2022 Futures
For each vintage and each appellation, there are always wines that distinguished themselves by being cheaper than others with the same quality level, or by being far better than others in the same range of prices.
These “best values for money” of the current vintage are highlighted in this category.
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Administered by the Rothschilds (Mouton) since 1996, Coutet has joined the leading pack of the biggest Sauternes after Yquem. Like Climens, it is a true Barsac, pure and remarkably subtle, but with a more marked liquor. Since 2005, Coutet has been in great shape!
Quarin : 93/100 « Nez intense, fin et subtil. Bouche tout en minutie tactile, avec un toucher cotonneux et une finale délicate et ascendante, où se mélangent les fleurs et les fruits. C'est très bon. »
Martin : 94-96/100 « The 2022 Coutet has impressive focus. The palate is medium-bodied with a viscous opening, fine acidity, pure and harmonious. A tensile and persistent finish drags you back for another sip. Superb. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
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Puyguéraud is the reference of the Côtes de Francs, producing with great regularity wines of very high level. The owner, Nicolas Thienpont, also manages Pavie-Macquin and Larcis-Ducasse in St-Émilion. Always well rated, Puyguéraud proves better than others that it is possible to taste a beautiful and great Bordeaux for less than 15 € a bottle.
Galloni : 89-91/100 « The 2022 Puyguéraud bursts from the glass with masses of inky blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, menthol and tobacco. This is an especially rich vintage for Puyguéraud. »
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
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A 4 ha plot selection from Château Rigaud, La Mauriane is not yet another luxurious cuvée on the right bank but a wine built on fine grain tannins where the brilliance and precision of the fruit prevail. A true gem in the right bank !
Quarin : 93/100 « Beau nez intense, fin, fruité, pur, mûr. Bouche fondante, aérienne, savoureuse et parfumée, avec de la classe dans le toucher et une longue finale séveuse. C'est très bon. »
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
- Potential alcohol:
- 14.5%
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Under the leadership of M. Thunevin (Valandraud), La Vieille Cure presents a more greedy and less square profile than before and reveals itself as one of Fronsac's major properties.
Quarin : 92/100 « Nez très aromatique, au fruité mûr et même complexe. Avec une chair minutieuse en entrée de bouche, une présence grasse au milieu, le vin se développe complet, savoureux, avant de finir long, parfumé, plein d'énergie et de chair mélangées. C'est superbe. »
Galloni : 87-89/100 « The 2022 La Vieille Cure opens with a good burst of jammy fruit. However, there is a bit of edginess in the tannin that needs to resolve. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
- Potential alcohol:
- 14.5%
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Selection of the best parcels of Château de Carles (10 ha out of the 20 ha of the estate), certainly the finest and most ambitious wine of Fronsac, making since 2000 equal game with the best classified growths of the slopes of Saint-Émilion. A great wine that should be kept for at least 6 to 8 years.
Quarin : 90/100 « Nez intense, au fruité mûr, subtil et sophistiqué. Bouche pulpeuse et fruitée comme jamais, avec un très bel éclat entre le milieu et la finale. Persistance longue, à la fois onctueuse et fraîche. Tannicité bien enveloppée. »
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
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With 12 hectares cultivated in biodynamic farming, certified since the 2007 vintage, Clos Puy-Arnaud is one of the great Côtes de Castillon wines that have nothing to envy to neighbouring Saint-Émilion.
"Grand Vin", the uncompromising cuvée that has made the estate's reputation, authentic, straight and deep, classic, spicy and cut out for keeping.Galloni : 94-96/100 « The 2022 Clos Puy Arnaud is a real stunner, and one of the great under the radar gems on the Right Bank. Clos Puy Arnaud could easily challenge many more illustrious names on the Right Bank. »
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
- Potential alcohol:
- 14%
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Started in 2003, the adventure of Clos Louie is a textbook case: doll's vineyard (2.3 ha) on a beautiful clay-limestone terroir of Castillon, very old vines (150 years old!) mostly Merlot and red tail malbec, careful biodynamic cultivation, double manual sorting during the harvest, little interventionist vinification, gentle maturing in 500-litre demi-muids. A true artist's wine, absent from the guides but that informed amateurs know well.
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
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Roundness, suppleness and depth of flesh are the hallmarks of the consensual red wines produced in Larrivet Haut-Brion, advised by Mr. Rolland until 2014 and then by Mr. Derenoncourt. No link between Larrivet (in Léognan) and Haut-Brion (in Pessac).
Quarin : 95/100 « Ample à l'attaque, juteux en milieu de bouche, très parfumé, gras, le vin évolue plein et noble, vers une qualité de tannin jamais vue à ce jour, plus une sensation de pulpe juteuse inégalée. Bravo ! L'expression de ce cru est révolutionnée par l'équipe actuelle. Jamais depuis les derniers millésimes, Larrivet Haut Brion n'a été autant raffiné. »
Galloni : 92-94/100 « The 2022 Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc is bold, punchy and also quite exotic, because of the presence of Cabernet Franc. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
- Potential alcohol:
- 14%
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By balancing power and softness, finesse and length, Lousteauneuf has established itself in less than 5 years as the example to follow in the north of the Médoc. He reminds us of Poujeaux 20 years ago.
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
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Second wine of Clos Manou, the Médoc as we like it: generous, sweet and balanced by a good vivacity. A real treat!
Quarin : 89/100 « Nez fruité, pur et précis. Bouche délicieuse, suave et profonde en finale dans sa saveur. C'est aussi bon que le 2016. »
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
- Potential alcohol:
- 15%
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Vinified in the cellars of Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou, this cuvée benefits from the best care. Its higher proportion of Merlot (68%) makes it a wine of pleasure, gourmet and quickly enjoyable.
Galloni : 90-92/100 « The 2022 Madame de Beaucaillou is a very typical wine for the year. Plump, juicy and forward, the 2022 is charming right out of the gate. Bruno Borie's Haut-Médoc is flat-out delicious. »
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
- Potential alcohol:
- 14.5%
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The incessant work of Mr. and Mrs. Dief since 2000 is bearing fruit today: in a tense and distinguished style, Clos Manou shines with a vibrant, deep energy, with pure and radiant fruit, combining length and density. Undoubtedly the most beautiful revelation of the northern Médoc in recent vintages.
Quarin : 94/100 « Nez intense, au fruité mûr et subtil, avec une touche délicate de gelée de mûres. Il est encore plus pur et vanillé à l'agitation. Voici la bouche la plus complète, au toucher le plus fin jamais goûté à Clos Manou. Corps velouté, dynamique et riche en arômes. Tout fond, subtil et même noble. Bravo Stéphane ! »
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
- Potential alcohol:
- 14.5%
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The third wine jewel of Bernard Magrez (after Pape Clément and Fombrauge), bought in 1999. After a complete overhaul of the vineyard (it is now the largest Grand Cru Classé in the Médoc with 225 ha of vineyards), La Tour Carnet displays a modern, smooth and powerful style. A formidable competitor in blind tastings.
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
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Even if their evolution always involves a period of austerity, Léoville-Barton wines have a supreme class and elegance, due as much to the advanced age of the vines as to meticulous work.
Quarin : 97/100 « Nuances de fruits noirs, de vanille, de poire. Ultra fondant en entrée de bouche, très minutieux au développement, avec de la classe dans le toucher, le vin monte en finale, subtil et savoureux. Il s'achève très long, profond et complexe. Il a le fond et la minutie de la réalisation pour lui. Superbe ! »
Galloni : 93-95/100 « The 2022 Léoville-Barton is a total model of classicism, even in this warm, dry year. You will find a straightforward (in the best sense of the term) Saint-Julien that captures the best of what Bordeaux can be. Just enough of everything, but not too much of any one thing. »
Martin : 96-98/100 « This is a precision-tooled Léoville Barton with the sharpness of a samurai sword. The 2022 marks the start of a new and glorious chapter for the Saint-Julien estate, which passes in the slipstream of the 2019 and 2020. It constitutes the finest Léoville Barton that I have tasted out of barrel. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
- Potential alcohol:
- 14%
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Known for producing one of the firmest and tightest (even robust) Pauillacs available, Duhart-Milon has since 2010 refined its style to gradually approach that of Lafite (same owner and same team). New direction and progress amply confirmed in 2015 and 2016, with an unprecedented charm and fatness. Given the quality of its terroir (the only 4th Grand Cru Classé in Pauillac), Duhart-Milon has certainly not finished its progression.
Quarin : 95/100 « Nez très aromatique, fin, fruité, subtil. Nuances profondes de fruits noirs. Ample à l'attaque, moelleux en milieu de bouche, parfumé, le vin prend de la puissance dans le dernier tiers du palais, où il s'achève sur un toucher fin, long, gras et très bon. »
Galloni : 92-94/100 « The 2022 Duhart-Milon is racy and explosive right out of the gate. I imagine the 2022 will require at least a fem years in bottle to be at its best, but it is pretty showy today. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
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Fombrauge, the largest vineyard in Saint-Émilion with 57 hectares, has been offering since its purchase by Mr. Magrez (1997) structured wines that do not deny their terroir, full, gourmet and devilishly seductive thanks to a luxurious maturing process.
Galloni : 93-95/100 « The 2022 Fombrauge is superb. As always, Fombrauge is on the richer side, but this is one of the best vintages I can remember tasting. Gorgeous. »
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
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From 2005, La Dominique, prestigious terroir adjacent to Cheval Blanc, L'Évangile and La Conseillante, returns in great shape. His velvety and sensual style places him halfway between Saint-Émilion and Pomerol.
Quarin : 93/100 « Minutieux en entrée de bouche, avec un toucher gras et une présence fruitée très mûre, le vin caresse le palais en fondant tout le long du parcours. Bonne longueur à la tannicité enveloppée. Ensemble à l'éclat fruité un peu réservé. »
Galloni : 93-95/100 « The 2022 La Dominique is stellar. All the elements come together beautifully in a polished, notable La Dominique. »
Martin : 93-95/100 « The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, red fruit laced with graphite and smoke, classically-styled toward the finish. This is a Saint-Émilion that has refound its mojo in recent vintages and it will repay bottle age. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available 1st quarter 2025
- Potential alcohol:
- 15%