2022 Bordeaux Vintage

2022 did nothing by halves: heat and drought set records from spring onward, frost struck on nights in early April, and hailstorms followed in June, all of which weighed on volumes. As Fabien Teitgen of Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte in Pessac-Leognan put it, "2022 was hotter and drier than any other season right from the start." Flowering was early and generous. Summer across south-west France was scorching, with temperatures well above average throughout the growing season, and rainfall ran below average every month except June. No rain fell at all from the beginning of July until late August, and serious wildfires broke out in the Bordeaux region. From the end of August the weather turned kinder, bringing welcome rain. The dry season kept fungal disease away, so the grapes were reliably healthy, and fine weather in late August and September let estate managers choose when to pick each plot. The harvest was historically early. Production came to 411 million litres, 15 percent below the 2011 to 2020 average.

• Heat and drought records from spring, frost on nights in early April and hailstorms in June
• Rainfall below average every month except June, and no rain at all from the beginning of July until late August
• Welcome rain returned from the end of August, and the berries came in small, perfectly ripe and in impeccable health
• A historically early harvest and production of 411 million litres, 15 percent below the 2011 to 2020 average

2022 was a relatively small crop: more than 2013, 2017 and 2021, but 15 percent below the 2011 to 2020 average of 487 million litres and 30 percent below the 2001 to 2010 average of 580 million litres. It was still 9 percent more than the much cooler, wetter 2021. Many of the famous appellations had lower yields, notably Margaux, Saint-Estephe, Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Pomerol, mainly because drought and heat produced smaller berries, with fewer bunches in some areas. Vineyard directors from Saint-Estephe down to Margaux and across to Pomerol spoke of yields in the 20s and low 30s hl/ha. Saint-Emilion was the exception, with some leading estates on the clay and limestone around the village reaching yields in the 40s and up to 50 hl/ha.

• Lower yields in Margaux, Saint-Estephe, Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Pomerol, driven mainly by small berries from drought and heat
• Taken as a group, the Libournais areas did markedly better, at over 42 hl/ha across the board
• Late-June hail was partly to blame for lower yields of 29 hl/ha in the Haut-Medoc and 30 hl/ha in Fronsac
• The Medoc and Graves combined have had three lower crops averaging 35 hl/ha, against over 46 hl/ha for 2003 to 2012

The CIVB's own vintage report calls the reds exceptional, silky and balanced, with perfectly ripe tannins, alcohol that never overwhelms, and concentrated fruit without heaviness; it finds the dry whites aromatic and intense, with freshness and acidity intact despite the dry heat. Decanter's Georgie Hindle rated the reds 4.5 out of 5 and the whites 3.5, describing powerful wines with plenty of fruit, tannin and alcohol that are still refined and balanced. Professor Axel Marchal of the University of Bordeaux's Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences, writing for Chateau Haut-Bailly, judged that the five conditions of a great red Bordeaux vintage were met in 2022, singling out Merlot on the best terroirs, particularly clay-limestone, along with a very successful Cabernet Franc. Jancis Robinson found observers agreed that Merlot shone on the left bank as well as its traditional right bank. Hindle saw no single appellation dominate: cooler sites in the north of the Medoc, Listrac-Moulis and Entre-deux-Mers, and limestone sites in Fronsac and Castillon, all did very well.

• Decanter rated the reds 4.5/5 and the whites 3.5/5
• In bottle, Hindle raised Chateau Figeac, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion and Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte to 100 points
• Axel Marchal: Cabernet Sauvignon on the great terroirs shows a powerful tannic structure without austerity
• Decanter: the weakest wines are overripe or overextracted, with short finishes and drying tannins

Jancis Robinson found "surprising" the most common word for the young 2022s. The dry season produced small, thick-skinned berries unusually high in sugar, color, flavor and tannin, but acidity was exceptionally low after record high temperatures. Acidity then rose naturally during alcoholic fermentation to more standard values, and experience of earlier hot vintages discouraged winemakers from acidifying the must. pH levels were unexpectedly lower than usual, keeping the musts microbiologically stable, and vine leaves stayed green and healthy, right through to November in some cases. Decanter credited cooler fermentations, lighter extractions, occasional whole-bunch fermentation to lower potential alcohol, and concrete and amphorae for retaining freshness, and judged the wines far superior to those of the very hot 2003.

• Acidity was exceptionally low after record heat but rose naturally during fermentation
• pH levels were unexpectedly lower than usual, keeping the musts microbiologically stable
• Alcohol was typically over 14 percent, with some wines pushing 15 and 15.5 percent
• Cooler fermentations, lighter extractions, occasional whole-bunch fermentation to lower potential alcohol, and concrete and amphorae to retain freshness

Retasting in bottle for Decanter in April 2025, Georgie Hindle found the 2022s seductive in youth yet capable of long-term ageing, and judged that the old rule of waiting at least five years before opening red Bordeaux does not apply to most of them; serving them slightly cooler than usual worked in their favor. Some wines, she added, may not enter their peak drinking windows for another 5 to 10 years. On price, Gavin Quinney wrote in April 2023 that with little wine to go round, no one should be taken aback when producers set release prices accordingly, and Decanter later found that the 2022s arrived on the market bullishly. The en primeur tastings drew a record number of visitors.

• Decanter: most 2022s need not wait the traditional five years before opening
• Decanter's April 2025 view: some wines may not reach their peak drinking windows for another 5 to 10 years
• Decanter rates many red second wines as generally very good
• Decanter: the 2022s arrived on the market bullishly, and prices can't be lower now than they were for en primeur