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‘Investment Wine’

A big release from Pomerol today in the form of Château La Conseillante. It is being offered by the international trade for £2,652 per 12×75, up 40.8% on the 2021’s opening price (£1,884 per 12×75). Although the 40.8% price increase is a lot, this wine still offers fantastic value compared to previous (lower scored) vintages of this wine on the secondary market. This is a testament to how it performs as an investment year on year. We have taken our full allocation here.

Neal Martin (Vinous) gave the wine a barrel score of 97-99 points. He mentions in his tasting note that ‘Marielle Cazaux has crafted one of the most intellectual La Conseillante wines in recent years’.

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) awarded the wine a barrel range of 97-100 points. He said that ‘the 2022 La Conseillante is a remarkable wine that has the potential to emerge as one of the wines of the vintage’. He went on to say ‘congratulations to winemaker Marielle Cazaux, consulting oenologist Thomas Duclos, the Nicolas family led by Jean-Valmy, and all the team at La Conseillante who have firmly established this estate at the very top of Pomerol’s qualitative hierarchy in recent vintages’.

James Suckling agreed that ‘this is sensational’ and commented on its ‘silky, silky, silky. Creamy texture’. He awarded it 98-99 points.

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Next up is Vieux Château Certan. It is being offered by the international trade for £3,300 per 12×75, up 20.6% on the 2021’s opening price (£2,736 per 12×75). Some older vintages of this wine have started to increase in value more recently according to Liv-Ex data, this could suggest that this could be a wine to hold on to.

Neal Martin (Vinous) gave the wine a barrel range of 97-99 points, calling it ‘very expressive this year’. He mentions that ‘while it is a real Left Bank/Right Bank hybrid’ it is ‘quintessentially Pomerol’.

Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux) awarded the wine a score of 96 points, noting the ‘exuberance of the vintage’ and mentioning that the wine ‘will no doubt increase with age’.

James Suckling gave the wine a barrel range of 98-99 points and noted the wines ‘excellent length’.

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The final first growth available to buy en primeur has been released. It is being offered by the international trade for £6,180 per 12×75, a 21.2% increase on the 2021’s opening price (£5,100 a case).

Neal Martin (Vinous) awarded it a barrel range of 96-98 points, praising its medium-bodied palate that is ‘blessed with unerring symmetry’. He noted the 2022 Haut-Brion’s ‘bewitching’ texture and a finish that is ‘almost pixelated’. In his words: ‘magnificent, but not necessarily the best wine that Delmas oversaw in this vintage’.

‘A classic, breath-taking expression of Haut-Brion’, noted Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Independent) who rated it at 97-99+ points. After the first ten years in the bottle, she expects to ‘watch it soar’.

James Suckling scored the wine at 98-99 points, underscoring the ‘fascinating aromas’ of currants and cedar with sandalwood and peaches. He highlights the ‘interesting’ merlot majority in this year’s blend (53.6%), an anomaly for Haut-Brion.

Ducru-Beaucaillou was released this week. It is being offered by the international trade for £2,244 per 12×75, up 17.6% on the 2021’s opening price (£1,908 per 12×75). It has been a trend this campaign that prices have been up compared to the 2021 vintage. Ducru-Beaucaillou is a wine that performs well on the secondary market and one that we will be taking our allocation of.

Neal Martin (Vinous) awarded the wine a barrel range of 95-97 points, calling it ‘one of the most dense and muscular’ of the Château’s history. He added that the 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou ‘threatens to overwhelm the senses’ while still young, noting that the bottle tasting will be particularly important.

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) assigned it a score of 94-96 points, deeming it a ‘punchy, modern Saint-Julien reminiscent of a hypothetical blend of the 2018 and 2020’.

James Suckling gave the wine a barrel range of 97-98 points, calling it ‘full-bodied with powerful tannins, yet fine and layered’.

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Château Mouton Rothschild was released this morning. It is being offered by the international trade for £6,216 per 12×75, a 21.9% increase on the 2021’s opening price (£5,100 a case). Another wine that we always take our full allocation of given it’s long history of success on the secondary market.

Neal Martin (Vinous) awarded the wine a barrel range of 96-98, calling it ‘a Mouton-Rothschild determined to make a statement’. He makes note of the ‘powerful, almost burly’ profile, saying it ‘feels a bit like tasting Thor’s hammer at the moment’. He is overall optimistic, though: ‘It is, perhaps, how the 1986 tasted in its youth’.

‘A legend in the making’, writes Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Independent) who scored the wine at 98-100 points. She highlights its ‘explosive, intense’ flavours, adding that ‘it is amazing how classical this Mouton is.

Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux) gave the wine a score of 98 points, recommending that the wine ‘needs a long time before approaching’, but is a ‘thoroughly enjoyable experience’.

‘In a word: magnificent’, says Antonio Galloni (Vinous) who rated it at a range of 96-98 points.

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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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