Arrives mid-2025
2022 Chateau Beychevelle - 94.98
2022 Chateau Laroque - 34.98
2022 Chateau Cheval Blanc - 639.98
2022 Chateau Leoville Barton - 89.98
Please contact Jim or Nancy to purchase these futures.
jim@vintagewinemerchants.com
nancy@vintagewinemerchants.com
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2022 Chateau Beychevelle - 94.98
(92-94) Wine Advocate - Unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cherries and cassis mingled with hints of violets and licorice, framed by creamy new oak, the 2022 Beychevelle is medium to full-bodied, velvety and layered, with a fleshy core of fruit framed by rich, unusually suave and polished tannins in the context of recent vintages at this address. It's a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, with a pH of 3.85, quite typical for this address.
(95-97+ points) Jeb Dunnuck - I was able to taste the 2022 Château Beychevelle on multiple occasions, and it never failed to impress me. Based on 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot that will see 18 months in 70% new oak, it's one of those wines that makes you stop and say "wow" due to its purity, depth, and texture. Sporting a dense purple hue as well as lots of blueberry and black cherry fruits, it's full-bodied and has a layered, seamless mouthfeel, building yet gorgeous tannins, and subtle background notes of crushed violets, flowers, and graphite. This is a sensational effort from director Philippe Blanc.
2022 Chateau Laroque - 34.98
(93-95) Wine Advocate - Another impressive performance from this estate, the 2022 Laroque offers up aromas of sweet berries, violets, iris and exotic spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, layered palate with a rich core of fruit that's framed by lively acids, concluding with a taut, chalky finish. Once again, it's the result of a strict selection that sees only 45% of the production released as the grand vin.
92-94 Points Vinous - The 2022 Laroque is bright, focused and full of energy. In this vintage, Laroque is especially refined. Dark plum, graphite, licorice, spice, lavender and mocha are nicely laced together in this gracious, finely cut Saint-Émilion. Bright saline accents lend notable brightness throughout.
2022 Chateau Cheval Blanc - 639.98
(97-99)+ Wine Advocate - One of the stars of the vintage is the striking 2022 Cheval Blanc, a blend of 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon that bursts from the glass with aromas of mulberries, cherries and wild berries mingled with mint, orange zest, pencil lead, vine smoke and exotic spices. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and layered, it's rich and gourmand, with beautifully refined tannins, lively acids and a long, saline, pungently perfumed finish. Harvest began on 29 August, with all the Merlot picked before the month was out, and the result is a wine that is as vibrant as it is lavish.
98-100 Vinous - The 2022 Cheval Blanc is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage. Deep, seamless and striking in its beauty, the 2022 possesses pedigree to burn. Readers will find a sumptuous wine, but there’s plenty of tannin lurking beneath all of that intensity. In fact, the 2022 is the most tannic Cheval since 2010. The aromatics are surprisingly vibrant for a wine from a warm, dry year. The wine's energy is palpable. The 100% new oak is not all perceptible, which is another sign of top-notch balance. Time in the glass brings out a whole range of exotic Franc notes, followed by blood orange, red fruit, mind and dried herb touches. The 2022 includes 17% press wine (compared to the 11% or so that is typical), but as I have noted in my comments elsewhere in this report, the press lots were of high quality in 2022 because the winemaking was gentle. Once again, Cheval Blanc represents a pinnacle of excellence.
2022 Chateau Leoville Barton - 89.98
(96-97)+ Wine Advocate - One of the stars of the Médoc and a wine likely to equal or surpass its 2019 and 2016 counterparts, the 2022 Léoville Barton unwinds in the glass with deep aromas of cassis, pencil shavings, spices and tobacco leaf, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and layered palate that's vibrant, pure and seamless, with beautifully classy tannins and a long, penetrating finish. The 2022 is a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11.5% Merlot and 5.5% Cabernet Franc; and it's the first vintage produced in the estate's new winery, which more than doubled the number of vats, permitting sub-plot by sub-plot harvesting and vinification, along with a number of other technical improvements which translate into enhanced purity and precision.
96-98 Vinous - The 2022 Léoville Barton was picked between 8 and 23 September at 30hL/ha and matured in 60% new oak. This represents the first vintage that has been vinified using gravity and cuvons (basically vats on wheels!) in their newly-built winery. The nose makes an instant impact with intense black cherry, bilberry and violet aromas. A nuanced estuarine/oyster shell scent emerges with time in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-chiseled tannins, fabulous precision, a killer line of acidity and more mineralité on the finish, that it knows what to do with. This is a precision-tooled Léoville Barton with the sharpness of a samurai sword. The 2022 marks the start of a new and glorious chapter for the Saint-Julien estate, which passes in the slipstream of the 22019 and 2022. It constitutes the finest Léoville Barton that I have tasted out of barrel.