Under the law of Hong Kong, intoxicating liquor must not be sold or supplied to a minor in the course of business. 根據香港法律,不得在業務過程中,向未成年人售賣或供應令人醺醉的酒類。

En Primeur 2022 Announcement

En Primeur 2022 Announcement

Our Managing Director, Eric, and our Fine Wine Team have been in Bordeaux with some Hong Kong sommeliers for the annual En Primeur tastings.

We will also be tasting plenty of the 2022 samples in HK over the next few weeks and discussing the wines with various Châteaux (via zoom), to get a better understanding of the vintage.


 “2022 is a paradox,” said Jean-Philippe Masclef, the technical director of Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion. “It is a year that shows wines with beautiful balance. And they have no greenness. They are fresh. It’s astonishing. Nothing is out of balance.”

Some winemakers say that one of the key factors in 2022 was the extensive rain in June and two days of showers in August. “Without those two episodes of rain, the profile of the wines would not have been what they are,” said Christian Seely, the head of AXA wines, including Ch. Pichon-Baron and Ch. Suduiraut.

“Our extractions were light because we had higher potential alcohol. Cabernet franc had much less juice, so you had to pay attention.” Nicolas Thienpont, a consulting enologist of Larcis Ducasse


We have summarised a few key highlights of the vintage

·     Overall, it was a year of highs and lows – high temperatures, low rainfall.
·        A cool but dry winter led to early and successful budburst and flowering. 
·        Frosts in April and significant hailstorms in June caused low yields.
·        Dry and sunny weather from July onwards (the driest in decades!)  but thankfully with cool nights for freshness in the vintage.
·        Some producers relied on older more established vines against the drought; whilst others chose to green harvest, removing excess buds to reduce stress on the vines.
·        The yields were still smaller than usual and there was some of the earliest ever harvestings!!!!


Merlot and Cabernet Franc performed superbly in 2022, that greatly contributes to exuding richness and depth of the reds. Overall, it’s a superb year for red wines in Bordeaux, making wines with good tannic structure, ripe and opulent fruit, but maintaining good freshness.

The easy tannins allow the wines to be approachable early, but they will also age gracefully.

The dry whites will give pleasure to their slowly growing number of followers, and the sweet whites are rich and balanced.

Stay tuned! We will update you further, after the sample tastings in the coming weeks.

 



‘Astonishing’…2022 sets a new benchmark, James Suckling

‘For me personally, it sets a new benchmark for Bordeaux after my first reference vintage for the region from barrel, 1982. The 2022 shows that the vineyards of the region are resilient and adaptive enough to counterbalance the obvious effects of climate change, particularly the unrelenting increase in average day temperatures and volatile conditions of rain and drought, not to mention other calamities such as frost, hail and vine disease. It gives us hope that both man and nature can adapt to these circumstance and produce outstanding wines, both red and white.’

Bordeaux 2022: ‘a miraculous and truly exceptional vintage’ Colin Hay, Drinks Business

‘I write this, as is my new ritual, on the TGV back from Bordeaux to Paris at très grand vitesse. It is labour day in France (la fête de travail), which seems aptly to capture both my sense of the vintage and the three intense weeks of tastings and visits that form the basis of what is to follow – my initial impressions of this remarkable, miraculous and truly exceptional vintage.’

‘Having tasted around 400 wines (though with a few more still to come), I am now utterly convinced that this is the very best vintage that I have had the privilege and honour to taste en primeur.’

France, Bordeaux: No Smoke Without Fire – En Primeur 2022 William Kelley, Wine Advocate

‘Bordeaux has produced some monumental wines in 2022, but unlike many of the great vintages of the 20th century, the year was not a rising tide that raised all boats. At its best, this is a vintage of remarkable concentration, energy and harmony.’

Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences of Bordeaux University, Oenological Research Unit

‘Despite the extreme weather, the 2022 vintage appears to have produced surprisingly well-balanced, harmonious wines, which are tannic yet fleshy, while preserving the freshness and brilliance typical of fine Bordeaux wines. As always, they will reveal their full potential with age, but at this stage they seem particularly promising and, quite simply, outstanding.’


Bordeaux Stands Firm : James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

‘The best wines show tremendous depth of fruit, with rich, broad palates that highlight warm earth and smoldering tobacco accents.’