Bordeaux 2022 Primeurs: St Estèphe
The first of my 2022 Bordeaux pages to see the light of day concerns the wines of St Estèphe.
My little circuit around the leading names of this more northerly commune of the Médoc follows such a regular pattern – 08h00 at Château Calon-Ségur, 09h00 at Château Montrose, 09h45 at Château Cos d’Estournel – that it has become second nature. In truth I initially wrote that I could make this tour in my sleep, although having reflected on the wisdom of this I changed my words. I am not convinced a somnolent swing around the appellation would be particularly wise; not only would it do nothing for the coherence of my tasting notes, I am not sure it would help my driving either (although whether it could actually be any worse is another question).
More notably, I did not precisely follow my usual scheme this year, making more visits in St Estèphe than I have previously (this is also true of Pauillac, St Julien and Margaux). As well as the three properties mentioned above I subsequently called in at Château Phélan-Ségur, to taste with the team there. I also stopped off to taste the wines of Château Lafon-Rochet; after the acquisition of this property by Jacky Lorenzetti these wines will no longer be shown at the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux tastings, so this looks like being another visit I will have to add to the annual timetable. And with the recent acquisition of Château Cos Labory by Michel Reybier, the wines of this estate now poured alongside those of Château Cos d’Estournel, all of St Estèphe’s cru classé wines were tasted during visits in the appellation.
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