Bordeaux 2022 at Two Years: St Julien
The wines of St Julien put on a strong performance at the primeurs, and they did not disappoint when I returned to retaste them after bottling in December 2024. In 2022 St Julien is like a mountain range with some majestic peaks which naturally attract our attention, but this metaphorical mountain range rests on a great plateau, as there is high quality across the board here. This is an extraordinarily consistent appellation in this vintage, with several properties turning out what could be the best wines they have ever produced.
My first port of call in this appellation was Ducru-Beaucaillou, a little more than 24 hours after landing in Bordeaux. Sauntering past the huge new winemaking facilities currently under construction here I resisted the temptation to take a photograph (principally because there were signs prohibiting photography – and I didn’t want to be arrested and deported from Bordeaux after barely a day), so I continued my saunter inside to taste. Here the grand vin impressed with its dark and well-framed fruit, and it feels different to the dark and rather strapping style that was de rigueur here maybe a decade or so ago. The modern-day Ducru-Beaucaillou is a more refined and elegant beast than it once was.
I was also struck by the quality of the second label, La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou. This is not a true second wine per se, even if it might take a little fruit declassified from the grand vin, as it is sourced from the vineyards to the west of those that feed into the first wine. It provides a sudden shift from the Cabernet Sauvignon domination in the grand vin (82% in this vintage – it has been a lot higher in prior vintages though) to Merlot, which accounts for 66% of La Croix. It serves as a pointer to the successes enjoyed by both Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon on the left bank in this vintage; there are a handful of wines which feature more Merlot than you might expect in this appellation, and they have all put on a rather seductive if not hedonistic show in 2022, St Julien with a touch of the burlesque.
