Review of 2022

BY NEAL MARTIN | DECEMBER 20, 2022

To quote Old Blue Eyes, two-thousand twenty-two was a “very good year”. A top vintage. A 1985 Burgundy or a 1982 Bordeaux. It was an annus mirabilis that reintroduced semblances of normal life. However, one defines that in this bewildering post-pandemic world. It felt as if life sprung back and what else was there to do but push the pedal to the metal and make haste compensating for months of lockdown? In 2022, I never worked so hard. Never strung so many words together (whether they made sense or not is another matter entirely). Never felt fitter, though I’ve yet to step back onto the scale after six weeks in calorific Burgundy. It’s a whirlwind year that occasionally overwhelmed me as I juggled an insane and admittedly self-imposed workload, constant traveling, countless dinners and tastings (sympathy cards welcomed), balancing all that with being a husband/dad/mate and safeguarding an everyday life outside the realm of fermented grape juice. The aim is to reach the end of the year the same person as when it began, just a bit wiser. Every year’s a bonus. Every year is another bit of extra time. So here it is, month-by-month, plus my musical recommendations as I have done every year since 2003…

All Things 2022

January – Blighty stands on the brink of another lockdown as Omicron, last seen battling Transformers, opens the next unwanted chapter of the global pandemic. Boris temporarily halts his house party at No. 10 and keeps the country open. It instils a feeling across the nation that there is an exit door, acceptance that we must live with the virus, not try to defeat it since it will always be one mutation ahead. Hence, the traditional Burgundy tastings tentatively return, albeit for professionals and select clients. The month finishes with the latest edition of the annual Southwold tasting of decadent Bordeaux 2018s, which I am remiss at not publishing (like an unforgivable number of events mentioned in this piece), not to mention a phenomenal 1982 Bordeaux dinner in Clapham with the First Growths firing on all cylinders.

Highlight: Dinner at Hutong in the Shard to celebrate my daughter’s seventeenth, the first time we could celebrate properly in four years. Someone takes photos from Hutong’s 33rd-floor lavatories as he goes about his business. Who says men can’t multi-task? The dinner sets a marker for the year. Instead of talking about doing things, in 2022, we were going to do them.

Memorable Wines: 1993 Domaine Réné Engel Clos Vougeot, 1982 Grand-Puy-Lacoste (magnum), 1982 Talbot (magnum), 1959 Pichon-Lalande (magnum), 2008 Château de la Tour Clos Vougeot Vieilles Vignes

February – Russian troops invade Ukraine. We’re only just recovering from a pandemic, and now WW3 to worry about? Anger simmers for the rest of the year. Macron has France locked down, so I’m perturbed about when I can return. Nevertheless, the month sees a few special dinners crowned by two birthday celebrations: a raucous evening at the Harwood Arms and a night away with Mrs. M down at the excellent Parson’s Table in medieval Arundel, a reminder that some of the UK’s best restaurants reside outside London (see October).

Highlight: The aforementioned birthday dinner at the Harwood Arms. Just lots of silliness and thunderous laughter with a gaggle of fabulous bottles. What more could you want? I might have to repeat it this coming February.

Memorable Wines: 1983 Léoville Poyferré, 1981 Wynn’s Hermitage, 2010 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine, 1971 Paul Jaboulet Ainé Hermitage La Chapelle

March – France opens its borders, and the passport is put to use as I commence a peripatetic spring. A week in Bordeaux spending quality time with châteaux (they appreciate a bit of TLC) culminates in an enthralling vertical at Pichon Baron assessing a treasure trove from the thirties to the sixties. Then, a fortnight in Burgundy visiting less well-known properties, filling in gaps from my 2020 barrel tastings and a week at Les Grands Jours. It doesn’t begin on a high note. Within minutes of arriving, I learn my dad has a serious illness. Fast-forward over the worry - this story has a happy ending, the indefatigable NHS sorting everything out in a jiffy, and he’s right as rain by summer.

Highlight: Driving to Brighton to meet former Smiths’ guitar legend Johnny Marr and shaking the hand of the one who invented the riff to This Charming Man. No, I still haven’t washed it.

This man is a God. Period.

Memorable Wines: 1971 Domaine Comte Armand Pommard Clos des Epeneaux 1er Cru, 2009 Domaine Georges Roumier Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru, 1955 Haut-Brion Les Carmes Haut-Brion, 1945 Pichon-Baron, 1967 Latour, 1949 Louis Latour Pommard Les Epenots 1er Cru, 2017 Matteo Correggia Roero Riserva Ròche d’Ampsèj

April – The month begins with a bacchanal at Medlar with old friends and a smorgasbord of fermented grape juice that gets the pulse racing. There’s an intriguing Durfort-Vivens dinner before spending most of the month in Bordeaux tasting the 2021s from barrel. It’s a welcome return to conducting tastings in the region instead of pallets materialising on my driveway. I screw up by revealing the previous night’s mystery vintage served at Figeac on social media, forgetting that the Manoncourts are repeating the soirée with the identical vintage the following evening. They were somewhat surprised that half the guests miraculously guessed the 1946, but at least it allows many to pretend that they are the world’s greatest blind taster. The banquet to celebrate the new winery opening at Lynch Bages is a lavish affair, Anne-Sophie Pic at the microwave cooking for the 5,000, though even she must cater to my dietary requirements. The lobster tail is delicious. I put one of the final copies of my Pomerol tome up for auction in aid of Ukraine. It fetches £2,000.

Highlight: Donning my unused tuxedo for the Académie du Vin dinner and being able to tie my bow tie rather than having to ask someone else to do it like an incompetent five-year-old schoolboy.

Memorable Wines: 1922 La Conseillante, 1946 Figeac, 1947 Smith Haut-Lafitte, 1928 Lascombes, 1967 Climens, 1995 Lafleur, 1990 Château Latour (double magnum), 2016 Bodegas Verum Cencibel Las Tinadas Organic

The second outing for my expensive tuxedo, bought just before lockdown in December 2019. Bow tie: my own handiwork.