After tasting more than 1,200 wines for his Rhône 2022 en primeur report, Matt Walls has given his full verdict on the new vintage.
Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for the 65 southern Rhône wines that scored 94 points and above.
Wines are listed by score then style.
| Producer | Appellation | Colour | Score | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Château de Beaucastel, Hommage à Jacques Perrin | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 98 | Notes of cooked blueberries and liquorice on the nose. This has great palate weight and density, it’s so savoury. The tannins are really searching, and the acidity is driving. A big tannic seat, and a lovely sense of vibrancy and freshness to the fruit. This has enormous presence, it's a big, powerful, dense vintage of Hommage that will age for a very long time. Around 60% of the blend comes from old-vine Mourvèdre from the Courrieux vineyard. Grapes are destemmed, fermented in tronconic wooden vats using natural yeasts after a brief cold maceration, with regular punching down. Drinking window: 2034-2055 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Cristia, Chapelle Saint Théodoric La Guigasse | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 98 | Herbal notes flow throughout the juicy strawberry fruit. The alcohol is present but it doesn't feel excessive, the balance is good. It’s exceptionally long indeed, with vibrancy and freshness. The tannins are incredibly fine, plentiful and mouthcoating. A very complete wine that's hard to fault, showing whole-bunch southern Rhône winemaking at its best. This is pure Grenache grown on sand at the lieu-dit La Guigasse, aged for 24 months in demi-muids. 4,800 bottles made. Drinking window: 2030-2039 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Janasse, Chaupin | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 98 | Rich black cherry and strawberry fruit, with impressive density and palate weight. The balance is good, with fur-coat tannins and admirable freshness. Yet again, this vintage turns out a wine seemingly far too good for the climatic conditions – but the evidence is here. Will be ready much sooner than the Vieilles Vignes cuvée, and is very close if not equal in quality, but just in a less robust, structured style. Parcels of Grenache planted on lieux-dits Chapouin, La Janasse and La Crau, the oldest planted in 1912. Drinking window: 2030-2043 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Janasse, Vieilles Vignes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 98 | Full, lush and powerful, with a wall of intense tannin – this is an enormously powerful wine that will take many years to approach a state of drinkability. Huge concentration and huge intensity, in many ways this fits the Châteauneuf archetype of statuesque wines for very long ageing. Be prepared for a long wait, followed by rich rewards. Partly destemmed, fermented in concrete, matured for 12 months in foudres and demi-muids. Drinking window: 2034-2047 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Mordorée, La Reine des Bois | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 98 | Huge and powerful, but so fresh. This has great driving intensity, with even bigger, more structural tannins than the domaine’s other cuvée. A rampaging Châteauneuf that will take time to settle, and will always be wild. Long, vibrant and chiselled. An absolute beast. Mordorée has been massive but overripe in the past; it's still massive but with this vintage the ripeness is more controlled, and it has transformed into something extraordinary. Fermented and aged 80% in stainless steel, the rest in old barrels. Drinking window: 2032-2050 Click to see full details | |
| Château de St Cosme, Le Claux | Gigondas | Red | 97 | Aromatically quite closed at the time of tasting, but this has power and vibrancy on the palate, there's a touch of sweetness to the fruit, which is dark and brooding cassis and blackberry. Generous in smooth, ripe fruit and stacked with an intense chewy layer of velvety tannin. Fresh and intense, this stands out for its sheer driving intensity and focus. No great flesh, but serious depth, and will make an impressive structural style of Gigondas when it's ready. From old vines, all whole-cluster fermented in concrete, no destemming, indigenous yeasts, and matured 100% in barriques; one third new, one third second use, one third third use. Drinking window: 2035-2047 Click to see full details | |
| Château Rayas | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 97 | Instead of maturing the three main parcels separately in 2022, all were assembled and matured together. Red and black cherry aromas and Turkish delight, then strawberry and kirsch on the palate, very silky and generous. Well balanced, with adequate acidity and vibrancy. Not massively structured, but it has a light mineral seam, with tannins that are lightly grippy and without noticeable greenness. A middle-weight Rayas with a long finish. Drinking window: 2030-2050 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Cristia, Les Sablons | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 97 | Full and juicy, with a slake of cooling glycerol that's cut through with bright raspberry acidity. The alcohol is quite raised here – it is pure Châteauneuf Grenache after all – but otherwise the balance is good, and the garrigue herbs bring some complexity. Good length, really quite captivating. Grown on sandy soils, fermented and aged in old oak barrels, 5,600 bottles made. Best vintage to date of this cuvée. Drinking window: 2024-2034 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Vieille Julienne, Reservée | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 97 | Blackberry jam flavours, but still powerful and fresh. Crushed strawberries too, and crushed bay leaves. It’s full-bodied and powerful, with remarkably driving acidity. The finish is long, with pliable, if dense, tannins – chewy like liquorice. It’s concentrated but not overripe, and the alcohol doesn't feel excessive in the mouth (though it's still around 16.5%!). A great Grenache, with incredible structure. Selection from Les Trois Sources, the domaine’s oldest Grenache. Only produced when the Grenache is good enough. Drinking window: 2031-2045 Click to see full details | |
| Le Clos du Caillou, La Réserve | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 97 | Very full but not overly bulbous, with a big tannic base from the ripe Mourvèdre. Powerful, this has serious impact and intensity, it's long and undulating with a firm, dry finish. Really impressive and silky, with great detail of tannin and tangy raspberry acidity. Excellent. Resonant. Grown on sandy soils of lieux-dits La Guigasse and Pignan sud; matured mostly in demi-muids and some clay amphora. Just 3,400 bottles produced. Drinking window: 2024-2037 Click to see full details | |
| Clos des Papes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 96 | Open and inviting aromas of dried pears, almost slightly hoppy. This is full-bodied and rich, but with good acidity thanks to the Bourboulenc and Piquepoul in the blend. There’s a lovely mineral touch despite being a big, powerful vintage. It’s not the most fine and elegant, but will be very good in time. The yield was down 50% this year due to hail. It’s worth waiting for this vintage, it will be wonderfully full and luxurious in time. Equal parts Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Piquepoul and Picardan. No malolactic fermentation. Drinking window: 2029-2045 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Beaurenard, Boisrenard | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 96 | On a higher level to the domaine’s Tradition cuvée this year, this has really fresh and lively aromatics and a delightfully vibrant palate. The star fruit and pear flavours have huge impact, and it has remarkable lightness for a wine with such concentration. Long, well balanced and impressive. Also contains 11% Bourboulenc and 1% each of various other white varieties. Biodynamic, fermented and aged in foudres and old barriques. 4,000 bottles made. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Solitude, Vin de la Solitude | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 96 | Restrained aromatics lead to a full-bodied palate with great textural wealth. Not as obviously oaky as the domaine’s other cuvées (though it is certainly generously oaked), this has some interesting grain and relief to the texture, and a long finish. Powerful, saline and well balanced despite its richness and flamboyance. Also contains 10% each of Bourboulenc, Clairette Rose and Piquepoul Blanc. This is the third vintage of this cuvée and already it's proving to be one of the most exciting white Châteauneufs available. Drinking window: 2023-2034 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Beaucastel | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 96 | Dark and inky in colour this year. It’s fresh in its berry fruits, really quite powerful, with muscular tannins and driving acidity behind. A dense, dark and brooding vintage of Beaucastel. The aromatic precision however is extremely impressive: elderberry, sloe and blackberry. It’s solid and will age well. Do not drink this young, as it will likely disappoint if opened too early. Grenache and Cinsault fermented in cement, Syrah and Mourvèdre fermented in foudres. Syrah and Counoise are whole bunch fermented. Drinking window: 2033-2049 Click to see full details | |
| Château de St Cosme, Hominis Fides | Gigondas | Red | 96 | Good depth of colour. The oak is really quite noticeable here, but it works, helping to round out the tannins and give some sweetness to the fruit. Really quite robustly tannic, this will take time to come round. The acidity is piercing too. A highly structured Gigondas with more depth than most this year – fully ripe in flavour, which isn't always the way among 2022 Gigondas. Grenache planted in 1902 (or earlier) on Miocene calcareous sand. Single vineyard. No destemming. 12 months maturation in French oak barriques: 30% new, 30% 1-year-old, 30% 2-year-old. Unfiltered. Drinking window: 2032-2043 Click to see full details | |
| Château Rayas, Pignan | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 96 | Vibrant strawberry notes to the Grenache here, it’s very alive. Rounded and generous, fresh, with only moderate alcohol this year. A touch of greenness to the tannin on the finish, but this is still well within the house style. Whole-bunch fermented, grown on the clay and galets of lieu-dit Pignan. Drinking window: 2023-2038 Click to see full details | |
| Clos des Papes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 96 | A touch less Mourvèdre this year, but not enough to change the profile of the wine, which is fairly classic albeit pretty bombastic in 2022. Raspberry and black cherry, ripe and exuberant. Full but not massive, the alcohol is present, slightly warming the finish. Tannins are a little grainy, so I would give this time to settle before broaching. Succulent and juicy, with a touch of liquorice. Vincent Avril believes the wine could close down quite early on. So drink young, or (even better) wait until 2030. All destemmed, aged in old foudres. Drinking window: 2030-2042 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Cristia, Chapelle Saint Théodoric Le Grand Pin | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 96 | Relatively pale in the glass. Pine needles and rosemary, very much a garrigue herb inflected nose. Broad and mouthfilling, generous and juicy, with rich strawberry fruit, ending on a sandy mineral note. Well balanced despite its breadth and warmth. Luxurious, languorous style that will drink well young and old. 100% old vine Grenache grown on sand in lieu-dit Pignan, no destemming, aged for 24 months in old demi-muids. 3,200 bottles made. Drinking window: 2024-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Cristia, Renaissance | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 96 | Wow, what a nose! Leaf tea, menthol and pine resin, a really captivating and complex display. Dense and intensely solid, with fine, bold tannins. The acidity is deep-set, rising gently through the fruit, leading to a long finish. Shows how well some Mourvèdre performed this year. Two thirds aged in demi-muid, the rest in barrique; one third new oak, that's very well integrated. Drinking window: 2026-2040 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Gourt de Mautens, | Vin de Pays de Vaucluse | Red | 96 | A tasting of six different barrel samples with winemaker Jérôme Bressy shows that all are distinctly different. He's now using 100% whole bunch. The overall impression of his 2022 red is that this is a really tannic vintage, as it’s a very structural wine. It has real complexity of texture from the different plots. It will be excellent, but will need time. Plenty of energy and tension, big concentration, potent alcohol, great depth and length. Drinking window: 2033-2053 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Beaucastel, Roussanne Vieilles Vignes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 95 | A big, expansive vintage of this wine, it’s really quite juicy and fleshy. The acidity is well balanced, but this is considerably richer than 2021 and even 2020. The oak feels more noticeable at this stage, too. Quite a potent, rich year for this cuvée, with a long finish. An opulent, hedonistic Roussanne. Matured in barrels, 50% new, 50% one-year-old. Drinking window: 2025-2038 Click to see full details | |
| Château Rayas | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 95 | Aromas of confit pear, honeysuckle and almond announce a very rich style, massive, mouthfilling, with rich alcohol and enough freshness to bring it all together. A rich Rayas blanc indeed! Grapefruit and aniseed on the long finish. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Chante Cigale, Extrait | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 95 | A touch smoky, flinty, this is tight and tense on the palate, dry and savoury. It's really quite focused, never overly fat, with a long, straight finish. Should age with interest. Domaine Chante Cigale continues to rise up the rankings of white Châteauneuf producers – consistently excellent. Perfect balance. Fermented then aged for 10 months in demi-muids. Just 850 bottles made. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Gourt de Mautens | Vin de Pays de Vaucluse | White | 95 | Deep yellow/gold in colour, with intense honeysuckle and dried pear. Rich, almost oily in texture, this is powerful and potent, but with good balance. 30 months in barrel before being bottled unfiltered. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Solitude, Barberini | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 95 | There's noticeable struck match reduction on the nose, which works its way through into the finish. The oak work is robust and toasty, but somehow doesn't occlude the pear and pineapple fruit. Exceptionally long in the finish, this is a massive white Châteauneuf with serious extract. For lovers of an oaked style, and those looking for a white that repays long ageing. Aged in 100% new oak barrels for 10 months. Drinking window: 2026-2040 Click to see full details | |
| Alain Jaume & Fils, Les Origines | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 95 | The powerful, gutsy Mourvèdre element is very much in evidence, bringing a solid base and firmness of body to the core of the wine. It's tannic, and will take time to come round, but the tannins are fine, detailed and succulent and the finish is long. A grand and monumental Châteauneuf for an affordable price. Fermented in stainless steel, matured half in concrete tanks and half in new barrels (the wood is very well integrated). Drinking window: 2032-2045 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Fonsalette, Cuvée Syrah | Côtes du Rhône | Red | 95 | Two parcels, distinctly different. The first is grown on galets, clay and sand and has an intensely spicy profile – cardamom and cocoa nibs – with oregano notes and grainy, grippy tannins that will need time to soften. The second is more herbal than spicy, with deep blackberry jam flavours, fleshy and silky and chewy tannins. The final blend (if it is indeed bottled separately) will have a strong bearing on the eventual wine, so take the score as a guide only. It will need long ageing to show its best whatever the blend, and should be highly complex when ready, and likely to always have quite textural, grainy tannins. Drinking window: 2035-2050 Click to see full details | |
| Clos du Calvaire | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 95 | Provençal herbs and leaf tea on the nose, Turkish delight too. Full-bodied, smooth and plump. It's robust but generous, with plentiful ripe tannins; acidity isn't high but the wine feels balanced and the finish is long. All destemmed, fermented in concrete tanks, aged mostly in large old foudres and some stainless steel tanks. Very promising and likely to be good value. Drinking window: 2028-2037 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Cristia, Vieilles Vignes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 95 | This is ripe for sure, but not overripe, and the oak is sensitively applied, giving some shape and focus to the wine. The alcohol is gently warming but not excessive in the realms of pure Châteauneuf Grenache, and it has remarkable length of fruit. A hedonistic treat. Aged in demi-muids and barriques, one third new oak, for 18 months. Drinking window: 2024-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Mordorée, La Dame Voyageuse | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 95 | Big, juicy, bold and powerful. Really driving, chunky, mouthfilling fruit and tannin. It’s long, broad and expansive, a huge wine for those that enjoy massive Châteauneufs. It's all there though – the fruit, the ripeness, the smooth tannin, the acidity, the freshness. Will take time to come together then it will be very long lived. The most powerful Dame Voyageuse to date – don't expect an approachable second wine! Drinking window: 2030-2047 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Vieille Julienne, Les Hauts Lieux | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 95 | Very ripe, and if anything even fresher than Les Trois Sources this year. Great finesse of tannin, and a really solid base for long ageing. This will take a long time to come round, and will be good for decades. Moderate alcohol, and a freshening, succulent, saline edge. No Syrah in the blend here, plentiful Mourvèdre however, which performed well in 2022. From three parcels close to the limestone plateau, some clay, relatively high altitude and late ripening, with less exposure to the sun. Drinking window: 2035-2050 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine des Bosquets, La Colline... | Gigondas | Red | 95 | Pretty style on the nose, sugar plum and black cherry, then really quite robust and concentrated on the palate, with good acidity and juicy, firm tannins. This has balance and freshness, it's powerful, with an inner sucrosité and a long finish. La Colline is a single vineyard selection of old Grenache planted on blue marl and limestone at altitude, 80% destemmed, then aged for 18 months in demi-muids. Drinking window: 2026-2037 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Clos des Tourelles | Gigondas | Red | 95 | Beautifully elegant, perfectly ripe and juicy, with incisive acidity. This has great tannic finesse, serious intensity, concentration and structure but is so fresh. A pure, classic example of Gigondas. Fast becoming one of the landmark wines of the appellation. A proportion of whole bunch is included. Vineyards around the Clos on the southern edge of the village, 4ha parcel. Drinking window: 2028-2041 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Olivier Hillaire, Les Petits Pieds d'Armand | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 95 | A more concentrated, deeper, fuller style than the domaine’s Tradition cuvée, with inner sucrosité to the strawberry and damson fruit. It's matched by good acidity and fine but present tannin and a long finish. Transparent in colour, an enjoyably precise, light extraction style. Fermented in concrete, aged in old oak barrels for 14 months. Drinking window: 2024-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Olivier Hillaire, Les Terrasses | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 95 | Darker in colour than the domaine’s other cuvées this year. Sage, raspberry and crushed strawberry aromas, open and enjoyable already. Full-bodied, more generous and expansive too. The alcohol is remarkably balanced for this style, especially in a warm, ripe vintage. Should age with interest on its fine balance. Fermented in concrete, aged in old oak barrels for 14 months. Drinking window: 2024-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Santa Duc, La Crau Ouest | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 95 | Pure Grenache, over 100 years old, on sandstone. Gorgeous strawberry notes on the nose. A delicate, fine, beautiful style. The acidity is balanced with fine Darjeeling tannins. Only medium-bodied. Great finesse, 'ça pinote' as they say around here, as it resembles Pinot Noir. Star anise and incense on the finish. All aged in amphora. Drinking window: 2025-2037 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Santa Duc, Les Hautes Garrigues | Gigondas | Red | 95 | Fairly concentrated, with good acidity and lovely tannic weight. Long, powerful but not overly thick. Planted at the foot of the Cône around their house. Drinking window: 2031-2023 Click to see full details | |
| Famille Perrin, L'Argnée | Gigondas | Red | 95 | Soft, velvety, approachable and powerful. Remarkable acidity, with intense, searching tannins and driving salinity. A deeply vinous wine. The oak is present on the nose and palate for now but it should integrate. It’s long and juicy. The alcohol feels well balanced, and this should age with real interest. 1ha plot of pre-phylloxera vines near the village of Gigondas. All aged in demi-muids, half new, half one-year-old. Drinking window: 2029-2042 Click to see full details | |
| Le Clos du Caillou, Les Quartz | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 95 | Dark in colour, this has intriguing herbal depths. Not massive, but it has an enjoyably compact frame, no lack of concentration, and serious intensity leading to a long finish. It’s vibrant, with amazing purity and clarity of flavour. Grown half on large pebbles, half on sand in lieu-dit Les Cassanets, destemmed, then fermented in tronconic concrete vats, then matured mostly in demi-muids and old barriques except for 7% in amphora. 6,800 bottles made. Drinking window: 2024-2033 Click to see full details | |
| Le Vieux Donjon | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 95 | Enjoyably fresh and fluid style, good acidity, with lip-smacking raspberry and strawberry fruit. Good feeling of lift and drinkability considering the extreme vintage conditions. Elegant, fine tannins. Fermented in concrete vats, then aged in concrete and old foudres. Drinking window: 2024-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Château de St Cosme | Gigondas | Red | 94 | Menthol notes and complex herbal essences. Soft, easy-going, the oak helps to bring some welcome polish and sheen, with well-balanced acidity. This is a successfully constructed wine in a tricky vintage, showing good winemaking. All whole bunch, fermented with natural yeasts. Aged 20% in new casks, 50% in casks used for one to four wines, 30% concrete tanks. Drinking window: 2026-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Château de St Cosme, Le Poste | Gigondas | Red | 94 | Darker in fruit and fuller bodied than most Gigondas this year. Remarkably smooth, this is enjoyably ripe and dense, with tremulous acidity. There's a touch of sweetness to the fruit from the oak that works well. Tannins are quite robust, so give this time. There’s a good core of freshness running through it. Tastes like good clay terroir, with good depth. Grenache planted on limestone marl, from a single vineyard. No destemming. 12 months maturation in French oak barriques: 20% new, 50% one-year-old, 30% two-year-old. Unfiltered. Drinking window: 2028-2038 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine d'Ouréa | Gigondas | Red | 94 | Hugely aromatic at the time of tasting, with exuberant blackberry pâte de fruits notes. So juicy, lively and energetic, with balanced alcohol, fairly burly but buffed tannins and good length. Dark-fruited and beguiling. 30% whole bunch, aged 14 months in concrete. Drinking window: 2026-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Piéblanc, Les Terres | Gigondas | Red | 94 | A wine with body, good fruit intensity, lift and purity. Piercing, tremulous acidity, and fine, pixelated tannins that are sufficiently ripe. It’s much longer and better balanced than most 2022 Gigondas, this has real charm and personality. Red-fruited and brisk, with no great concentration but it’s very refreshing. From 50-year-old vines at the foot of the village. Drinking window: 2024-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine des Bosquets, Le Regard Loin | Gigondas | Red | 94 | An expansive, silky style of Gigondas. Fine fruit tannins are bolstered by some oak tannins, it's certainly structured and with good acidity. Well balanced, this should age well. There’s satisfying palate weight and ripeness, with a raspberry-ish acidity and cranberry bitterness. A selection of the top barrel from each of the single-vineyard wines that are aged for a further year on the lees in spherical sandstone jars before blending. Drinking window: 2025-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine des Bosquets, Le Bout du Monde | Gigondas | Red | 94 | Strawberry and raspberry aromatics, with soft, flowing, smooth fruit that has an inner mineral freshness. There’s good length, with surprisingly well-balanced alcohol for a 100% Grenache. A successful first outing for this new cuvée in an awkward vintage –very promising. It’s polished and harmonious, perhaps a little too polished for fans of a more traditional, textural style. Pure Grenache grown on sand, all whole-bunch fermented, aged only in demi-muids. Drinking window: 2024-2036 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Santa Duc, Clos Derrière Vieille | Gigondas | Red | 94 | Very much a rounded style with notes of cherry and raspberry. Fine, dry clay tannins and good length, this is really quite mineral. Co-planted on limestone marl behind the village, grey marl that holds a lot of water, northwest facing, surrounded by woods. 60% whole bunch, aged in Stockinger foudres except for 20% that is aged in terracotta amphorae. Drinking window: 2026-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Beaucastel | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 94 | An aromatic vintage at this stage, with honeyed pear and honeysuckle characters. Full, round and generous, with plenty of glycerol, all cut through by a strong beam of acidity. Alcohol is just gently warming. Certainly a rich vintage, all about power, weight and ripeness. Drinking window: 2024-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Fonsalette | Côtes du Rhône | White | 94 | Honeysuckle and Williams pear, really full-bodied, silky and opulent this year. The richness is countered by gentle acids and mineral notes. Fresh and balanced, very big this year. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Nalys | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 94 | A full-bodied expression, the generous fruit is further accentuated by flowing, silky oak – all cut through, thankfully, by a line of acidity and a long finish. Plenty of impact, no lack of intensity or concentration. Give it a year or two for the oak to fully integrate. Drinking window: 2025-2037 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine André Mathieu, Vin Di Felibre | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 94 | Floral on the nose, soft and silky on the palate. There's a light oiliness to the texture, and a little mineral glint that helps bring freshness. It’s extrmely well balanced, and is one of the better white Châteauneufs this year. Poached pear flavours linger underneath the well-integrated oak. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Famille Isabel Ferrando, Vieilles Clairettes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 94 | Strong smoky bacon and struck-match characters here, leading to a medium-bodied palate. This has more freshness than most white Châteauneufs in 2022, it has detail and pep. On the palate it's quite richly fruited, with citrusy acidity. Not too full or alcoholic, this is one of the more successful white cuvées this year. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Le Clos du Caillou, Les Safres | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 94 | There’s a creamy vanilla touch to the pear fruit on the nose, then really quite unctuous and rich on the palate. It does have some intensity and brightness to balance it, and a long finish. Great overall balance, good freshness, powerful but not excessive, this is classic white Châteauneuf. Fermented then aged for four months in old barrels. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Alain Jaume & Fils, Vieilles Vignes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 94 | A delightful, dense fug of spiced blackberry fruit, this is promising. Not hugely powerful, but has good intensity and drive and a long finish. Well balanced for a powerful wine, this will offer big mouthfuls of fruit when young and will age well too. Well integrated-oak. Aged half in new oak barrels, half in concrete. Drinking window: 2026-2039 Click to see full details | |
| Château Mont-Thabor | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 94 | Relatively pale in colour. Quite closed at the time of tasting, with some smoky herbal hints. Well balanced, this has a good sense of transparency and drinkability, with a long finish. Enjoyable whole-bunch tannins, so give this a couple of years to come together. A very good year from this underrated estate, should be good value. Drinking window: 2026-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Château Sixtine, Cuvée du Vatican | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 94 | Perfumed, fresh and detailed. Soft on the palate, enjoyably undulating, with satin tannins. It’s well balanced even though the acidity is quite low; a long, tapered finish, with gently warming alcohol. An approachable, undemanding Châteauneuf, all in good balance, hedonistic and seductive. I would drink this young. Drinking window: 2024-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Clos du Calvaire, Père Pape | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 94 | Lovely expressive strawberry/raspberry aromas. A touch of bay leaf brings a savoury dimension. Soft on the palate, with juicy strawberry pulp, all well balanced by raspberry acidity and fine, powdery tannins. Pure Grenache lovers will enjoy this. Drinking window: 2024-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Benedetti, Larmes Papales | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 94 | A beautiful aromatic expression – lifted wild strawberries and violets. Soft and easy-going palate, with fine tannin. Has an authentic balance. Needs time; will be good. Rose comes through on the finish. Destemmed. Half fermented in demi-muids, half in concrete; all aged for 18 months in demi-muids before bottling. Drinking window: 2026-2034 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Janasse | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 94 | A classic, solid, well made and technically precise Châteauneuf. It’s complete, with ample ripe tannins, a firm, dense base of concentrated black fruits leading to a long finish. The wine is introspective and painfully young, and will need time to harmonise. But it has the freshness, balance and power required for long ageing. Likely to be good value. Drinking window: 2030-2040 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Vieille Julienne, Les Trois Sources | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 94 | Good sense of vibrancy, very much on the red fruit. Full but not massive, good acidity and sense of freshness. The tannins are quite chewy and fairly robust, so give this time. Lots of energy on the long finish, it’s well balanced and not overly full. Slightly leathery touch to the tannins. Three terraces on sandy soils. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Counoise, Mourvèdre, Muscardin, Terret Noir, Vaccarèse, Grenache Blanc, Clairette and Picardan, with an average age of 75 years, all coplanted and cofermented. Drinking window: 2030-2040 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Panisse, Le Mas | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 94 | Smoky herbal notes, Turkish delight, then oodles of ripe, vibrant fruit on the palate, this has serious energy. Massive, textural and mighty, this needs time, but will be excellent when it's ready. No huge concentration, but great intensity and focus. Mostly aged in demi-muids, with very little new oak. Drinking window: 2024-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Pégau, Cuvée Réservée | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 94 | Intriguing menthol nose, enjoyable garrigue herbal touches. It’s full-bodied, rounded, expressive, with good acidity. Robust tannins, so give this time to settle. Lots of whole-bunch characters, this is really quite old-fashioned, but in a good way – will likely always be a little lacking in elegance, but makes up for it with personality and textural relief, and a long finish. Also contains another 10 local varieties, around 1% of each. Drinking window: 2028-2037 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Elodie Balme | Rasteau | Red | 94 | Very dark in the glass. Wonderful aromas, brimming with garrigue herbs. Very full-bodied, with lovely fruit sweetness, so smooth and velvety. More thyme and bay leaf on the long, juicy finish. Great now, will keep and develop in bottle. Likely to be good value. Destemmed; 20% aged in barrel, the rest in concrete. Drinking window: 2025-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Santa Duc, Habeus Papum | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 94 | Lovely weight and generosity of fruit. This is more about acidity than tannins, which are fine, like wet clay. Perfumed violets and red fruits on the nose. A very drinkable, fluid style. Drinking window: 2024-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Mouriesse Vinum, Tour d'Ambre | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Red | 94 | Crushed strawberries with a perfumed violet note. Some sage and bay leaf notes. Full-bodied, quite powerful, with marked acidity. Decidedly tannic, with a savoury herbal edge – this has an enjoyably wild side. The fruit is sweet and gourmand, but there’s also serious texture. The alcohol is quite warming on the finish, but this is a classic, enjoyably old-fashioned expression of Châteauneuf. Drinking window: 2030-2038 Click to see full details |