Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux 2022

These are short notes from an afternoon tasting of the 2022 vintage hosted by the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux as part of Vinexpo Asia 2025 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, 27 May 2025. Consistent with general opinion of 2022 being an exceptional vintage, I found the wines, particularly those of the Left Bank, to be uniformly excellent, highly integral in structure and integration with lovely ripeness and acidity. Langoa Barton and Gloria were standouts, along with much of Pauillac and Pessac-Leognan. These are the modern incarnation of 1996. There is no need to bust your wallet; many of the smaller estates will offer plenty of top-notch quality.

2022 Château Langoa Barton. Deep purple. Expansive palate of ripe raspberries dressed in svelte sexy tannins, underscored by sublime acidity. Superbly integrated with plummy overtones. Highly successful.

2022 Château Léoville Barton. Purplish, exuding a gentle fragrance of light varnish. Sleek medium presence, highly integral. Balanced with refined acidity.

2022 Château Lagrange. Good colour. Medium-bodied. Distinctly ferrous and minerally. Well integrated with understated acidity. Drinking well.

2022 Château Talbot. Deep purple. Restrained bouquet of ripe berries. Medium-weight. Quite easy on the palate, structured with supple unobtrusive tannins though a tad austere at sides.

2022 Château Gloria. Deep purple. Restrained nose of dark berries with a vegetal tinge. Medium-full, imbued with crisp acidity that impart teasing intensity and lovely tension. Again, there is that bit of mint and vegetal note, but I was assured the grapes are fully de-stemmed. Good balance and refinement. Punches above its weight.

2022 Château Branaire-Ducru. Good colour. Highly integral with a relaxed charm. Very subtly nuanced throughout almost to the point of being nondescript.

2022 Château Gruaud Larose. Deep purple. Raspberries and dark berries dominate, imparting a generously layered darkish palate. Impeccably balanced with refined acidity and supple intensity. Modest finish.

2022 Château Beychevelle. Opaque purple. The fruit here is highly refined but just a tad backward, structured with terse tannins that impart lovely tension.

2022 Château Phélan Ségur. Impenetrable deep purple. Full presence of dark fruits and black berries, though somewhat restrained with understated acidity in spite of its terse dryish tannins, displaying good tension and balanced. Vinified in a mix of wood and stainless steel.

2022 Château Rauzan-Segla. Deep purple. Enamel, raspberries and currants dominate. Full-bodied, ripe and boldly structured with striking acidity that impart a dash of spice though it is somewhat austere at the sides.

2022 Château Kirwan. Deep purple. Lovely perfumed bouquet. Medium-full. Well-structured with plenty of stuffing, tinged with a dash of balsamic elements. Integral. Good length.

2022 Château Giscours. Purplish. Considerable restraint. Lightly perfumed. Medium presence. Rather understated and relaxed with unobtrusive tannins. Modest finish.

2022 Château Clerc Milon. Deeply coloured. Predominant purple fruits, tinged with olives. Quite full but well balanced and integral, structured with spicy tannins.

2022 Château Duhart Milon. Purplish. Inviting bouquet of ripe raspberries and violets, maintaining a poised open elegance in spite of its terse fullness. Balanced with considerable charm.

2022 Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse. Deep purple. Quite perfumed with a tinge of malt and rye. Well balanced with a lovely dryish intensity that exert controlled tension amid overtones of warm gravel. Modest finish.

2022 Château Lynch-Bages. Deep purple. Quite alluring in purple fruits on the perfumed nose. Medium presence. Open with considerable restraint, the wine beautifully integrated and impeccably proportioned, exuding the signature dryness of Pauillac with unobtrusive tannins. This is classic Lynch-Bages, perhaps a modern incarnation of the 1996. Excellent.

2022 Château Pichon Longueville Baron. Brilliant deep purple, imbued with an abundance of small ripe berries. Only medium weight yet wonderfully open and expressive, very subtly nuanced with great transparency. Impeccably balanced but unexpectedly understated. Not the usual extrovert. Superb.

2022 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Deep purple. Considerably restrained on the nose though the lush palate boasts superb detail and layering of gorgeous red fruits cushioned by chewy tannins that impart refined verve and elegant power. A wine with real character. Outstanding.

2022 Château de Pez. This Saint-Estephe is deeply coloured with a profusion of sweet alluring fragrance and floral hues, imbued with lovely minerally detail and intensity. Highly integral. Good finish. Very successful.

2022 Château d’Armailhac. Purplish. Fairly effusive in fragrant dark currants, berries and rose petals. Generously endowed and intense but the tannin structure is somewhat assertive, not helped by pointed acidity.

2022 Château Cantermerle. Deep garnet. Generous darkish density of cool ripe fruit on the nose and medium-full palate, boasting refined verve and tension with excellent understated tannin structure. Great balance. Runs the 2018 close.

2022 Château Le Bon Pasteur. Deep purple. Quite generous and full with a brooding darkish intensity, structured with dryish pointed tannins and a leafy tinge that impart a tad of austerity.

2022 Château Le Gay. Opaque purple, exuding dense purple fruits amid assertive dryish tannins. Quite minerally, oozing tight tension and intensity.

2022 Château Gazin. Good colour. Effusive in dense plummy fruit tinged with soy. Fleshy and well-integrated with refined tannins and slick acidity, producing dryish intensity with a glimpse of inner detail.

2022 Château Dassault. Deep purple. Restrained on the nose, though the firm brightly-lit palate boasts warm gravel and soy, structured with detailed tannins that exert fair intensity.

2022 Château La Dominique. Deep purple. Abundant in dark berries and currants that exert supple intensity amid a refined tannin structure, displaying good length and lovely integration.

2022 Château Canon la-Gaffelière. Opaque purple. Exudes a lovely sweet fragrance, matching the cool ripeness of ample density and intensity of dark fruits that impart a certain austerity. For the long haul.

2022 Château Valandraud. Deep purple. Effusive in beeswax and varnish while the darkish palate is generously imbued with black fruits, soy and dark currants that exert spicy intensity, finishing with great linearity.

2022 Château La Tour Figeac. Good colour. Sleek bouquet of citrus and currants. Generously layered with overtones of exotic spice and balsamic elements. Fine linearity.

2022 Château La Gaffelière. Purplish, exuding a lovely perfumed fragrance to match the full presence of dense dark fruit, underscored by pronounced acidity.

2022 Château Malarctic Lagravière Rouge. Deep purple. Quite effusive with a gravelly warmth tinged with rye. Fleshy with good refinement in spite of the intense fruit and detailed tannins tinged with a dash of coffee and vegetal tone.

2022 Château L’Arrivet Haut-Brion. Clear purple, showing considerable restraint in spite of its fullness, imbued with lovely tension and fine tannin structure.

2022 Château Haut-Bailly. Great colour. Clear purplish crimson. Restrained nose of small dark berries. The medium-full palate is open with sleek minerally depth and gravelly detail. Well-structured with controlled verve and intensity. An excellent effort, very Pessac-Leognan in character.

2022 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge. Good colour. Red fruits and dark cherries dominate on a bed of luxurious velvety tannins, producing lush cushioned textures with excellent definition. Beautifully integral. One of the estate’s best efforts.

2022 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc. Pale. Gentle presence of cool clear, pears and citrus. Rounded with medium weight. Rather teasing on the nose, matched by a restrained intensity of nutmeg and olives with understated acidity. Excellent refinement.

2022 Château Carbonnieux Blanc. Pale. Somewhat distant on the nose, though the rounded medium palate sports a concentrated racy freshness of predominant nutmeg with a tinge of salinity.

2022 Château Guiraud. Light golden. Enticing bouquet of nectarine, honey and cinnamon. Very cleanly delineated with understated acidity, not cloying at all. Highly integral.