2022 Wine

2022 Wine

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Born of a scorching summer and marked drought, the 2022 vintage defied expectations: instead of the heavy wines many anticipated, it produced deep reds with restrained alcohol and unexpected freshness. Success extends widely across France, with the Bordeaux Right Bank at its best, generous Burgundy wines and southern reds of rare precision. It is a vintage for ageing, consistent without being uniform, provided you seek out terroirs that maintained their balance. In Pomerol, Château Certan de May 2022 has produced a dense, distinguished red; in Roussillon, Clos des Fées’ La Petite Sibérie 2022 takes old-vine Grenache to an exceptional level. To see how 2022 compares with other great recent vintages, keep the SoDivin Vintage Guide close at hand.

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The 2022 vintage: a sun-drenched summer, fresh wines built to age

The 2022 vintage will be remembered as one of the decade’s great surprises. It was one of the hottest and driest years on record, and the vines endured severe water stress through the summer. Against all expectations, the best areas produced not heavy wines but concentrated reds, with alcohol levels in check and a freshness that is central to their appeal. Success was unusually widespread across the regions, though not uniform: everywhere, the difference lay in how well the terroir withstood drought and maintained balance. This combination of ripeness and tension makes 2022 a vintage for ageing, provided you choose carefully.

Bordeaux 2022 — An exceptional Right Bank vintage built to age

Bordeaux produced one of its greatest recent vintages in 2022, with the Right Bank setting the pace. On the clay-limestone soils of Saint-Émilion and Pomerol, Merlot and Cabernet Franc reached full ripeness without losing freshness, yielding reds that are powerful, velvety and deep. The tannins are ripe and supple, the structure dense, yet the wines retain an energy few expected from such a hot year. The Left Bank has also produced some excellent Cabernets, though results are less consistent. The dry whites, by contrast, have more limited acidity and are suited to shorter ageing, while the sweet wines of Sauternes are uneven: it is best to seek out the finest late-harvest wines.

The Right Bank’s greatest names have rarely been so convincing, and it is here that the year’s benchmark bottles are concentrated. In our selection, Château Certan de May epitomises this success: this Pomerol from the clay plateau, close to the appellation’s most celebrated terroirs, has produced a dense, distinguished wine in 2022, built for the cellar. In Saint-Émilion as in Pomerol, the finest crus call for patience: their full depth will emerge with time. Cabernet lovers, meanwhile, will find plenty to enjoy among the Left Bank’s classified growths, which are best kept for the long term.

Ageing potential: give the great Right Bank wines five to fifteen years; decant bottles opened young for an extended period. Drink the dry whites while their fruit is fresh.

Burgundy 2022 — Balance and generosity after a rare year

After three years of small harvests, Burgundy returned to substantial volumes in 2022 without sacrificing quality — a rare combination. Despite a hot, dry summer, the vines produced plenty of juice, and the musts proved balanced, with alcohol levels in check and acidity preserved. The reds have deep colour, dense texture and vibrant fruit, in a ripe style whose freshness recalls the great 2019s. The whites are rounded and complex, combining generosity with definition. Consistency from Chablis to the Mâconnais is one of the hallmarks of the year.

From the climats of the Côte de Nuits to the slopes of the Côte de Beaune, 2022 produced Pinot Noirs that are both fleshy and precise, and Chardonnays full of vitality. It is a vintage for every wine lover, appealing in its youth yet built to last. To explore the year’s finest cuvées and the region’s great appellations, discover our selection of Burgundy grands crus.

Ageing potential: enjoy the whites now and over the next ten years; give the finest reds ten to fifteen years, depending on the appellation and cuvée.

Rhône Valley 2022 — Ripe Syrahs and freshness in the north

In the Rhône Valley, the summer of 2022 was among the hottest and driest of recent decades, and the north made the most of it. Welcome rain in mid-August eased water stress and preserved the vintage’s balance. Northern Syrah reached full ripeness without excessive alcohol, producing dense, deep reds with vibrant aromas, far removed from the excesses of some earlier sun-drenched years. The whites, particularly in Condrieu, are fuller-bodied and a little less acidic, though the best retain tension.

Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage and Cornas are at the heart of the year, with Syrahs built for the cellar, marked by intense black fruit and a fine structure. The more generous south calls for greater selectivity between estates, but also offers some excellent Grenache reds. To build your Rhône collection, explore our full range of Rhône Valley wines.

Ageing potential: give the great Northern Rhône Syrahs five to ten years before opening; they should then keep for around twenty years. Open the southern whites and reds sooner.

Alsace and Loire 2022 — Generous whites and taut Chenins

Both northern wine regions benefited from the warmth of 2022, which brought their white grapes to excellent ripeness. In Alsace, the vintage is generous and appealing: Gewurztraminers and Muscats display broad, powerful aromas, while Rieslings have retained freshness and a convincing balance. Pinot Noirs reached remarkable ripeness, with intense fruit and ripe tannins. In the Loire, Chenin ripened without excess, producing vibrant medium-dry and sweet wines, alongside dry whites to enjoy for their fruit.

In Alsace, Domaine Marcel Deiss, true to its mixed plantings and grands crus, produces whites of rare density and precision, while its finest terroir-driven Rieslings combine power with tension. In Vouvray, Domaine Huet expresses all the nobility of Chenin in cuvées whose acidity keeps them vibrant, from dry to sweet. These Alsace wines and those of the Loire carry the balance that defines 2022 through to the northern terroirs.

Ageing potential: terroir-driven Rieslings and sweet Chenins will keep for several decades; Gewurztraminers, Muscats and dry whites are already approachable for their fruit.

Languedoc-Roussillon 2022 — An accomplished, fresh and precise vintage

The South is one of 2022’s great success stories, and Roussillon in particular has produced accomplished reds that are concentrated yet precise. Accustomed to heat and drought, the region’s old Grenache and Carignan vines yielded deep wines with firm structure and well-defined fruit, while altitude and schist and clay-limestone soils kept them from becoming heavy. In Pic Saint-Loup, Terrasses du Larzac and Faugères alike, cool nights helped produce structured, approachable reds. This is a vintage that rewards distinctive terroirs and exacting winemakers.

Roussillon is home to benchmark estates. Clos des Fées’ La Petite Sibérie cuvée, an old-vine Grenache from a windswept high-altitude plot, is their most accomplished expression: a powerful, distinguished red with a dense structure that rewards patience. Domaine Gauby, on the schist slopes of Calce, embodies the finesse and freshness that Roussillon can achieve with old vines. From Pic Saint-Loup to the Larzac, the wines of Languedoc-Roussillon from 2022 offer a combination of quality, pleasure and ageing potential that makes them one of the safest ways into the vintage.

Ageing potential: the great old-vine Grenaches will improve for ten years or more; more approachable estate cuvées can be enjoyed now and over the next five to eight years.

The 2022 vintage: a sound choice for the cellar

The 2022 vintage brings together what wine lovers seek in recent years: the generosity of a great sun-filled vintage and the freshness that makes it approachable and suitable for ageing. Its finest bottles — Right Bank Bordeaux reds, old-vine Grenaches from Roussillon and Syrahs from the Northern Rhône — will continue to improve for many years, while Alsace whites and Loire Chenins already offer immediate pleasure. To compare 2022 with other great years and identify bottles at their peak, keep the SoDivin Vintage Guide close at hand. Like every bottle we sell, our 2022 wines are assessed, checked and stored in our cellars until dispatch, so you can buy with confidence.

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