Best St-Estèphe 2022 in bottle

A deep heady nose filled with fragrant black fruit, liquorice, tobacco and violets. Sumptuous and seductive, this walks the fine line between presenting the vintage with a heady, charged palate full of sun-kissed fruit and lashings of liquorice spice with pristine cherries and blackcurrants and a vein of salty, crushed stone and iron minerality. Gorgeous acidity keeps the profile lifted and almost airy before the density of the aromatics and flavours comes into play. So well constructed, this has muscles and serious power but within a sleek frame and a delicate chalky touch on the finish.

Vivid and vibrant black berry fruit on the nose. Supple and lively, this has a brilliant texture and weight in the mouth, slightly grippy but with an iron-tang giving a mineral aspect to the fruit with hints of liquorice spice. Still a little compact in terms of the expressiveness of flavours but there's no faulting the tannic finesse on offer. Acidity is perfect, really lifting the expression with blueberries, pencil lead and clove. This carries the strength of the vintage - the sunny fruit and headiness of the aromas are pure 2022 but it's also incredibly refined with such class on show. I love it.

Silky smooth with excellent freshness, firm fleshy tannins and a minty, liquorice-tinged freshness throughout. Tannins are fine and supportive and give this a broad mouthfeel while keeping direction and forward motion. Sophisticated with plenty of layers of flavour while keeping a classic touch despite the tough vintage conditions. Still a little shy, give this a few years, but great potential for future enjoyment. Strength and succulence. Brilliant.

Fresh mint, graphite, liquorice and black cherries on the nose - vibrant and open. Fun and fruity, this expands almost instantly on the palate giving tons of freshly picked berry fruit with gorgeous subtly chalky tannins. Relaxed and calm, this is totally effortless, really finessed but still giving a full mouthfeel and long length. I love the cooling mint flavours all the way through and shot of oyster shell minerality putting the terroir into the glass. Succulent and just really enjoyable. Crack open and enjoy or equally hold on to it for a few years. First year of organic conversion.

Lively, fresh and open with lots of clear and clean red berry fruit and salty, stone-edged tannins. Sleek and svelte, nice energy and focus; not plush or overtly powerful. Has definitely lost its en primeur heft and become slightly lighter and more appealing, with energy and vibrancy, yet you still know it has muscles and will age well.

Floral and dark chocolate scents with black berries. Beautifully textured, with grippy tannins, pure fruit and high acidity. Plush, just-chewy blackcurrants and cherries, dark chocolate, liquorice and salty stones. Lifted, minty menthol finish. Balanced, harmonious and confident, nothing overdone. A clear upgrade from en primeur and a standout second wine.

Ripe brambleberry fruit aromas on the nose. Rich and filling on the palate, this has a nice texture of crushed blue fruit pulp, fleshy and chewy with cool cola and liquorice accents. The oak feels a little prominent in the softly drying tannins and cedar spice on the finish which gives this a subtle sense of opulence. Full bodied and full of flavour.

Blackcurrants, vanilla and milk chocolate aromas on the nose. Punchy and up front with ripe black berries and cherries alongside a powerful core of fine tannins and racy acidity. I like the style, it's concentrated and sun-kissed but tempered by the acidity with a dusting of toastiness on the finish. Lively and bold, fun and easy to like.

Fragrant and expressive on the nose with cassis, violets, cola, spiced blueberries and graphite. Massy and filling, the tannins have grip with both a fleshy texture and cool freshness which gives a push pull of ripe, opulent fruit, soft creaminess, and quite marked minerality in the coffee, liquorice and bitter dark chocolate spicing. Feels well constructed with precision but the power is still very much at the fore and this is focussed on strength and muscles rather than easy enjoyment right now. One to wait for.

A richly scented nose full of fragrant blackcurrants. Smooth and straight, this has a gorgeous bounce and sense of energy from the get go. Taut and lively with dried herbs and exotic spices edging the pure black bramble fruit. Ends with a dose of sticky liquorice, aniseed, clove and mint with a mineral tang too. Bright and really well presented with high, mouthwatering acidity. A little on the toasted side for now so give this a few years but once it's fully integrated this will be a joy to drink.

Clean and clear, lovely precision to the red berry fruit on the palate with a salty, wet stone aspect that lingers on the tongue. Feels nicely controlled with lots of energy. Tannins are still at the fore and they do most of the talking right now but this has a charming element too and I like the mineral terroir markers. Straight and a little serious but well worked with lots of detail.