November 6, 2025
d'Issan 2022 - Number 1 wine of 2025 - James Suckling
d'Issan 2022 - Sucklings Top wine of 2025
We love a good top 100 wines of the year list, and love or hate the man, James Suckling, and his team taste a lot of wine (45,000 to be exact). This year, the top spot goes to a well-deserved d'Issan 2022. The other critics also love the wine with high scores from Decanter, Jeb Dunnuck and Lisa Perrotti-Brown, who wrote, “This is what Margaux is all about!”
“This has crunchy and lightly chewy tannins that are slightly austere but in an elegant, classical Bordeaux way. Chewy at the end. So much energy and vibe. So complex. Probably the greatest wine ever from here. " - James Suckling
Chateau d’Issan, a historic Third Growth estate in Margaux, has been producing refined, age-worthy wines since the 12th century, famously served at the wedding of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II. Under Emmanuel Cruse’s stewardship, the estate combines traditional elegance with modern precision, crafting Cabernet-led blends that capture Margaux’s hallmark perfume, texture, and graceful power.
The 2022 d’Issan is one of the finest vintages ever produced, combining opulence with classical Margaux poise. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and small amounts of Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, it shows layers of blackcurrant, violet, dark chocolate and spice. Silky yet structured, it delivers precision, vibrancy and impressive length. Rich, complex and full of energy, this is a truly exceptional d’Issan.
Stylistically, Chateau d’Issan crafts Margaux wines of classical elegance and refined structure, positioned between the depth and power of Palmer and the aromatic finesse of Chateau Margaux.
With the James Suckling Top 100 Wines of 2025 being announced Friday afternoon, we’re proud to present a small parcel of what critics are calling the greatest d’Issan ever made. This is your chance to secure a future legend of Margaux before the world takes notice, at a highly competitive €59* In Bond per bottle.
“This is why I chose the Château d'Issan Margaux 2022 as our Wine of the Year for 2025. I just drank a bottle a couple of nights ago before finishing this article and I was elated to enjoy such a glorious young bottle of Bordeaux. The opulent and complex fruit in the wine just kept me coming back with every sip. It’s luxurious, to say the least, with velvety tannins and complex flavors of currants, spices and mushrooms. Marie and I and two other colleagues finished the bottle in 20 minutes at the dinner table as we discussed the virtues of the wine. All we could say when our glasses were empty was, “Where did the bottle go?”” - James Suckling
Chateau d'Issan 2022
€59* In Bond per bottle
98 Points | James Suckling
This is really luxurious, showing blackcurrants and orange peel with cedar and dried-mushroom aromas following through to a medium to full body that grows on the palate. This has crunchy and lightly chewy tannins that are slightly austere but in an elegant, classical Bordeaux way. Chewy at the end. So much energy and vibe. So complex. Probably the greatest wine ever from here. A blend of 65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 2% cabernet franc, 2% malbec and 1% petit verdot. Best after 2028 but already a joy to taste.
97 Points | The Wine Independent, Chris Kissack
The blend here is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot, taking a lot of fruit from the parcels outside the clos, the grand vin in this vintage accounting for 54% of the total production. The élevage was in 50% new barrels. A very polished nose here, dark berries coated in dry dark chocolate, with tobacco, black olive and soot complexities, as well as a floral touch, suggestive of peony and mint. A nicely polished palate, medium-bodied, but with a fine and dry extract, with tightly knit tannins wrapped up in ribbons of dark and salted fruits, black olive, tobacco, leather and black pepper, which lies atop a dark and sinewy backbone of tightly knit and energetic tannins. Great length here, the length wrapped up in those tannins, finely defined and tight knit. A very convincing d’Issan which will surely evolve well over the next couple of decades. Absolutely delicious this – one of the best vintages from d’Issan I have tasted. The alcohol on the palate is 14.5%.
97 Points | The Wine Palate, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec, and 1% Petit Verdot, aged in 50% new oak, d’Issan 2022 has a deep garnet-purple color. It opens with a gorgeous perfume of crème de cassis, black raspberries, and violets, giving way to hints of mint tea, dark chocolate, and underbrush. Full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully silky with bags of juicy red and black fruit flavors and a lively backbone, finishing long and fragrant. This is what Margaux is all about!
96 Points | Jeb Dunnuck
The deep ruby/purple-hued 2022 Château D'Issan is rock star stuff, offering a massive array of red and black fruits, spring flowers, violets, smoky tobacco, and a beautiful sense of minerality. This full-bodied, powerful, concentrated Issan has a layered, seamless mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. The alcohol here is 14.6% and the pH is a solid 3.6. Give bottles 4-5 years if you can, and it will evolve gracefully over the following three decades.
96 Points | Decanter, Georgina Hindle
Wonderfully intense fragrance on the nose - violets, blackcurrants and chocolate. Smooth and silky, almost creamy in texture with bite to the tangy strawberry and red cherry fruit. The grip from the tannins takes hold from the mid palate onwards, creating a funnel for the energy and power to surge through ending long and lifted. Lovely winemaking, this has thrust but is packaged really elegantly with the opulence of 2022 clearly on show - especially with a flash of heat on the finish - but balanced freshness and a light touch in the cellar. Bold but seductive nonetheless.
95 Points | Wine Advocate, William Kelley
The 2022 D'Issan has turned out beautifully, wafting from the glass with aromas of minty cassis, rose petals, pencil shavings and vine smoke. Medium to full-bodied, suave and velvety, it's deep, complex and well-balanced, with a sweet core of fruit and ripe structuring tannins. It's a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and the balance Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.
*Prices are accurate as of the blog publication date and may be subject to change.