The best St-Emilion 2022 in bottle

A mostly excellent showing for St-Emilion in 2022 - the only major appellation to receive above average yields. Scroll down for the top-rated St-Emilion 2022 in bottle [subscriber-content]There are a range of styles, but in the best cases expect freshness and zingy acidity with fruit purity but still plenty of structure and length. Vines on the limestone plateau and on clay soils in particular were successful having been able to access key water sources to withstand the drought. 'We've never seen our vines resist so well - there was no hydric stress,' said Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, co-owner and CEO of Château Angelus, earlier this year. She gave two reasons; the first because of the team's hard work on cover crops to keep humidity and freshness on the ground and second; the deep root system and number of old vines that were able get 'everything they need'. Talking about terroir Winemaker Benjamin Laforet said: '2022 shows how the vineyard work was more important than in the cellar'. Two of their wines, Tempo and Carillon, have the exact same blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc with very different expressions – the former being from limestone and the latter on deep clays. 'It really gives us an opportunity to talk about terroir,' he said. For me Tempo is a top value pick this vintage showcasing an easy drinkability with the Angelus flair. At Cheval Blanc, cellar master Carole André agrees: 'We weren't expecting anything fresh but the vineyard adapted. The vines slowed their metabolism to keep the freshness. 'We had tiny berries with thick skins but no sunburn' she added. With no second wine, Petit Cheval in 2022, 'almost all plots went into the grand vin, giving a good picture of both the vintage and the estate'. The grand vin spent 13 months in 100% new oak with 'good drinkability from the very beginning,' André said. Quality across the board For me St-Emilion is always interesting given the size, varying terroirs and classification system – of which the new rankings take effect from 2022. This mean Cheval Blanc, Angelus and Ausone are no longer Premier Grand Cru Classé A estates, with only Pavie and the newly upgraded Figeac in that category. For this report I tasted 153 St-Emilion wines, with another 100 or so from the satellites (Montagne, St-Georges, Puisseguin, Lussac, as well as Castillon and Lalande de Pomerol) which will be covered in another post. Almost 50 wines scored 94 points or above so there's plenty of choice for excellent wines at both Cru Classé and Grand Cru levels. Favourite wines My two favourites were Figeac and Angelus with 100 point scores . Both wines impressed with their precision and power, and entirely separately I used the words 'sophisticated', 'effortless' and 'moreish' in both of my tasting notes. Troplong Mondot was extremely impressive – sumptuous and filling but juicy and finessed. It's a little shy but there's plenty of potential for this wine. At the top end can't really go wrong with Canon, Beausejour, Clos Fourtet, Bélair Monange - all on the limestone plateau as well as Trotte Vieille and Cheval. Pavie was charming and structured and there were great showings for Pavie Macquin, Larcis Ducasse, Laroque (which remains very good value for its quality) and La Gaffeliere. Some wines are in the over ripe and over extracted category with opulent profiles, chewy tannins and still a lot of oak on show but many at the less expensive end will provide plenty of enjoyment and soon drinkability. Of the wines I note as 'great' or 'ones to seek out', they include the Cabernet Franc-dominant Jean Faure on clay-gravel soils as well as Haut-Sarpe and Sanctus on clay-limestone soils. [/subscriber-content] All St-Emilion 2022 in bottle scores [breakout] COMING SOON Tasting notes for all 800 Bordeaux 2022s plus

BORDEAUX 2022 IN BOTTLE SCORE TABLE: Top-scoring wines with 93 points or above

Individual appellation analysis and top-scoring wines

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