2022 February Offer “Primeur Encore”
For rush delivery - Deadline for orders Monday February 3
January 30, 2025
2022 February Offer “Primeur Encore”
for rush delivery
Deadline for orders Monday February 3
Antonio Galloni of Vinous, the first critic to publish notes on the 2022s in bottle, has waxed poetic, finding many wines in bottle even better than when he tasted en primeur.
Luckily, I have been offered new availability on a great many of these wines and am putting together a rush shipment from Bordeaux to avoid tariffs. I can include wines that sold out in our first offers, all at initial en-primeur prices due to a stronger dollar,. I also have some great value selections. I’m not listing some that have increased in price, but you can ask me for a quote.
Except where noted, the wines are offered only in cases of six 740 ml bottles. No mix and match. Payment on confirmation. ETA end of March 2025. While we anticipate shipment before any imposition of tariffs, pricing excludes any that might be.
2022 Chateau Laroque, St. Emilion Grand Cru $38 Our Best Selling 2022!!!
even better from bottle than it was en primeur. Dark, rich, and enveloping, the 2022 is seriously impressive. Black cherry, leather, licorice, dried herbs, and mocha race across the palate. It possesses superb depth and nuance while capturing all of the richness of the year. Laroque is very clearly one of the sleepers of the year. Superb. Galloni
2022 Chateau Lafon Rochet, St. Estephe $51
pure class. Silky, aromatic, and gracious, Lafon-Rochet is quite possibly the most under-the-radar Saint-Estèphe. Bright blue/purplish fruit, lavender, sage, mint, and spice are all beautifully delineated. A wine of sublime elegance and class, Lafon-Rochet is exquisite in 2022. Galloni
2022 Chateau Montrose “La Dame de Montrose,” St. Estephe $47
Dark finger-staining briary hedgerow fruits – blackberries, mulberries, and brambles – plump, juicy raspberries and loganberries. There’s fabulous fruit precision – this is a little like a still-life painting in terms of detail, but it's dynamic and vibrant, almost pulsating in its vitality at the same time. There’s a slightly hint of wood smoke and toast and that self-same leafy freshness, with just a touch of graphite. Wild and rather special. A reliably great second wine. Barrel tasting notes, Colin Hay, Drinks Business
2022 Chateau Haut Bages Liberal, Pauillac $49 2-cases only
huge and explosive right out of the gate. A rush of dark red cherry/plum fruit, rose petal, blood orange, incense, licorice and mocha saturates the2 palate. Saline notes extend the mid-palate and finish effortlessly. This is one of the most exuberant, ample wines I have tasted from Claire Villars-Lurton. I would give the 2022 a number of years in bottle to shed some baby fat. Today, it tastes almost like a barrel sample! The purity and primary intensity of the fruit is remarkable. The Haut-Bages Libéral was raised in a combination of 40% new oak, 40% once-used barrels and 20% a mix of concrete and amphora. This is one of the under-the-radar gems of 2022. Galloni
2022 Chateau Branaire Ducru, St. Julien $58 8 cases only
Even more floral than Beychevelle, with rose petals and a touch of violet alongside the dark stone and plump berry fruit. The cedar arrives with gentle aeration, bringing even greater class and complexity. Incredibly soft and svelte, with a gracious and impressively dense and compact mid-palate. Fresh, bright and lively on the vivid finish, this is the best I’ve tasted from here. I find more and more similarities with its near-neighbour Gruaud Larose. Barrel tasting notes, Colin Hay
2022 Chateau Brane Cantenac, Margaux $86 6 cases only
every bit as impressive as it was _en primeur_. What a wine. Fresh, brisk and wonderfully vibrant in the glass, the 2022 soars with striking Cabernet Sauvignon aromatics. Graphite, menthol, sage, mint, licorice, dried flowers and a kiss of well-judged oak all meld together in the glass. Great wine is the result of many small decisions taken together, some of which may seem inconsequential on their own. The team led by Technical Director Christophe Capdeville nailed it in 2022. This is a magnificent Margaux that overachieves big time. The 2022 is one of the most finessed wines of the vintage. Galloni
2022 Chateau Lascombes, Margaux $83
a dark, potent Margaux. Succulent dark cherry, plum, new leather,licorice, incense and chocolate are all amplified nicely in the glass. Relatively soft contours wrap it all together. The 2022 shows a move in the direction of more energy, even in this freakishly hot, dry year. There are still some signs of the highly extracted style favored here prior to Gaylon Lawrence's acquisition of the château. Overall, though, the 2022 is impressive in that it signals a greater focus on quality through much stricter selection of what goes into the Grand Vin. Historically, Lascombes was two-thirds Grand Vin and one-third second wine, a proportion the new team has essentially inverted. Those achievements are made all the notable given that the new team arrived with the base wines essentially all vinified. Galloni
VALUE SELECTIONS
2022 Chateau Beaumont, Haut Medoc $20
Licorice, black fruits and a touch of espresso on the nose lead the way to the medium-bodied, round, polished, soft, fruit-filled, blackberry finish. The wine blends 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. For about $20, this is a steal!Drink from 2025-2031 - Jeff Leve
2022 Chateau Brane Cantenac “Baron de Brane”, Margaux $30
Limpid. Fresh. Bright. Lifted. Already very Brane. Bright, aerial and fresh with red and black crushed peppercorns intermingling with the fruits of the forest and briary autumnal hedgerow fruits. Succulent, limpid in the mid-palate with a well-defined tight central core packed with fresh berry fruit. So fresh and very vibrant and with a lovely sense of grip to shape the finish. Graphite and cedar and a very natural pleasing sweetness on the finish. Luminous. Barrel tasting notes, Colin Hay
2022 Chateau Branas Grand Poujeaux, Moulis $34 only offer in US
Reliably now the leading wine of the appellation and it certainly doesn’t disappoint in this vintage. Dark-hued and limpid in the glass, with lovely crimson and violet highlights and yet translucent too. A supple and subtle dark cherry and red and darker berry fruit – bramble, maybe a little damson too. Soft and opulent on the entry, quite ample but at the same time nicely chiselled by the fine-grained, glossy, silky and polished tannins.
Freshness from the minty note and with plenty of natural acidity on the finish. Long and tapering. Very harmonious and with a nice sense of moderation. Colin Hay
2022 Chateau Pierre 1er, Saint Emilion $26
A solid Pierre with chocolate, hazelnut, berry and orange peel aromas and flavors. Full to medium body. Juicy tannins and fruity. Poised and fresh finish. James Suckling
2022 Chateau Joanin Becot, Castillon $26
Violets, plums, cherries and licorice fill the nose. From there, the medium-bodied wine is opulent, fruity, deep and dark, with elements of chocolate, black plums, black cherries, spice and licorice on the mid-palate that carry through to the finish. Drink from 2025-2035. Jeff Leve
2022 Chateau La Garde, Pessac Leognan $26
A big year at La Garde, with new cellar, new label and new consultant in Professor Axel Marchal. Captures a charming freshness and nuanced fruit style that is not easy in the vintage. Slate texture, with ripe berry fruits and a kick of lemongrass, sage and white pepper on the finish, along with smoked sandalwood spice. Jane Anson
SUBLIME SELECTIONS
Available by the bottle
2022 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac Reg $786 Special $750 6 btls
2022 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac Reg $700 Special $675 6 btls
2022 Chateau Leoville Las Cases, St. Julien $315 9 btls
2022 Chateau Figeac, St. Emilion $345 8 btls,
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downtown on orders more than $75;
in Greater Boston on orders more than $199
