Saint Pierre Saint Julien 2022 (3.0L)

95-97+ JD / 95-97 WI / 94-96 VM / 93-94+ WA / 94 DE / 94 JA

A real "wow" wine in the making, the 2022 Château Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien) checks in as 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot. This darker, powerful wine offers up loads of pure cassis and black cherry-like fruits as well as ample chocolate, graphite, and lead pencil nuances. Full-bodied, concentrated, and structured, it nevertheless stays pure, impeccably balanced, and shows a real sense of elegance. The alcohol here is 13.9% and the élevage is in 48% new French oak. Tasted twice with consistent notes. - Jeb Dunnuck

The 2022 Saint-Pierre is deep garnet-purple in color. After a swirl or two, the nose erupts with gorgeous notions of blackcurrant jelly, raspberry preserves, and baked plums, leading to suggestions of iris, fragrant earth, and black olives. The medium to full-bodied palate has a firm, grainy texture and oodles of freshness supporting the taut, muscular black fruits, finishing long with bags of grace and perfume. This is beautiful. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent

The 2022 Saint-Pierre was picked 12-26 September at around 35hL/ha and matured in 48% new oak. It has an intense bouquet with black cherries, iodine and touches of blood orange. Delineated and focused. The palate is where the action is with gorgeous svelte tannins, perfectly judged acidity, harmonious, plush but not overbearing. Velvety toward the finish, yet there is real tenderness here. It actually is reminiscent of Las-Cases at the moment. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

A particular success for this estate, the 2022 Saint-Pierre offers up aromas of cassis, licorice and violets, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy palate that's lively and sapid, with powdery structuring tannins and a penetrating finish. Its tannic weight tempers the wine's sweetness of fruit to deliver a classy, nicely balanced result. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

Smells dark and deep; dark chocolate, savoury liquorice spice and ripe fruit. Joyously fruity and juicy on the palate with a salty tang that really carries the freshness and sense of minerality. I love the frame and the flavour with intensely grippy tannins but it works, excellently presented with flow and movement, direction and finesse. Cool and classic with great mineral markers of salt, liquorice and crushed stones. Feels sophisticated and really compelling, a great surprise and top buy. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Harvest 12-26 September. Yield of 34hl/ha. - GH, Decanter

Beautifully intense, grippy tannins, slate and pummice stone, crushed rocks, inky, cassis, bilberry, great quality and very much estate signature, this is seriously impressive, with fig, baked plum, bitter chocolate, fresh pomegrante and mandarin peel acidities. - Jane Anson, Decanter