January 22, 2025
Bordeaux 2022 1st Growths: Mouton, Lafite and Margaux
Photo: At the end of last year, Château Mouton Rothschild unveiled its eagerly anticipated 2022 vintage label, created by artist Gérard Garouste to honour the 100th anniversary of Baron Philippe de Rothschild’s arrival at the family estate in 1922.
Timing is everything when buying wine:
Buying Bordeaux 2022 now offers a unique opportunity to secure exceptional wines at an advantageous stage in their lifecycle. Traditionally, En Primeur allows consumers to purchase wines while still in the barrel, often at a better price than once they are released. It also ensures allocations of sought-after vintages, allowing collectors to own these wines from the outset.
As these wines approach physical availability—typically 18-24 months after the En Primeur campaign—interest surges among buyers keen to add bottled vintages to their collections. This increased demand often drives up prices. Currently, we find ourselves in a rare sweet spot: these wines are on the verge of becoming physical, but market prices have not yet fully reflected the rising interest. With February availability on these 1st Growths from 2022, this is the perfect moment to secure these wines at highly competitive prices before the broader market takes notice and prices rise.
The 2022 vintage:
The Bordeaux 2022 vintage stands out for its remarkable resilience and excellence despite challenging weather conditions. A hot, dry growing season pushed vines to their limits, resulting in smaller berries with concentrated flavours. Across the region, Cabernet Sauvignon excelled on the Left Bank, delivering structured, complex wines, while Merlot shone on the Right Bank with opulent fruit and silky textures. Producers achieved balance through meticulous vineyard management and careful harvest timing, creating age-worthy wines of power, elegance, and finesse.
Potential 100-Point ratings:
All three wines offered today have the potential to be awarded the perfect 100-point rating from a number of critics and we advise clicking through on the “Add to Cellar” to see all the reviews that are added on the website, as we have only put two for each wine below.
This price is only for this week so if you are interested, we recommend adding these to your collection.
Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2022
98-100 Points | The Wine Independent, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2022 Mouton Rothschild, 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot, is aging in 100% new oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is incredibly closed to start off, needing a lot of shaking to wake up subtle notes of blackcurrant jelly, ripe blackberries, and fresh mulberries, leading to hints of espresso, crushed rocks, iris bulb, and star anise. Compared with the nose, the mouth wows with explosive, intense flavors of cassis, black cherries, and licorice that fill the palate, framed by very firm, beautifully ripe tannins and a lively backbone, finishing very long with mineral and floral sparks. It is amazing how classical this Mouton this is, considering the extreme vintage. A legend in the making. pH 3.89, TPI 76.
98 Points | Jane Anson
Inky damson colour, with vibrant violet reflections, velvet texture, aromatics less exuberant than the Petit Mouton, but the concentration and depth on the palate is absolutely there, with cocoa powder, grilled coffee bean, olive paste, cassis, bitter black chocolate on the finish as the tannins close in, ready for decades ahead. This walks the line, and is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Clearly needs a long time before approaching, give it the full 10 years and then some. Harvest began September 1, earliest since 1893. 32hl/h yield. 3.89ph, 76IPT, 100% new oak. Harvest overall September 1 to 26. Jean-Emanuel Danjoy director. 49% of production in the Grand Vin, 27% Petit Mouton. 100% new barrels for ageing.
Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2022
98-100 Points | The Wine Independent,Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Composed of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2022 Lafite Rothschild is deep garnet-purple in color. The nose is almost impenetrable to start, needing a lot of shaking to wake up delicate scents of crushed red and black currants, raspberry leaves, warm plums, and boysenberries, followed by hints of crushed rocks, damp earth, lilacs, and Jasmine tea, with just a hint of orange peel. The palate is classic great Lafite, featuring incredibly tightly knit layers of black fruits, minerals, and floral notes bound with a rock-solid structure of exquisitely fine, very firm tannins and bold freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. This is an intellectual triumph, but don't think about touching it for 10-15 years. pH 3.85.
97 Points | Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux
Saturated inky colour, with intense ruby reflections. This is a classically constructed Lafite, with clear power to the tannins and intense spice, a little more upfront and concentrated than you find in many En Primeur vintages at this property but it exemplifies balance and confidence. Fully in control, delivering estate signature with finesse and understatement, with pulses of graphite, slate, bitter almond and cocoa bean. Takes its time to uncurl in the glass, leaving you plenty of time to admire its architecture. Give it a good decade at least. 17.5% of press wine, 3.85ph, 41% Lafite of overall production. Harvest August 31 to September 24, earliest since 1893. 100% new oak, Eric Kohler techincal director. Potential upscore in bottle.
Chateau Margaux 2022
98-100 Points | Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux
Stunning in its density and construction, with a gorgeous balance that starts with red rose aromatics and slides into creamy and intense raspberry, damson, loganberry and cassis fruits. The intense structure of the vintage is on display, here with velvety tannins giving shape and contrast by a push and pull of slate, graphite, cloves, turmeric, cardamom and white pepper. Bitter dark chocolate ending, a character of the year but here delivered with a blast of cooling mint leaf. Philippe Bascaules director, harvest September 8 to 27, 25hl/h yield. 100% new oak, to be monitored carefully over ageing because this is the first time they have seen this level of alcohol in the Cabernet Sauvignon. 40% of the crop is into this 1st wine, one of the highest in years. Harvest September 8 to 27. They are slowly changing the row orientation in the vineyard at Margaux, begun last year but a 50 year project, and introducing more Cabernet Franc through field grafting (wanting to get up to maybe 15% of plantings, currently 5%).
97-99 Points | The Wine Independent, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2022 Chateau Margaux, composed of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-purple in color. It shoots from the glass with an initial firework display of redcurrant jelly, blackberry pie, and fresh, juicy blackcurrants, followed by an array of iron ore, lilacs, black licorice, and sandalwood-inspired scents, plus a hint of wood smoke. The full-bodied palate is densely laden with rich, concentrated, muscular black and red fruits, supported by exquisitely ripe, finely grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and fragrant. This is a jaw-droppingly gorgeous effort that should be immortal. This represents 40% of the crop. "It's been a long time since this much has made it into the First Wine!" commented winemaker Phillipe Bascaules. The pH is 3.61.