Chablis 2022: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Chablis 2022: 4.5/5

‘It was a very good vintage with extremely healthy grapes’ – Vincent Dauvissat

Chablis 2022: wine of the vintage

Domaine François Raveneau, Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru

After a week spent in Chablis tasting 375 wines, it is clear that 2022 is a very good year – and potentially an excellent one. Although a warm and very dry vintage, yields were not excessive and, crucially, acidity is high. The resulting wines are very well balanced with a lovely combination of the freshness and minerality which typifies Chablis, combined with fleshy, ripe, stone- and tree-fruit flavours.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for a selection of top-scoring and top-value Chablis 2022 wines

Coming after the very challenging growing season in 2021 (severe frosts, cold weather and rainfall leading to disease pressure), Chablis 2022 has a different style and one which will appeal both to ‘classic’ Chablis lovers as well as those looking for more generous fruit character.

Top producer Vincent Dauvissat commented that in 2022 ‘the vines were recovering from 2021, and were compensating with lots of vegetative growth’. Dauvissat notes: ‘It was a very good vintage with extremely healthy grapes.’

See the Chablis 2022 top wines score table for all wines scoring 93 points or above

Chablis: vintage styles

2022: 4.5/5

A very fine vintage for Chablis that combines the freshness of 2017/2021 with the warmth and ripeness of 2019/2020. Healthy grapes, plenty of acidity and attractive peach/pear fruit character – a fine vintage that balances generous ripeness with crisp citrus acidity and salinity. Will age well.

2021: 4/5

A difficult growing season (frosts, hail, high disease pressure) had a drastic effect on yields. But, the reduced yields allowed those grapes that were left to ripen fully, leaving a small crop marked by powerful acidity and a purity that emphasises individual terroir. Very different to the three preceding vintages.

2020: 4/5

An uncomplicated growing season and harvest which, although dry and warm, did not suffer from the excessive heat seen in 2019 and 2018. Generous yields reduced concentration for some but there was good fruit ripeness, no disease pressure and sufficient acidity. Very attractive wines with good balance.

Benoît Droin (Domaine J-P et Benoît Droin) agrees, saying ‘2022 was not too hot, with very good acidity and volume’, and characterising the vintage as a ‘combination of 2017 and 2020’. Olivier Bailly (Domaine Billaud-Simon) believes 2022 is superior to both 2020 and 2021, noting that ‘pH was very low and this has given the wines great freshness’. Bailly puts 2022 on a par with 2019, albeit two years with very different styles: ‘2019 had masses of concentration, whereas 2022 has lots of acidity to balance the ripeness.’

All of those interviewed agreed that it was important to get the picking timings right. The harvest was early and those who picked just a few days ‘late’ have produced wines with higher alcohol, more tropical fruit flavours and insufficient acidity. Didier Séguier at William Fèvre agreed ‘there was a danger of overripeness, so the picking date was crucial’.

Weather conditions

According to the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins des Vins de Bourgogne (BIVB), the harvest in 2022 was a good one, particularly for Chardonnay – stormy showers arrived at judicious points through the summer, but without causing significant hail damage. BIVB has confirmed that the overall production in Burgundy amounted to 1.75 million hectolitres (233 million bottles), helping producers across the region to replenish stocks after the depleted vintage of 2021.

Within Chablis, a mild and dry winter encouraged the early development of the vines, with producers fearing the risk of spring frost. The cold snap duly arrived between 3-11 April, but fortunately the buds were a little less developed than in 2021 and damage was light. Temperatures turned warmer leading to rapid flowering by the end of May, with rainfall less than half the seasonal average. June then turned extremely wet, before July and August followed with almost drought-like conditions. Vines planted on thinner and sandy soils suffered more stress, but old vines coped remarkably with the dry conditions. Rainfall in mid-August gave respite to the vines with the harvest commencing at the end of August.

Quality is homogenous across all quality tiers, from Petit Chablis up through to the grands crus, and between left-bank and right-bank climats. Petit Chablis shows ripeness of stone fruit and will be ideal for early drinking, whereas most AP Chablis wines show a notable step up in concentration, together with the expected salinity and mineral notes.

Scores were consistently a point higher across the board for the key appellations than they were last year. Petit Chablis averaged 89 (88 in 2021), Chablis 90 (89), premiers crus 92 (91), with the Grand Cru at 94 (compared to 93 in 2021).

Some wines were blowsy and relatively high in alcohol – these did not show as well in blind tasting. However, although a higher proportion of oak was evident, this seems well suited to the additional fruit ripeness found in 2022, with only a few wines out of balance.

See all Chablis 2022 wines tasted

Vintage highlights

Of the premiers crus, Montmains was very successful, with the cooler, less-exposed climats of Les Lys, Vau de Vey and Vau Ligneau all showing lovely freshness. On the right bank, Montée de Tonnerre and Fourchaume were excellent, with Mont de Milieu almost trumping them both.

As expected, the grands crus are excellent and these will develop into profound, ageworthy wines once in bottle and given time to mature, with Les Clos leading the way.

Within the Chablis appellation, there are encouraging signs of some new, exciting domaines producing very good examples. The influence of a younger generation is evident, with some of the producers to look out for being Domaine Orion, Domaine Courtault Michelet, Domaine Camille & Laurent Schaller, Domaine Gérard Tremblay and Florent Dauvissat (son of Agnès and Didier).

Chablis remains good value across all tiers, particularly when compared to the escalating prices for Burgundy wines from the Côte d’Or, Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais.

The acute shortage of wine in 2021 certainly fuelled increases in Chablis prices, but the larger crop in 2022 should help stabilise the situation.

Grand cru can still be purchased for less than £50 a bottle – not cheap, but exceptional value compared to the grands crus from further south.

Chablis 2022 can be recommended as a wine to enjoy while relatively youthful, but with the higher-scoring wines – and those from the top producers – being able to age beautifully for many years. It is a vintage with a winning combination of fruit ripeness combined with fresh acidity and classic Chablis notes of salinity and minerality. A year to stock up on.

Howard’s pick: 30 great buys

The following wines are Andy Howard MW’s pick of the top-scoring and best-value Chablis 2022 wines, according to his own extensive tastings, as well as including wines from ‘producers to look out for’.

NB: many retailers’ allocations for these wines are as yet unconfirmed – prices and stockists are given where available, and alcohol levels are shown where known at the time of writing. If we have awarded ‘Top value’ to an as-yet unpriced wine, it is based on our predicted pricing.

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