Our report on 2022 Saint Emilion is divided into three parts because there were so many wines to taste. We are quite thorough with 162 different 2022 Saint Emilion wine tasting notes, which is why a single article was overwhelming with so many wines. As you can see, Part 1 are wines A-E, Part 2 are wines F-L and Part 3 are wines M-Z. You will find links at the bottom of the page for your convenience making it easy to read about the vintage and the wines you are interested in. Now, let’s get to the good stuff!
I love 2022 St. Emilion wines! Because the appellation is massive, there are a myriad of wines providing a large range of different styles and characteristics. But, overall, even with its diverse array of terroirs, 2022 is a beautiful vintage for the Right Bank and Saint Emilion with numerous beautiful wines, many of which will be charming to enjoy in their youth.
Stephan von Neipperg – Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere – “What is most important with 2022 is the level of freshness in the wines along with the balance between vibrancy and power. And the wines will be approachable young.”
As you must know by now, 2022 Bordeaux is the product of a hot, and very dry growing season. 2022 Saint Emilion wines are born from the drought. In fact, St. Emilion received less water than any of the famous Left Bank appellations and just slightly more rain than Pomerol. How vignerons handled the severe drought in the summer determined the style and character of their wine.
Stephanie de Bouard – Chateau Angelus – “Facing the dry summer of 2022, our long time grass and soil management of the vineyard proved its benefits with vines deeply rooted and able to find water. One key factor was the decisive moment of the harvest, allowing us to pick fresh grapes, tiny but packed with juice.”
But, depending on the vineyard, vignerons were able to produce several stunning wines, especially those with vines planted in the water retentive clay and limestone soils that are the heart of and soul of St. Emilion which helped to produce wines with beautiful character and style.
Helene Garcin Leveque – Chateau Barde Haut – “The signature of 2022 Bordeaux is ripe and fresh fruit, low yields and amazing concentration.”
Of course, the growing season for 2022 St. Emilion is more complicated than just hot and dry. Though, the lack of water is what shaped the vines and the wines. The summer was marked by not only extremely dry conditions, but the amount of sun the vines received, which also impacted the growing season.
Christian Mouiex – Chateau Belair-Monange – “In July we received 349 hours sun, and in August, we received 348 hours of sun. That is 11 hours a day of sun. For us, it was the sun that made 2022, not the drought.”
Most of the key months for 2022 St. Emilion saw little to no water; May, July, August, September and October were extremely dry. Fortunately, the water table from the winter of 2022, and June, which delivered just enough moisture to the vines made and saved the vintage, producing wines that will be coveted by future generations of wine lovers.
Michel Rolland – “It reminds me of 1982. But 2022 is better than 1982. In 1982 the yields were 60 hectoliters per hectare. Today, yields are dramatically lower. And as a matter of style, 2022, just like 1982 will be approachable young.”
Though, it is interesting to note how localized the June rains were, as different communes received various amounts of water. Some vineyards clearly received more rain than others, which helped both the Merlot and Cabernet Franc gain phenolic ripeness.
Julien Barthe – Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot – “For the first time, we have a lot of Cabernet Franc, which added to the silky, rich character, precision and length.”
Add to that, the incredible ability of the best water-retentive terroirs on the limestone plateau, the cotes, in the graves and to the east in Saint-Christophe des Bardes and you begin to understand the important role the soils play in creating 2022 Saint Emilion wines.
Due to the climatic conditions that created 2022 Saint Emilion, harvesting took place earlier than usual with some grapes being harvested in the beginning of September, making 2022 one of the earliest harvests in history for several estates. So, with 2022, the date of picking was one of the key decisions that needed to be made.
Frederic Faye – Chateau Figeac – “This is the first vintage where the seeds were already brown by October. That is a first me. The picking dates helped determine the style of the vintage. We started harvesting September 1, which is the earliest start to harvest in the history of the estate.”
It is also good to note that with 2022 Saint Emilion vineyards in the limestone and clay terroirs, the yields were dramatically higher than their counterparts in the Medoc. Still, the vintage required a light touch during the vinifications.
Matthieu Cuvelier – Clos Fourtet – “We did a gentle extraction with slow fermentations at cooler temperatures to preserve the freshness and purity in the wine.”
You might think that with climate change in front of everyone, growers would be planting more Cabernet Franc in the Right Bank. But in numerous conversation with vignerons, they were thrilled at how well the Merlot handled the drought. It was not only vineyard managers that were learning to cope with extreme conditions, clearly the vines were learning to adapt as well.
Aymeric de Gironde – Chateau Troplong Mondot – “For us, the key to the vintage was the ability of the vines to dig deep into the limestone and clay to find the moisture they needed. This year, it is easy to taste the terroir in the soils.”
It is also important to keep in mind the different approaches to vineyard management, as well as in the cellars, along with diverse terroirs and you come up with a wide range of wine and styles. And isn’t that one of the best things about wine, the diversity?
For a complete, detailed overview and analysis of the 2022 Bordeaux vintage and harvest with producer quotes… 2022 Bordeaux Vintage, Harvest Report
All of the following 2022 St. Emilion wines were tasted in Bordeaux in April. Most of the wines were tasted at the property. However, a few of the wines were tasted at Negociants, Consultants or with trade groups. Whenever possible the wines were tasted more than once.
As you will see from my tasting notes, due to a combination of climatic conditions, changes in farming practices, better knowledge of the vineyards and how to handle extreme vintages, there are producers at all ends of the spectrum that made the best wines in the history of their vineyard!
2022 Saint Emilion Tasting Notes Part 1, Wines A-E …
2022 Adaugusta – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Medium-bodied, forward, soft, fruity, and easy to like. The wine is going to be easy to taste on release due to all of its soft, ripe, sweet, cherries with their cocoa edge. Drink from 2025-2034. 89-91 Pts
2022 Angelus – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Deeply colored, the wine is all about its elegance in the texture. The fruits offer a level of purity and refinement that was not present in older vintages. Perfectly balanced, vibrant, long and intense, the wine is incredibly sensuous, velvety, and silky. The level of concentration remains, but the sensation here is now one of sensuality, balance, and sophistication. The silky, pure, red and black pit fruits with a cool touch of orange rind remain with you for close to 60 seconds. Fermentation at cooler temperatures and no sulfur during the fermentations helped maintain the wines elegance and purity. The wine blends 60% Merlot, and 40% Cabernet Franc, 14.5% ABV, 3.65 pH. Harvesting took place, September 6 – September 28. Drink from 2027-2060. 98-100 Pts
2022 Angelus Carillon d’ Angélus – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Cherries, spice, licorice, plums, flowers, and a touch of citrus create the delicate perfume. On the palate, the wine continues with its refined character. Nothing is forced. Everything with this wine is about balance, freshness, and finesse. The mid-palate and finish leave you with silky textures, and a purity of red pit fruits in the finish. The wine blends 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2025-2040. 92-94 Pts
2022 Angelus No 3 – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Roses, cherries, and red plums focus you on the nose. That same elegant theme, with its freshness, silky cherries, and red pit fruits carries from the medium-bodied, mid-palate, through to the refined, forward, fresh finish. You can enjoy this on release and over the next decade. The wine blends 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink from 2025-2032. 90-92 Pts
2022 Ausone – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Mint, licorice, spice, incense, blackberries, black cherries, espresso, flowers, crushed stones, spice and cocoa create the attention seeking nose. There is intensity, richness, depth, and energy on the palate. The influence of crushed rocks, stones, and chalk is strong on the palate. The peppery edge to the powerful layers of fruit provide additional complexity, and lift to the dark fruits. The resilient finish coats your palate with layers of salty, dark, sweet, black, red and blue fruits that linger. The wine blends 50% Cabernet Franc with 50% Merlot.15% ABV, 3.57 pH. Harvesting took place September 5-9 for the Merlot and September 21-27 for the Cabernet Franc. Yields were 38 hectoliters per hectare. 1,600 cases were produced. Drink from 2030-2065. 97-99 Pts
2022 Ausone Chapelle d’Ausone – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Deeply colored, the nose shows off its wild flowers, black raspberries, incense, and licorice nuanced perfume without asking. Medium-bodied, creamy, lush, fresh, and with a strong sense of minerality, the wine fills your palate with chocolate, mint, spice, licorice, and black cherries before you find all the salty, crushed rocks, and stones on the back end. Once again, it is difficult to believe this is a second wine. The wine blends 60% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% ABV, 3.52 pH. Drink from 2027-2048. 93-95 Pts
2022 Badette – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Richly colored, toasty oak is what you initially notice before discovering its wealth of ripe, sweet, black fruits, dark chocolate, licorice and fudge. Yes, the wine is rich, corpulent, and hedonistic, but it is also fresh, creamy, long, and complex. Drink from 2026-2045. 93-95 Pts
2022 Balestard La Tonnelle – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Cherry liqueur, plums, and espresso with bitter cocoa notes are in the nose, and on the medium-bodied, soft, fresh, creamy, fruit-filled palate. Drink from 2025-2038. 92-94 Pts
2022 Barde Haut – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, leafy herbs, spice, black raspberries, a touch of espresso, and licorice open the nose. On the palate, the first thing you notice is the silky texture. There is intensity, freshness, elegance, and lift to the red and black fruits with their elegant mouthfeel. The wine finishes with a touch of salty rocks that rides on top of all the layers of sweet, ripe fruits. The wine blends 80% Merlot with 20% Cabernet Franc.15% ABV, 3.75 pH. Drink from 2024-2045. 94-96 Pts
2022 Barrail Saint Andre – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Produced from 100% old-vine Merlot, the wine offers its chocolate-covered, red pit fruits, flowers, and coffee bean character easily. Medium-bodied, forward, soft, creamy, and fresh, there is a nice touch of salty, crushed rocks that accompanies the sweet, fresh fruits in the finish. Drink from 2025-2037. 91-93 Pts
2022 Beau Sejour Becot – St. Émilion Grand Cru – The bouquet of red and purple flowers stands out in the nose before you get to the sweet, red, black and blue fruits, licorice and spice. On the palate the wine is incredibly dense, sensuous, opulent and deep. Yet, with all the concentration, the wine is weightless, and effortless to drink. On the mid-palate, the waves of fruits keep coming as they coat your palate. The purity in the fruit, the energy, length, balance, and complexity is at a new level here. The seamless finish, with its ocean of berries, topped by a salty, crushed stones hits the 60 second mark. The best part of the experience is the velvet-drenched-texture that needs to be experienced. The wine blends 76% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5%, ABV, 3.55 pH. The harvest took place, September 5 – September 26. Yields were 33 hectoliters per hectare. Make no mistake, this is the best wine ever produced at Beau-Sejour Becot. Drink from 2027-2060. 98-100 Pts
2022 Beausejour Duffau Lagarrosse – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, black raspberries, crushed rocks, saffron, cloves, licorice, and plum liqueur create the nose. Elegant, silky, and fresh, there is intensity along with a haunting sense of purity to the fruits. The wine is perfectly balanced between power, and refinement, which you can easily taste and feel in its layers of ripe, sweet, sensuously-textured fruits. The seamless, mineral-packed finish crosses the 50 second mark with ease. The wine blends 69% Merlot with 31% Cabernet Franc. 14.9% ABV, 3.55 pH. The harvest took place September 6 – September 23. This is the earliest harvest in the history of the estate. Yields were 42 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2027- 2055. 97-99 Pts
2022 Belair Monange – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Dark in color, the wine pops with its notes of flowers, licorice, plums, espresso and chocolate-covered cherries in the perfume. But, it is on the palate which somehow remains perfectly balanced between all of the wines concentration, intensity, richness, and freshness. Nothing is out of place. On the palate, the wine is plush, soft, polished, fresh, vibrant, and long, finishing with crushed rocks, stones, chalk and bright, fresh, red fruits, with just a touch of spearmint on the backend. The wine blends 98% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Harvesting took place September 8 – September 20. Drink from 2027-2055. 97-99 Pts
2022 Bellefont-Belcier – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, plums, espresso, mint leaf, spice, cedar and blackberries create the nose. On the palate, the wine is silky, elegant, refined, and packed with the essence of minerality adding complexity to its layers of cherries and plums. The fruits express purity and symmetry in the finish. The wine blends 72% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.15% ABV, 3.45 pH. Harvesting took place September 7 – October 6. The wine is aging in 30% new French oak barrels, 30% in foudres and 40% in used oak barrels. Drink from 2027 – 2050. 96-98 Pts
2022 Bellevue St. Émilion Grand Cru – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Silky, vibrant, elegant, fresh, supple, and refined, the wine is layered with ripe, sweet, vibrant, red and black pit fruits. The concentrated finish, with its velvety-textures and layers of fruits hits all the right notes. Drink from 2026-2045. 94-96 Pts
2022 Berliquet – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, crushed stones, espresso, and red pit fruits create the nose. On the palate, the wine is expressive, silky, long, and deep, with intensity, purity and elegance, finishing with salty-chocolate, black, red and white cherries, plums and a dash of cocoa. The wine leaves you with refined, soft, polished edge in the finish. The wine blends 65% Merlot with 35% Cabernet Franc, 14.5% ABV, 3.55 pH. Drink from 2026-2048. 94-96 Pts
2022 Bernateau – St. Émilion Grand Cru – With black raspberries, cocoa, licorice, espresso and plums, the medium-bodied wine is sweet, fresh, structured and a bit oaky on the backend of the finish. Hopefully, the wood will become better integrated with a year or two of aging. Drink from 2025-2035. 88-90 Pts
2022 Boutisse – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Luscious, creamy, ripe, deep, dark, opulent fruits that come in layers with nuances of espresso, cocoa, and chocolate on the medium-bodied, fresh, polished palate. Drink from 2025-2040. 92-94 Pts
2022 Cadet Bon – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Deeply colored, the wine is rich, lush, and polished with layers of supple-textured, dark pit fruits. You also find chocolate, toasty oak, licorice, and black cherries. You can enjoy this wine early, for all of its sweet, luscious fruits. Drink from 2025-2040. 92-94 Pts
2022 Candale – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Black cherries, espresso and flowers are what you expect from the wine, due to its deep color. The wine is soft, fresh, elegant, medium-bodied, forward, round and fruity, on the palate and on the backend. Drink from 2025-2037. 90-92 Pts
2022 Canon – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Dark in color, the wine kicks open the door with its floral bouquet. From there, you find in the perfume, crushed stone, red fruits, licorice, spice, and wild cherries. On the palate, the wine is perfectly balanced between elegance and finesse on one side, and silky, fresh, sexiness and sensuality on the other side. The fruit shows a remarkable sense of purity. There are no hard edges. The finish is seamless. This is the best vintage since 2015. And in time, it could even be better! Drink from 2027-2060. 98-100 Pts
2022 Canon Croix Canon – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, cherries, spice, mint, spearmint, and licorice create the nose. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, fresh, sweet, soft, silky, and refined. The fruits are clean, pure, and elegant. The wine lingers, finishing with minty freshness. 2022 marks a change here. It is important to note that for the first time you find a majority of Cabernet Franc in the blend, which is 59% Cabernet Franc with 41% Merlot. Drink from 2025-2040. 92-94 Pts
2022 Canon La Gaffeliere – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Deep, and dark in color, the wine opens with flowers, oceanic influences, plums, smoke, licorice, and black cherries. On the palate, the wine is concentrated, opulent, polished, vibrant, silky and fresh, finishing with multiple layers of chocolate-covered, plums, black cherries, espresso, crushed stones and spices. What makes everything work here is the balance, freshness, and purity in the fruits. The wine blends 50% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. 14.2% ABV. Drink from 2027-2055. 96-98 Pts
2022 Cantin – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Lush, creamy, soft and polished with layers of plums, cherries, licorice, and chocolate. The finish is long, elegant and packed with layers of sweet, ripe, dark fruits and freshness. Drink from 2026-2040. 92-94 Pts
2022 Cap de Mourlin – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Silky, dark cherries, plums, cocoa, and espresso create the character here. The wine is creamy, elegant, round, lush and packed with deep, ripe, sweet fruits making this already a pleasure to taste. Drink from 2025-2037. 92-94 Pts
2022 Chauvin – St. Émilion Grand Cru – With a strong opening from its floral character, the perfume quickly moves to its black raspberry, espresso, and earthy side. The lushness in the fruits, freshness in the mid-palate, and salty, crushed stone character in the finish all work in harmony this year. This is the best vintage of Chateau Chauvin ever produced. Drink from 2026-2042. 92-94 Pts
2022 Cheval Blanc – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Garnet with purple accents in the color. The wine offers blackberries, black cherries, violets, chocolate, saffron, smoke, licorice, and orange rind nuances in the perfume. The palate is even more expressive. Regardless of what you have heard or expect, this is a gentle Cheval Blanc. The wine starts off slowly, and builds on the palate in intensity, slowly, but steadily. The wine manages to be as refined as it is concentrated, remaining perfectly balanced. The experience is seamless. The purity in the fruit is striking. The finish sees the 60 second mark and without a care in the world, keeps on going leaving you with layers of silky, sexy, sensuous fruits that linger long after the wine has left the glass. The wine is made from 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. 13.9% ABV, 3.8 pH. The harvest took place August 29 – September 6 for the Merlot. The Cabernet Franc September 12 – September 20. Yields were only 27 hectoliters per hectare. Please note that no second wine was produced in 2022. Make no mistake, this is one of the great vintages of Cheval Blanc, and that is really saying something. Drink from 2027-2065. 98-100 Pts
2022 Clavis Orea – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Black cherries, flowers, chocolate, licorice, espresso, and smoke create the perfume. On the palate, the wine is fleshy, sweet, lush, and creamy, with a salty edge to all of the sweet, fresh, black plums, and chocolate. Drink from 2025-2038. 91-93 Pts
2022 Clos Badon Thunevin – St. Émilion Grand Cru – The first vintage as a Classified Growth does not disappoint. With a deep color, the elegant, lush, silky-textured wine is soft, polished and packed with layers of chocolate, black plums, licorice, black cherries and just a hint of espresso. The palate is loaded with sweet, black fruits, lift, and energy, leaving you with spice, dark chocolate, plums and cherries on the backend. The wine blends 65% Merlot with 35% Cabernet Franc. 15% ABV, 3.8 pH. Drink from 2025-2038. 92-94 Pts
2022 Clos Dubreuil – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Dark in color, the wine pops with black cherries, smoke, licorice, spice, and dark, red pit fruits in the nose, and on the palate. Lush, polished, and creamy, with sweetness to the fruit, lift, and length in the finish. Drink from 2025-2040. 93-95 Pts
2022 Clos Fourtet – St. Émilion Grand Cru – With a dark, almost purple hue, the wine expresses flowers, licorice, smoke, black cherries, blue fruits, spice, salt and oyster shell. The fruits on the palate are long, rich, elegant, deep, and ripe. There is concentration, silky tannins, vibrancy, length and strong, mineral-influences on the mid-palate, and in the opulent, lively, long and intense finish. This is the first vintage where the parcels of Grandes Murailles were integrated into Clos Fourtet. The wine blends blending 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% ABV, 3.54 pH. The harvest took place, September 9 – September 27. Drink from 2027-2055. 97-99 Pts
2022 Clos Fourtet La Closerie de Fourtet – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Produced from a parcel selection, the wine is soft, polished, forward, round, and fresh, with a nice sweetness to the cherries, and licorice on the palate and in the finish. This is the first vintage when the second wine will be offered as a future. The wine was made from blending 90% Merlot, with 10% Cabernet Franc. You can enjoy this for its fruits, and freshness on release. Drink from 2025-2032. 89-91 Pts
2022 Clos Junet – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Medium-bodied, soft, and silky, with a profile of red pit fruits, creamy tannins, and espresso on the backend of the finish, this is ready to go on release. The wine blends 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec, 14% ABV. Drink from 2025-2035. 89-91 Pts
2022 Clos Lardiére – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Floral, spicy, fresh, fruity red cherries, and plums show in the nose and on the medium-bodied, palate. Fruity, and easy to like, you can enjoy this ripe, red pit fruit filled wine on release. Drink from 2025-2032. 89-91 Pts
2022 Clos Romanile – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Black plums, cherries, flowers, licorice, and espresso come to the nose easily. The wine is medium-bodied, vibrant, fresh, and chewy with sweet, black and red fruits with a touch of chocolate on the mid-palate, and in the fruit-filled finish. Drink from 2025-2032. 90-92 Pts
2022 Clos Saint Julien – St. Émilion Grand Cru – What stands out here is the minerality, giving all the deep, ripe, sweet fruits, licorice, flowers and spice a distinctive salty edge. The wine has length, depth, and a uniqueness of character that stands out. The wine blends 50% Cabernet Franc with 50% Merlot, 14% ABV. Drink from 2027-2045. 94-96 Pts
2022 Clos St. Martin – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, black cherries, licorice, smoke, spice, espresso, cinnamon, and plums open the attention-seeking perfume. On the palate, the wine is sensuous, silky, long, and polished. The array of perfectly ripe, black, red, and blue fruits, with their chocolate edge lingers as the berries caress your palate from start to finish. Drink from 2025-2042. 95-97 Pts.
2022 Clos de Sarpe – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Deeply colored, the wine is perfumed with flowers, crushed stones, peppery spices, black plums, black cherries and espresso. The wine is concentrated, powerful, and packed with dark red and black pit fruits, chocolate, and salty, crushed stone characteristics. Give it time to come together. It is worth the wait. Drink from 2027-2055. 94-96 Pts
2022 Clos des Baies – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Licorice, black cherries, and violets with espresso, and cocoa create the core of the wine. On the palate, the wine is lush, supple, rich, polished, and fresh. You will be able to enjoy this in its youth, due to all the layers of sweet, creamy, ripe fruits, or age it for more complexity. Clos des Baies is produced by Philippe Baillarguet, the long-time cellar master of Chateau Ausone. The wine blends 60% Merlot with 40% Cabernet Franc, 15% ABV. Drink from 2025-2037. 92-94 Pts
2022 Clos des Jacobins – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, incense, licorice, espresso, and red berries work together perfectly in the nose, and on the palate. The wine is medium-bodied, elegant, soft, and creamy in texture, finishing with silky tannins, and sweet, red fruits on the back end. Drink from 2025-2040. 92-94 Pts
2022 Clos-de-lOratoire – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Licorice, violets, black plums, incense, black raspberries, smoke, and leafy herbs open the nose. On the palate, the wine is creamy, fresh, rich, and loaded with black fruits, crushed stone, and spice. The oak is already close to fully integrated. The wine blends 80% Merlot, with 20% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2026-2045. 93-95 Pts
2022 Corbin – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, black cherries, black raspberries, licorice, and dark plum aromas come through in the nose. On the palate, the medium-bodied wine is lush, rich, and polished with more depth than usual. You can taste, and feel the balance, freshness, and levels of perfectly ripe pit fruits with ease. The wine finishes with dark, red pit fruits, and even darker chocolate. What really works here this year is the purity in the fruits. The proprietor, Anabelle Cruse says this is the best vintage she has ever produced. And I think she is right! The wine blends 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc. 14% ABV, 3.65 pH. September 6 – September 23 were the dates of the harvest. Drink from 2025-2042. 93-95 Pts
2022 Corbin-Michotte – St. Émilion Grand Cru – With a floral character, you find licorice, cherries and espresso at its core. The wine is medium-bodied, a bit oaky and finishes cherries, plums and cocoa. This will be enjoyable to drink in its youth. Drink from 2025-2032. 89-91 Pts
2022 Cote de Baleau – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Flowers, black raspberries, licorice, espresso, and black cherries form the core of this wine. Medium-bodied, soft, elegant, forward, and already delicious to enjoy due to all of its supple, sweet, polished, ripe, fresh fruits, this is going to be a pleasure to enjoy on release. The wine blends 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2025-2036. 91-93 Pts
2022 Couspaude – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Dark in color, the wine is loaded with black cherries, espresso, flowers, herbs, licorice, smoke and chocolate. Rich, lush and ripe, with layers of creamy berries and chocolate, this is going to drink well and offer pleasure, close to, or on release. Drink from 2025-2038. 91-93 Pts
2022 Couvent des Jacobins – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Deep in color, black cherries, licorice, chocolate, and plums. The wine is rich, chocolately, and packed with dark red fruits, and freshness with a hint of espresso in the lingering, sensual finish. Drink from 2025-2040. 92-94 Pts
2022 Croix de Labrie – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Inky in color, the wine exudes flowers, blackberries, boysenberries, mint, smoke, licorice, and black cherries with touches of chocolate. Here you find a blend of concentration, opulence, freshness, and silkiness. The wine is lush, and deep, with layers of ripe, sweet, black cherries, salty plums, peppery spices, and licorice. The wine is produced and bottled with extremely low levels of sulfur. You can enjoy this young, or age it for more complexity, The wine blends 84% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 6% Cabernet Franc. This is the first vintage with this much Cabernet in the blend. 14.5% ABV. 3.4 pH. The yields were 35 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2026-2050. 95-97 Pts
2022 Croix de Labrie Chapelle de Labrie – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Black cherries, chocolate, fudge, blueberries, and licorice scents are all over the perfume. Creamy, fresh, lusciously-textured, dark red, and back fruits on the palate with hints of spice, and a touch of mint that shows up at the end of the finish are what you find here. This is going to be a beauty on release. Drink from 2025-2037. 91-93 Pts
2022 Stella Solare Croix de Labrie Blanc – Bordeaux – White peach, pineapple, guava and saffron create in the perfume. From there, you find a fleshy, creamy, tropical-accented, citrus oriented wine that will be delicious on release. The wine is a blend of 60% Semillon, 20% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Sauvignon Gris. Drink from 2024-2030. 93-93 Pts
2022 Dassault – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Deeply colored, the wine is loaded with chocolate, espresso, cinnamon, flowers, and black cherries. The fruits are creamy, luscious, ripe, sweet, and vibrant with a chocolate edge to the berries in the finish. This is an outstanding vintage for Chateau Dassault! Drink from 2025-2042. 92-94 Pts
2022 De Ferrand – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Licorice, plums, black cherries, chocolate, and espresso open the wine with ease. Silky, soft, lush, and polished on the palate, the finish delivers ample layers of sweet, ripe, fruits, supple-textured red fruits with chocolately, espresso in the endnotes. Drink from 2026-2042. 92-94 Pts
2022 Destieux – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Rich, creamy, dark, luscious-textured black, and deep red fruits with freshness is what’s going here. You find those ripe berries in the nose, and on the palate where they are even better with their array of spices, espresso, licorice, and chocolate in the lingering, creamy finish. Drink from 2025-2042. 92-94 Pts
2022 Edmus – St. Émilion Grand Cru – Soft, elegant, medium-bodied, fresh and fruity, this charmer is going to be a pleasure to enjoy on release, and for up to a decade after that. Drink from 2025-2032. 89-91 Pts
Up next, 2022 St. Emilion Pt 2 Wines F-L, followed by 2022 St. Emilion Pt 3 Wines M-Z as we continue our 2022 Bordeaux coverage.
