Bordeaux 2022 – searching for the truth

Wine

7 May

There’s already a chorus singing hallelujah about the 2022 vintage in Bordeaux. James Suckling came out characteristically superlatively, declaring it an “astonishing” year that “sets a new benchmark”, while William Kelley was more measured in his assessment.

Looking at the numbers, this isn’t necessarily a vintage I’d like. The alcohol levels tend to be higher (the lowest I found was 13.5%), they are often deep in colour, high in tannin and not always high in acidity – and yet that’s why numbers don’t tell the whole story.

I’ve just published my vintage overview, diving into the detail of the growing season and what producers did both in the vineyard and winery to produce wines that really are a surprise – and, for the most part, in the best way possible.

Read my full vintage overview on frw.co.uk/editorial

I’ll also be adding to our round-up of the critics’ reports as they’re released, find it here

12/05/23 – My report on how each commune fared is now live as well