2022 Fronsac Wine Guide…
2022 Fronsac wines were simply gorgeous! I loved the vintage here. The wines are lush, opulent, and deep, yet, they offer freshness and the ability to age, and evolve for 1-2 decades with ease. If you are a fan of Fronsac, there are numerous wines that you should taste, and lay away. All of the following 2022 Fronsac wines were tasted in non blind conditions in my office in early 2025. For a detailed look at the 2022 Bordeaux, the wines, the growing season, and harvest 2022 Bordeaux Vintage Detailed Analysis
2022 Barrabaque Prestige – Canon-Fronsac – You can taste, and smell the mineral essence here that accompanies the vibrant, almost zesty, orange-tinted, red plums and cherries in the salty finish. Drink from 2025-2035. 90 Pts
2022 Beausejour Cuvee Prestige – Fronsac – Soft, supple, creamy, floral, and with a core of cocoa, plums, and black cherries, this is ready to deliver all of its creamy charms on release. Drink from 2025-2035. 90 Pts
2022 Clos du Roy – Fronsac – Fruity, vibrant, medium-bodied with focused on its core of sweet, ripe, red, spicy berries, with a cool touch of mint, and minerality on the backend of the finish before you discover its hint of cocoa. Drink from 2025-2037. 90 Pts
2022 Dalem – Fronsac – Opulent, ripe, round, and lush, the wine kicks off with notes of incense, flowers, chocolate, and spice. The palate is even better with all those sweet, lusty, ripe, fruits dipped in chocolate. Drink from 2025-2038. 94 Pts
2022 De Carles – Fronsac – Medium-bodied, round, soft, fruity, and simple, this will best in its youth for its light, red plum, and cherry-toned fruits on the mid-palate, and in the finish. Think of this as an easy-going, wine that is ready to drink on release. Drink from 2025-2031. 88 Pts
2022 De la Huste – Fronsac – Incense, plums, cherries, and chocolate pop in the nose. The palate is even better with its lusciously-textured, sweet, fresh fruits, creamy tannins, and lifted, round finish. Drink from 2025-2037. 92 Pts
2022 Du-Gazin – Canon-Fronsac – Produced from 100% Merlot, with just a swirl you find flowers, chocolate, and dark cherries. On the palate, the wine is open, round, and fruity, with loads of sweet, lifted, juicy cherries in the finish. Drink from 2025-2027. 90 Pts
2022 Fontenil – Fronsac – Aromatically, the wine pops with incense, espresso, licorice, plums, cherries, flowers, and chocolate. However, the star of the show is the mineral-driven palate with its layers of perfectly ripe, fruits, and the velvet-edged, creamy finish, with its salt-crusted end note. Part of the reason the 2022 is so strong is that Le Defi was not produced this year. So all of that fruit was included in the Fontenil bottling. Drink from 2026-2042. 95 Pts
2022 Gaby – Canon-Fronsac – Medium bodied, supple, creamy, chocolate-covered plums, cherries, and espresso define the wine in the nose, and on the palate. This will be the charmer on release. Drink from 2025-2035. 90 Pts
2022 George 7 – Fronsac – Medium-bodied, fresh, bright, and high-toned, with a chalky edge to the fruit in the finish. Drink from 2025-2037. 90 Pts
2022 Haut Carles – Fronsac – Still a bit on the oaky side on the nose. With effort, you find the red fruits, cocoa, and licorice under the espresso tones. The medium-bodied palate is plush, round, and filled with sweet, juicy, dark red fruits and roasted espresso beans. Give this a few years in the cellar to allow for the oak to better integrate and it will be a treat to enjoy for the next 12 years or more. This will be a better wine if the oak becomes integrated. Drink from 2025-2037. 91 Pts
2022 La Dauphine – Fronsac – Initially, you notice the floral character before you work your wine over to the smoke, cherries, plums, licorice, and chocolate in the nose. The palate is soft, creamy, and packed with layers of sweet red fruits, chocolate, and silky textures. La Dauphine is now one of the top wines from Fronsac. Drink from 2025-2038. 94 Pts
2022 La Riviere – Fronsac – On the oaky side at the moment, but, with effort, you do find sweet, dark cherries, licorice, and chocolate on the nose, and on the medium-bodied palate. But the oak is going to need to integrate to make this an even better wine. Drink from 2025-2037. 90 Pts
2022 La Rousselle – Fronsac – Chocolate, licorice, espresso, and black cherry aromas fill the nose. The palate is loaded with creamy, supple, sweet, and lively, red pit fruits, with a silky edge on the mid-palate, that carries through to the finish. The wine blends 60% Merlot with 40% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2025-2040. 93 Pts
2022 La Vieille Croix – Fronsac – Flowers, black raspberries, and licorice pop with no effort on the nose. The medium-bodied, palate is even better, with its supple, creamy, fresh-edged fruits, that linger with their salty edge. Drink from 2025-2035. 90 Pts
2022 La Vieille Croix La Belle Endromie – Fronsac – Cocoa, licorice, mint, and espresso with red fruit aromatics show off easily in the nose. The palate is soft, and creamy, leaving you with cherries, and touch of oak in the finish. Drink from 2025-2037. 91 Pts
2022 La Vieille Cure – Fronsac – Medium-bodied, round, lush, and polished, there is some oak that needs to become better integrated. But, that does not stop all of its ripe, sweet plums, and cherries, with their cool, refreshing sprig of mint that adds freshness to the finish. Drink from 2025-2038. 91 Pts
2022 Les Roches de Ferrand Grande Selection – Fronsac – Medium-bodied, if not light, the wine at its core is packed with raspberries, cherries, and strawberries, in an accessible open style, with a definitive, herbal edge. Enjoy this over the next few years. Drink from 2025-2035. 87 Pts
2022 Les-Trois-Croix – Fronsac – It is the bouquet of freshly cut flowers that gives the nose its character. The palate is also fresh with its sweet, cherries, plums, espresso, cocoa, and mineral touches. Polished, and accessible, the is going to offer pleasure on release, and for close to decades after that. Drink from 2025-2040 94 Pts
2022 Mayne-Viel – Fronsac – On the light side, with a strong herbal note that adds a lot of minty, freshness on the medium-bodied, mid-palate, and in the finish. Drink from 2025-2031. 85 Pts
2022 Mayne-Viel Cuvee Alienor – Fronsac – Powdery red fruits and flowers define the nose. The medium-bodied wine is energetic, crisp, and chewy, with a touch of cocoa in the high-toned, red berry finish. Drink from 2025-2032. 88 Pts
2022 Moulin-Haut-Laroque – Fronsac – Quite floral in nature, the exudes its soft, round, lush charms with ease, leaving you with a soft, polished, layer of black cherries, and chocolate, with just a hint of spice on the backend. Drink from 2025-2037. 92 Pts
2022 Plain-Point – Fronsac – Soft, polished, silky-edged, dark red fruits, with just the right amount of chocolaty goodness adding a lushness to the mid-palate and finish. You can drink this on release or enjoy for at least a decade after that. Drink from 2025-2035. 91 Pts
2022 Puy Guilhem – Fronsac – Savory-edged, red fruits, with touches of spice, licorice, incense, and spearmint show in the nose, and on the soft, rounded, medium-bodied palate. You can enjoy this on release. Drink from 2025-2035. 90 Pts
2022 Tour Bel-Air – Fronsac – Truffles, herbs, licorice and red fruits define the nose. On the palate, the wine is quite green before you find its core of red fruits. Drink from 2025-2031. 91 Pts
2022 Villars – Fronsac – Lush, ripe, dark, juicy plums, with the perfect amount of lift and energy fill the palate here. The finish stands out for its refreshing minty edge, chocolate, and an array of spices that accompany its layers of juicy, pit fruits on the backend. Drink from 2025-2038. 93 Pts
Up next, we will publish our complete guide to all of the best 2022 Lalande de Pomerol Wines followed by more Right Bank gems with a complete report on all of the top 2022 Pomerol Wines before moving into our 2022 St. Emilion wine buying guide.
