2022 Bordeaux in Bottle: Living in the Present

BY ANTONIO GALLONI |

Left Bank: Saint-Estèphe | Pauillac | Saint-Julien | Margaux | Pessac-Léognan & Graves | Entre-deux-Mers | Left Bank Satellites | Sauternes | Sauternes (Blanc Sec)

Right Bank: Pomerol | Saint-Émilion | Right Bank Satellites

The 2022 Bordeaux elicited quite a bit of enthusiasm at the outset. That’s not surprising, given the challenges of the preceding 2021 harvest. The world and the wine market have changed quite a bit since then in so many ways. But the fundamental question remains: How are the 2022s now that they are in bottle? The short answer is that the very best 2022s are truly spectacular. But there is also some variability, as we will explore below.

Clos Fourtet on a cold winter day. Saint-Émilion’s
limestone plateau excelled under the challenges of the 2022 growing season.

Clos Fourtet on a cold winter day. Saint-Émilion’s limestone plateau excelled under the challenges of the 2022 growing season.

The 2022 Growing Season

Obviously, the growing season has not changed since I first reported on these wines two years ago. Readers may wish to revisit my article, 2022 Bordeaux En Primeur: Balance Imbalance, for a detailed breakdown of key events. The long and short of it is that 2022 growing season was very hot and also very dry. Recorded hours of sunshine in the critical period from June to September soared to levels not seen since 1949. Rainfall for the 12 months from winter 2021 to fall 2022 was 50-60% of normal, depending on the appellation.

Subscriber Access Only

Log In or Sign Up

The 2022 Bordeaux elicited quite a bit of enthusiasm at the outset. That’s not surprising, given the challenges of the preceding 2021 harvest. The world and the wine market have changed quite a bit since then in so many ways. But the fundamental question remains: How are the 2022s now that they are in bottle? The short answer is that the very best 2022s are truly spectacular. But there is also some variability, as we will explore below.

Show all the wines (sorted by score)

Producers in this Article