James Suckling’s top-scoring Bordeaux 2022 wines

James Suckling had nothing but good things to say about his 40th En Primeur tastings.

The critic described the vintage as ‘a new benchmark for Bordeaux’, praising the ‘resilient and adaptive nature’ of the vines in the light of challenging climatic conditions experienced last summer.

Although 2022 was ‘one of the hottest and driest growing seasons in the history of France’s most famous wine region’, Suckling was impressed to find that the wines produced were ‘opulent and structured but still fresh and balanced’.

He gave his top score, a barrel range of 99-100, to a total of nine wines, as shown in the table above. Chateau Cheval Blanc St Emilion topped the list thanks to its ‘brightness and weightlessness’, and according to Suckling might well be the ‘wine of the vintage’.

Among the other top scorers are Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac, Le Pin Pomerol and Chateau Leoville Las Cases St Julien.

Suckling’s only concern was about the wines’ capacity to age. The critic felt ‘a sense of fragility’ in this year’s red wines and urged winemakers to not ‘overdo the aging with too much new wood or oxidative processes’. He also predicts release prices will be high, which does not bode well for the campaign’s popularity, no matter how great the vintage is said to be.

For those looking to find opportunities in back vintages, there are plenty of options.

Indeed, there are currently over 4,064 LIVE Bordeaux opportunities on Liv-ex.