2030. The wine blends 71% Sauvignon Blanc with 29% Semillon. Drink from 2025-2029. 92 Pts
2022 Teynac – St. Julien – Bright red berries, with accents of salt, and espresso pop in the nose, and create the core of the medium-bodied, chewy currant filled, savory-edged finish. This will be simply delicious on release. Drink from 2026-2037. 90 Pts
When we continue with our next 2022 Bordeaux report, we will take an in-depth look at
2022 Margaux Wines followed by our guide on all of the best 2022 Pessaac Leognan Red and White Wines before we cover the most wines from the Haut Medoc and the Medoc we have ever tasted as we continue with coverage of 2022 Left Bank Bordeaux wines.
