Author Archive

Château Léoville-Las-Cases was released yesterday. It is being offered by the international trade for £2,772 per 12×75, a 42.2% increase on 2021’s opening price (£1,950 a case). Leoville Las Cases is often a top performer and received a possible 18 100-point scores (including Neal Martin) making it the best vintage for a long time.

This year’s Las-Cases has garnered immense praise from critics. According to Neal Martin of Vinous, the wine received a score of 98-100 points. In his tasting note, he described it as ‘lavish and audacious’ for a Saint-Julien, surpassing the trio of 2018-2020 vintages and being a ‘tour de force’.

James Suckling awarded the wine a range of 99-100 points. He noted that the tannins were seamlessly integrated, providing fantastic structure, while the texture remained fresh and vivid. Suckling found it to be ‘thought-provoking’ and ‘endless’.

Meanwhile, Jean-Marc Quarin awarded it a perfect 100-points. He commented that it is ‘the meatiest, most precise, deepest and most austere Léoville Las Cases I know’ and added ‘that’s wonderful!’

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) also scored the wine 98-100 points. He said it was ‘one of the wines of the vintage’ and ‘a monument in the making’. That being said, Kelley did caution that ‘it wouldn’t surprise me if it were to shut down after a few years in bottle’ as it ‘was surprisingly open for a young Las Cases’.

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After the surprise release of Lafite on Friday, the second first growth wine of the campaign was released yesterday. Chateau Margaux 2022  is being offered by the international trade for £6,192 per 12×75, a 21.4% increase on the 2021’s opening price (£5,100 a case). It is wine that very often performs favourably on the secondary market and one that we will be taking our full allocation of.

Neal Martin of Vinous bestowed the wine with a barrel range of 96-98 points, characterized as having an ‘almost swaggering’ style. He emphasizes that this year’s Margaux deviates from its usual subtle and nuanced blend, instead presenting itself as a ‘First Growth that is dressed to impress’.

Jane Anson from Inside Bordeaux describes the wine as ‘stunning’ in terms of its density and construction, awarding it a score of 98-100 points. She commends the ‘gorgeous balance’ achieved, despite the unprecedented alcohol levels found in the estate’s Cabernet Sauvignon.

Jeff Leve of Wine Cellar Insider shares the same level of enthusiasm for the 2022 Margaux, rating it within the range of 98-100 points. He praises its ‘silky, sensuous, rich, and almost viscous’ palate.

William Kelley of Wine Advocate, while slightly more reserved, rates the wine at 96-97+ points. He acknowledges that the 2022 vintage is one of the most powerful ever produced at the estate, yet maintains that, at this early stage, everything seems to be in check.

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The next release of this campaign is Château Montrose. It is being offered by the international trade for £1,746 per 12×75, a 28.4% increase on the 2021’s opening price (£1,360 a case). It is a very high scoring vintage and still at a discount to the 2016 vintage as seen below.

Neal Martin (Vinous) awarded the wine a barrel range of 97-99 points, lauding the ‘focused, superb concentration’ in Montrose’s ‘trademark sense of symmetry.’ He notes that ‘this could be the finest Saint- Estèphe in 2022.’

‘Unrolls to show the depth and class of Montrose,’ writes Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux) who scored it 97 points. She goes on to praise the ‘intensity’ and ‘depth of expression,’ praising its ability to have ‘density without shouting.’

Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Independent) gave it a range of 98-100 points. She highlights the ‘vibrant and shimmery’ finish alongside the palate, which she describes as ‘a firework display’ of flavour.

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) echoed the enthusiasm for the 2022 Montrose, scoring the wine 99-100 points. In his words: ‘such a compelling wine that assigning it a bracketed score seems a mere formality.’

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The first of the four first growths was released this morning in the shape of Château Lafite Rothschild 2022. It is being offered by the international trade for £7,140 per 12×75, a 23.1% increase on the 2021’s opening price (£5,800 a case). Even with the increase in price on 2021 (as has been the norm for the 2022 vintage), the price still compares favourably with 2018 and 2016.  This is one of those wines that performs well year on year and we have taken are full allocation as usual.

Neal Martin (Vinous) scored the wine 96-98 points and said ‘perpetually the most deceptive of First Growth, one should not doubt its long-term potential’.

Several critics were quick to compare 2022 to Lafite’s greatest vintages. James Suckling awarded the wine a barrel range of 99-100, celebrating this vintage’s similarity to 1986 and its ‘purity and precision.’ In his words: ‘It’s really about being Lafite here.’ Similarly, Lisa Perrotti-Brown scored this vintage 98-100, calling it an ‘intellectual triumph’ that is ‘classic great Lafite.’

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) gave Lafite a barrel range of 95-97+, deeming it the ‘most tensile of the first growths this year.’

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Another big wine released yesterday. Château Pontet-Canet 2022 is being offered by the international trade for £1,077 per 12×75, an 21% increase on the 2021’s opening price (£890 a case). With very high critic scores this year compared to other vintages and still at a discount to 2016 it could be a popular wine on the secondary market a few years down the line due to it’s definite popularity.

Neal Martin (Vinous) awarded the wine a barrel range of 94-96 points, praising the ‘fine balance’ and ‘long residual peppery note’ on the finish. Admitting that he has ‘not pulled any punches’ for recent vintages that have strayed from the style of Pauillac, he notes that the 2022 Pontet-Canet is ‘safely within the appellation’.

Other critics were also interested in regional style, with Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Independent) calling the wine ‘Pauillac in all its powerful, energetic glory’. She scored it at a range of 97-99 points.

Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux) rated the wine at 94 points, highlighting the ‘vivid plum colour, violet reflections [and] chewy tannins’, that hit the palate immediately.

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Château Calon Ségur was released today. It is being offered by the international trade for £1,220 per 12×75, up 24% on the 2021’s opening price (£984 per 12×75). Often a very strong performer on the secondary market and a big following internationally, a wine that we will be taking our full allocation of.

Neal Martin (Vinous) awarded the wine a barrel range of 94-96 points, calling it ‘tight at first’ but praising the ‘classically styled’ palate once the wine opens up. He describes it as ‘uncompromising’, warning that ‘patience will be required’ for the wine to reach its full expressive potential.

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) awarded the wine a barrel range of 96-98 points. He noted that it ‘is another superb wine from this historic Saint-Estèphe third growth that began a comprehensive renaissance the better part of a decade ago’.

James Suckling scored it a similar range of 95-96 points. He noted that it was ‘traditional and typical for Calon with the tannin structure. A little closed today. But serious structure’.

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Today saw the release of Château Brane-Cantenac 2022. It is being offered by the international trade at £720 per 12×75, up 27.7% on the 2021’s opening price. One does have to bear in mind that the yield at Brane-Cantenac was down 40% on the previous vintage. Furthermore, the 2022 vintage according to the critics is the best vintage of the last decade – This perhaps explains the higher price.

Neal Martin (Vinous) awarded the wine a barrel range of 96-98 points, deeming the 2022 Brane-Cantenac ‘blessed with haunting poise’. He points out the ‘hidden depth’ that has come to be a signature of the estate, predicting that ‘it is a wine that 15 to 20 years down the road, you are going to treasure’.

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) scored it 95-97 points and noted that ‘this is a terrific 2022 that may rival or even surpass the 2019 if it realizes all its potential in bottle’.

James Suckling gave a barrel range of 96-97 points to this ‘long and very linear red for Margaux, with intense freshness and energy’.

Jean-Marc Quarin rated this ‘wonderful’ wine 99 points, his highest score given to Brane-Cantenac En Primeur.

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Château Duhart-Milon 2022 was released this morning. It is being offered by the international trade for £756 per 12×75. This is a 12.5% increase on the 2021 vintage – The smallest price hike of the big gun releases so far. Prices for the 2022 vintage across Bordeaux are generally up due to low yields and high quality wines.

Kelley (Wine Advocate) scored the wine 91-93 points, noting that it had a ‘velvety palate’ and concluded ‘with a youthfully firm finish’.

James Suckling gave it a barrel range of 95-96 points, calling it ‘full-bodied yet compacted’, with ‘fine and intense tannins’.

Jean-Marc Quarin also awarded the wine 95 points, praising its ‘very aromatic, fine, fruity, subtle nose’.

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Carruades de Lafite was released this morning. It is being offered by the international trade for £2,256 per 12×75, an 13.9% increase on the 2021’s opening price (£1,980 a case). This looks like great value as it is the cheapest vintage on the market. According to the fine wine trading platform, Liv-Ex, Carruades de Lafite is 94% correlated with age – 2022 En Primeur offering the best value.

Neal Martin (Vinous) is yet to score the wine. Although his Bordeaux report and scores are due later this afternoon.

Antonio Galloni (Vinous) scored it 92-94 and deemed it a ‘real showstopper.’

James Suckling gave it a barrel range of 96-97, describing it as ‘nervy’ with an ‘intense center palate.’

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) awarded it a barrel range of 91-93 points and described it as ‘bright and velvety’.

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Château Beychevelle 2022 has been released and it is being offered by the international trade for £836 per 12×75, up 18.4% on the 2021’s opening price (£706 per 12×75). This release price is lower than the current market price of all vintages of the last 10 years bar 2021.

Interestingly Beychevelle is correlated more strongly with age than score, making younger vintages and en primeur potentially good buying options.

Neal Martin (Vinous) is yet to score the wine. However, William Kelley (Wine Advocate) awarded the wine a barrel range of 92-94 points. He noted that it was ‘unusually suave and polished tannins in the context of recent vintages at this address’.

James Suckling awarded it a slightly higher score of 94-95 points. He also noted that ‘the tannins are very well-integrated’ and commented on the ‘lovely bright fruit of currants and blackberries’.

Jean-Marc Quarin scored the wine 95 points and said that it had a ‘nice finish giving way to perfume rather than tannin. What charm!’

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