2022 is the finest vintage I have ever tasted En Primeur.
There, I have laid my cards on the table in the very first sentence of this 36000-word Report. However, there is a warning.
Not every Château made great wines by any stretch of the imagination.
In fact, I have not published my notes from some 50 estates, totalling 5000 words of commentary, because they failed to reach the minimum standard that I expect from well-made wines from this incredible wine region.
I have not listed the names of said Château, but please understand that a fair few were very well-known indeed.
So, as I write in all of my EP introductions, please follow my advice and do not risk disappointment by buying a wine that has not received a decent score and a favourable tasting note.
As always, I was excited to attack this Primeurs week with gusto. I never listen to the pre-tasting gossip or read any weather reports or generic propaganda ahead of this intense week of tasting and touring. I let the wines do the work and draw conclusions from what is in the glass and from the people who make these wines instead of random commentary and miscellaneous hype. I have been doing this Report for too long to be sucked into the machine.
This report condenses reams and reams of paperwork given to me by those Châteaux with whom I visited down to a few concise conclusions. In other words, this is all you need to know about the 2022 vintage in Bordeaux, and I hope that it will enable you to make highly informed decisions on which wines to buy for your cellar.