Côte-Rôtie & Condrieu 2022: Report and top-scoring wines

Beautiful aromas of pure rose, a touch of raspberry and thyme, this is not all black fruits. Lovely flavours, really compelling this year. Tannins are silkier than a classic Côte-Rôtie, but still quite austere, with great energy and length. Will be lovely, with great aromatic complexity and structure, but not as rich in body and smooth in texture as, say, 2020. Nonetheless excellent, but you'll need patience. Whole-bunch fermented, matured in old demi-muids.

Sloe, incense and lavender aromas translate to a powerful, plump and juicy palate with fine tannins, good weight and great concentration. Long and highly impressive.

This is a tannic wine but has great finesse. Highly elegant and fine indeed, with perfect ripeness. Dark and concentrated, and very much a Côte Brune wine due to its muscular, bold tannins – amazing tannic weight in fact. The acidity is on the low side, but this is a forceful Côte-Rôtie that should have enormous longevity and will always be about power. Comes from Stéphane Ogier's oldest vines in the lieu-dit Côte Rozier, nearly 80 years old, all whole-bunch fermented.

Subtle violets on the nose lead to a palate that’s smooth, but not overly full or concentrated. Beautifully fine structure despite the sheer weight of tannin. Just-ripe blackberries, this is precise and elegant. Certainly ripe, but not excessively so, with relatively low alcohol.

A particularly dark, black-fruited La Turque this year, showing liquorice and smoke. Full-bodied, ripe but fresh, the oak is well integrated. Plenty of blackberry skin tannins and some oak tannin as well, it's solid and really quite dense and spicy on the palate. Powerful but fresh, for long ageing, this comes from vines on the Côte Brune, planted by Marcel Guigal in 1980 after having been abandoned since 1935 – La Turque is a central part of Côte Brune, comprising less than 1ha. This will be aged for 40 months in new French oak barriques.

A tasting through the different terroirs in this wine revealed a fresh, intense, highly structured year; not as generous as 2019 or 2020, certainly more austere, and will take longer to come round. Many of the samples had an appealing floral expression, occasionally with herbal nuances from the use of whole bunches, and often really quite dark, dense black fruit on the palate. Tannins, while not green, are decidedly tight and will take time to finesse. A vintage where patience is required and which I suspect will shut down shortly after bottling.

A richer, darker, fruitier style than a typical vintage of La Côte Brune. Rounded and generous, more about black fruits than flowers this year. Concentrated and opulent, with lovely ripe, soft tannins, and lots of them. Good length. Four weeks in tank, 18 months in oak, limited new oak, natural yeasts and as many stems as possible.

Ripe, classic, harmonious, blackberry-scented nose, with a touch of sloe. Soft, full, mouthfilling and juicy with supple tannins. Very concentrated and balanced, no harshness here. Excellent.

A full, big, smooth, velvety monster. Extremely tannic but more supple than some of Stéphane Ogier's 2022s, with juicier tannins. Big but elegant with very ripe fruit, from a vineyard planted in 1966.

Very attractive aromas of star anise, incense and cedar, all typical for this cuvée. Big, bold, rolling, quite burly on the palate, with muscular tannins, good length and freshness. Not overly full-bodied or concentrated, however this has good balance. The only wine grown on schist that Stéphane destems.

Finely spiced, very true to form in its tobacco leaf aromas. Particularly saline this year and detailed, not quite as lush as some 2022s, which is no bad thing. Exuberant and very much a classic expression, tannins are a touch dry and it's currently full of oak smoke on the finish. Not overly alcoholic, though the fruit is extremely ripe. From lieu-dit Côte Blonde. At the beginning of its 40 months in new French oak barriques.

Extremely spicy, iron filings, graphite and blue steak. Concentrated, huge, dense and brooding. This has a massive tannic structure and it’s dry and savoury, but the alcohol is in check. Extremely introverted, this will take a very long time to come round. Tannins are a bit lacking in elegance this year, but these might be combed out during élevage. Whole-bunch fermented, from lieu-dit La Landonne. At the beginning of its 40 months in new French oak barriques.

Rich, soft, juicy and velvety. Remarkably high acidity for the vintage. Bold tannins, more structured than most Côte-Rôties in 2022, showing good concentration and ripeness. A blend of lieux-dits Côte Blonde and Côte Brune, fermented separately then combined.

Fruity and expressive, with resinous, balsamic touches from the oak – pine needles and cassis. Full-bodied, exceptionally smooth and fulsome on the mid-palate. Great concentration and a big packet of ripe tannins on the finish. Soft and rich, but very good. Hard to judge ageing potential here, it might surprise.

Star anise, incense and forest berry fruits, this has detail and vibrancy on the nose. Medium-bodied, with precision and elegance. It's ripe, but not overripe, with well-balanced acidity and some crispness and clarity of texture, it's not over extracted or over oaked. Grown on schist with iron oxide, whole-bunch fermented, matured in 400-litre barrels for 20 months which have been used once previously for white wine. 1,200 bottles made.

Gently fragrant jasmine and rose, very Côte Blonde in terms of aromatics. Soft, velvety mouthfeel with flavours of blackberry, cassis and more rose. Slightly higher alcohol and lower acidity than a typical year, not as tense and upright as some recent vintages, making for a luxurious, rich style of Côte-Rôtie. Four weeks in tank, 18 months in oak, limited new oak, natural yeasts and as many stems as possible.

Soft impression on the palate, though does have the Viallière elegance and violet aroma. Good concentration, slightly warming alcohol, velvety tannins. Actually quite robust in tannic weight on the finish, but acidity is fairly gentle. From 90-year-old vines, the oldest of the domaine, from which they take cuttings for replantings.

Remarkably soft on the palate for La Landonne, it doesn't have the same austere impact at this stage as a more classic vintage. Tannins are soft, ripe and not as intense as usual, but it does have length and ripe black fruit, with a graphite element to the tannins. Acidity is on the low side, as is the alcohol. From parcels planted at different times with an average age of 40 years.

Raspberry hints make for a soft and attractive style with mouthfilling fruit. Grippy, quite assertive, good acidity, perfumed and structured. Stéphane Ogier's most northerly, steepest vineyard and usually the earliest to pick.