CHATEAU TALBOT 4eme Grand Cru Classe, Saint-Julien 2022 Bottle

Description

IN BRIEF
Château Talbot 2022 opens with composed authority: blackcurrant, black cherry and bramble, pressed violet and a hint of rose, with cedar, graphite and tobacco leaf adding savoury depth. Aeration reveals crushed bay, olive tapenade and smoked meat. Medium–full-bodied, it has a smooth, rounded arrival, bright acidity and finely grained tannins that support without harshness. Core dark fruit and plum sit against black olive and a lick of liquorice; the mid-palate shows toasted cedar, dark chocolate and warm baking spice, while a stony mineral seam and saline thread drive a long, focused finish. Oak is judicious and integrated. Drink with decanting or cellar ten–twenty years. Top scores: The Wine Advocate 93–95; Decanter 95; James Suckling 94–95. Serve at 16–18°C with lamb.

ABOUT THIS WINE
Château Talbot, Saint Julien 2022 opens with composed authority, a textbook Saint Julien profile combining ripe dark fruit, refined floral lift and saline Pauillac adjacency. The bouquet offers blackcurrant, black cherry and bramble, threaded with pressed violet and subtle rose petal, while cedar, graphite and a savoury tobacco leaf provide depth. With gentle aeration, crushed bay, olive tapenade and a hint of smoked meat emerge, adding complexity and a clear sense of terroir.

On the palate the 2022 is medium to full bodied, delivering a smooth, rounded entry, bright natural acidity and finely grained tannins that give structure without harshness. Primary fruit is concentrated and pure, dark berry and plum framed by black olive and a discreet liquorice thread. The mid palate develops with layered interest, showing toasted cedar, dark chocolate and warm baking spice derived from measured oak élevage, while a flinty mineral seam and saline thread lend drive and precision through to a long, focused finish. Oak influence is judicious and well integrated, offering gentle vanilla and clove spice that support rather than mask the fruit core.

Texture is polished and tactile, the mouthfeel combining silk and tensile grip as the wine opens in the glass. Secondary nuances of leather, forest undergrowth and cured meat begin to appear with time, adding nuance while preserving the primary clarity and aromatic lift. The vintage produced ripe, healthy grapes with good concentration and freshness, and at Talbot the team emphasised selective picking, small parcel fermentation and careful extraction to retain perfume and fine tannin grain.

Drink now with decanting to reveal layered complexity, or cellar for ten to twenty years to allow tertiary notes of truffle, cedar chest and sous bois to integrate fully. Serve at 16 to 18°C with roast beef, braised lamb, venison or mature hard cheeses to complement its structure and savoury depth. Château Talbot 2022 is a classically proportioned Saint Julien, balanced, ageworthy and rewarding.

THE WINE ADVOCATE (93 - 95) points
The 2022 Talbot is especially impressive, and if it fulfills all its promise, it is likely to emerge as this large Saint-Julien property's most exciting wine since the 1980s. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of cherries, blackberries and cassis mingled with hints of violets and pencil lead, it's medium to full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, with a layered core of fruit, rich structuring tannins and a long, lively finish. It's a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot that's being matured in 60% new oak.

JAMES SUCKLING 94-95 points
5 Apr, 2023 – The tannins really are integrated and fill out across the palate. The texture is so beautiful and refined. Medium- to full-bodied and crunchy, with lovely texture and refinement.

DECANTER 95 points
Drinking Window: 2029 - 2048 - A great effort in 2022 with such excellent precision and detail to the tannins and fruit. Cool blueberries, blackcurrants, cola, vanilla, tobacco and liquorice all give nuance and interest with fleshy tannins and bright acidity. Great balance of intensity and finesse with such energy from start to finish. Really quite approachable and enjoyable with impressive crystalline aspects and a lovely sense of place. Tasted twice. A yield of 40hl/ha. Ageing 16 months in barrels, 60% new. Harvest 9-28 September. 3.75pH.

VINOUS 94 points
Drinking window: 2027 - 2060
The 2022 Talbot was bottled in May. Estate Director Jean-Michel Laporte commented that he sees it as a combination of 2018, 2019 and 2020, though better than those vintages. The 2022 has a tightly knit bouquet, crisp and clean, a little "cooler" in style than I recall and I mean that in a positive way. It neatly shrugs off the warmth of that growing season. There's wonderful purity of fruit here, tinged with tobacco and light chimney soot scents. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy black fruit—a quintessential Talbot, with a little more horsepower than recent vintages but fine precision and structure on the finish. I appreciate the finesse of the tannins and the weight throughout this Saint-Julien.
Neal Martin. Tasting date: January 2025

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ABOUT CHATEAU TALBOT
Château Talbot is one of the best-known Bordeaux wine estates to a UK audience, not surprisingly because it takes its name from John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, who in 1453 suffered the ignominy of losing the battle, and with it his life, which allowed Bordeaux and its vineyards to slip back into French control after belonging to the British Crown for over 340 years. In the last century it has been owned by the Cordier family, and the red wine of the estate has long enjoyed a reputation for solid dependability. It is one of the largest estates in the Médoc and its 102 hectare single vineyard is situated inland from the Gironde River and west of the hamlet of St-Julien-Beychevelle. Georges Cordier, who owned the property in the mid-20th century, was a great lover of white wine, and, determined to produce his own, took the highly unusual step of planting 5 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon in his vineyard, producing his first crop of white wine in 1945 (Le Caillou Blanc de Ch Talbot). The aim is to make wine in a Burgundian style, aged in oak barrels, with the 80% Sauvignon Blanc imparting vivacity and acidity, while the 20% Semillon imbues the wine with weight, backbone and ageing potential. Red wine from Talbot is typically a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (66%), Merlot (26%), Cabernet Franc (3%), and Petit Verdot (5%) - the vinification includes 18 months maturation in small oak barriques (50% new). Talbot has a reputation for consistency and is one of the most carefully made and reliable of the St-Julien Cru Classé clarets. The best examples are richly aromatic with a bouquet of cedarwood and vanilla scented cassis fruits and with a palate packed with well-delineated, ripe, black fruits and finely integrated tannins. It is classified as a 4ème Cru Classé.