Our Fine Wine team are out in Bordeaux for en primeur – follow their updates from each day of tasting, and some of their wine highlights of the vintage. On their fourth day they continued to tour the Right Bank. Catch up with Day One, Day Two here and Day Three here.

The wine world’s very own “Tinseltown” has been buzzing all week, thronged with visitors from all corners of the globe in a way not seen for some years. Traditional markets but also emerging ones desperate to get on the allocation list. Bordeaux is like no other wine region and when global demand and anticipation is on this scale it’s a hugely exciting place. To give some context, Château Figeac were hosting more than 500 visits every day during Primeurs.

As has been the theme all week, we are tasting the density and power of a solar vintage but enveloped with finesse and driven by vibrant freshness. Terroir has been amplified making this a much more transparent vintage than we might have expected. Resilience of the vines a key factor in success. These are wines where the terroir speaks, not so much the vintage.

Today we remained on the right bank, starting at Château Lafleur. As ever this is a seriously thought provoking, immersive vinous experience. An education on terroir. A profound yet discreet Pomerol – of course, regrettably, there is very little of it to go around. Instead, I would steer you without hesitation to their Mouillac property, Château Grand Village – “the village of Lafleur” is the family home, made by the same wine making team as Lafleur itself. First made over 200 years ago by their ancestors. Stunning purity, elegance and minerality. Always astonishingly good value.

The renovations at Château Trotte Vieille are now complete. A beautiful, peaceful setting to taste through a range of both left and right bank estates. Stand outs included Château Beau-Site – classic Saint-Éstephe. Will be value. Then perennial favourite amongst Jeroboams customers, 5^th Growth Château Batailley, the 2022 is one of the greatest they have ever made. With a commemorative label in “homage” to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, there was a distinct poignancy to the tasting. Everyone will want bottles and larger formats in their cellar.

Domaine de l’Eglise – the oldest estate on Pomerol’s famous plateau and close neighbours of La Fleur Petrus and Le Pin – is excellent and will likely represent serious value. Seven hectares with an average vine age of 40 years, the blue clay producing a denser, complex wine with cellaring potential. 

Switching to Saint-Émilion, Château Trotte Vieille itself is back en vogue, one of the oldest estates in the appellation and even has pre-Phylloxera vines with which they make a miniscule cuvee. The Grand Vin has beautifully silky tannins, creamy and textured with delicious fruit, very fresh despite some days of 40-degree heat. You don’t feel it at all.

Château Beau-Séjour Bécot is another to boast superb limestone terroir. Their historic vineyards adapted to the conditions to deliver a very mineral, ethereal wine which almost seemed drinkable there and then. Their cellarmaster affirmed this “I don’t have patience; I want to drink wine without waiting 20 years for it”.

Onto the charming Château Larcis Ducasse which occupies an enviable location on the Pavie slopes. South facing, they have produced big fruit and a “dialled up” style with plenty of generosity.

Château Pavie Macquin 1er Grand Cru Classé (B) is well situated, bordering Troplong Mondot and Pavie, and impressed. A precise, balanced wine expressing the beautiful aromatics and flavours of the vintage.

One recurring theme to mention is the changes to the white wine landscape. It cannot be overstated how good many Bordeaux Blancs are now, often at very sensible prices. They add class to a table. One illustrious château owner summed this up very well “the page I always forget to turn to on a wine menu, but really should, is now Bordeaux Blanc”.

Château Les Charmes Goddard – An insider’s Bordeaux Blanc which is a real star pick. With Sémillon the dominant of the blend and lees aging there is a vivacity and texture here, that can rival the great whites of Graves at a fraction of the price, with less than 1500 cases made.  Another value white to flag today is Château Grand Village Blanc, made with that same detail as Lafleur with parcels of vines that originated from France’s Sauvignon Blanc heartland, Sancerre.

Our final tasting was at the quintessential Pomerol, Vieux Chateau Certan, or affectionately “VCC”. Steeped in history, a 14-hectare single block which is widely regarded as one of the elite properties in Bordeaux. Alexandre Thienpoint and his son Guillaume have produced an epic wine. Chapeau.

Starting a week at Château d’Yquem and finishing at Vieux Chateau Certan is certainly a very privileged position. One is mindful of that. The real opportunity for claret lovers in 2022 however, is that Châteaux across the full pricing spectrum have made wines which are amongst their greatest ever. Wines that will cellar magnificently alongside those that will also provide earlier than expected drinking pleasure. We excitedly await the en primeur starting pistol and the first releases over the next couple of weeks.

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