After tasting more than 1,200 wines for his Rhône 2022 en primeur report, Matt Walls has given his full verdict on the new vintage.
Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for the 65 southern Rhône wines that scored 94 points and above.
Wines are listed by score then style.
| Producer | Appellation | Colour | Score | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M Chapoutier, Le Méal | Hermitage | White | 99 | Decidedly rich in style, the oak is quite marked, with roasted pineapple notes, lemon verbena and lemon thyme. Very full-bodied, this is massive, assertive and powerful, but with great freshness and energy. Flinty, smoky elements and a long, salty, mineral finish. One for the ages. Pure Marsanne, vines are over 50 years old, planted on pebbles, clay and some loess, facing south. Whole-bunch pressed, half fermented in demi-muids, half in vats. Drinking window: 2025-2050 Click to see full details | |
| M Chapoutier, L'Ermite | Hermitage | White | 98 | Surprisingly full-bodied for L'Ermite, richer in body than a classic vintage. This is precise and fine, with notes of lemon verbena and struck flint. Reductive now, so give it time, but there's great drive and focus. Unusually high acidity (3.2-3.3 pH) which is rare for Marsanne. From east-facing vineyards situated around the chapel, which are the only white vineyards on the granitic part of Hermitage, other than Dard & Ribo's plots. Drinking window: 2025-2055 Click to see full details | |
| M Chapoutier, De l'Orée | Hermitage | White | 97 | This has the characteristic breadth and fat of De l'Orée, with a surprisingly bright and piercing acidic line. Rich, ripe mango, with a touch of pineapple, the alcohol and oak are both surprisingly well balanced for a vintage like 2022. Not the most mineral or fine perhaps, but very good. From 60-year-old vines in the lieu-dit Les Murets at the top of the hill on heavy, water-retaining soils. Drinking window: 2024-2041 Click to see full details | |
| Clos des Papes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 96 | Open and inviting aromas of dried pears, almost slightly hoppy. This is full-bodied and rich, but with good acidity thanks to the Bourboulenc and Piquepoul in the blend. There’s a lovely mineral touch despite being a big, powerful vintage. It’s not the most fine and elegant, but will be very good in time. The yield was down 50% this year due to hail. It’s worth waiting for this vintage, it will be wonderfully full and luxurious in time. Equal parts Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Piquepoul and Picardan. No malolactic fermentation. Drinking window: 2029-2045 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Beaurenard, Boisrenard | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 96 | On a higher level to the domaine’s Tradition cuvée this year, this has really fresh and lively aromatics and a delightfully vibrant palate. The star fruit and pear flavours have huge impact, and it has remarkable lightness for a wine with such concentration. Long, well balanced and impressive. Also contains 11% Bourboulenc and 1% each of various other white varieties. Biodynamic, fermented and aged in foudres and old barriques. 4,000 bottles made. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Solitude, Vin de la Solitude | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 96 | Restrained aromatics lead to a full-bodied palate with great textural wealth. Not as obviously oaky as the domaine’s other cuvées (though it is certainly generously oaked), this has some interesting grain and relief to the texture, and a long finish. Powerful, saline and well balanced despite its richness and flamboyance. Also contains 10% each of Bourboulenc, Clairette Rose and Piquepoul Blanc. This is the third vintage of this cuvée and already it's proving to be one of the most exciting white Châteauneufs available. Drinking window: 2023-2034 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine JL Chave | Hermitage | White | 96 | The plots of Péléat and Rocoules were a little richer than a typical year, with relatively low acidity, while Ermite had a honeysuckle florality and a little more flesh than usual. Rich, dense and mighty, it is the opposite in style to the fine, fresh 2021. Picking started on 23 August in 2022. A tasting of the different plots was instructive, but the wines had been moved the day before, so the score is a guide only. Drinking window: 2026-2050 Click to see full details | |
| M Chapoutier, Coteau de Chéry | Condrieu | White | 96 | Powerful and expressive on the nose, explosive straight out the gate. Full-bodied, rich, unctuous and slow moving, but there’s well-balanced acidity. This has huge power for a Condrieu, an absolutely massive wine, with immense glycerol and a saline finish. The alcohol is high for sure, but this is a hugely flamboyant, extraordinary wine from a parcel within lieu-dit Coteau de Chéry at the end of the valley that enjoys more shadow than others. Drinking window: 2025-2031 Click to see full details | |
| Pierre Jean Villa, Jardin Suspendu | Condrieu | White | 96 | A strong burst of violets and peach comes out of the glass, then on the palate it's explosively flavoursome, a concentrated but fresh and intense Condrieu with intensity, huge length and massive amounts of pleasure. Great salinity, concentration and freshness suggests a long life. Fermented and matured in large, old oak barrels for 12 months Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Beaucastel, Roussanne Vieilles Vignes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 95 | A big, expansive vintage of this wine, it’s really quite juicy and fleshy. The acidity is well balanced, but this is considerably richer than 2021 and even 2020. The oak feels more noticeable at this stage, too. Quite a potent, rich year for this cuvée, with a long finish. An opulent, hedonistic Roussanne. Matured in barrels, 50% new, 50% one-year-old. Drinking window: 2025-2038 Click to see full details | |
| Château le Devay | Condrieu | White | 95 | Beautifully aromatic, with jasmine and blanched almonds; a lighter and more fragrant style than many 2022s. Full-bodied, quite luxurious and unctuous but not overly heavy, showing strong apricot and nectarine fruit on the finish, which is long and powerful, with just slightly raised alcohol – great length of fruit, however. Ageability is hard to judge, this could surprise with a very long life. Fermented in Stockinger demi-muids, after which it goes through malolactic fermentation and 10 months of ageing before bottling. Just 3,813 bottles made. Drinking window: 2023-2040 Click to see full details | |
| Château Rayas | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 95 | Aromas of confit pear, honeysuckle and almond announce a very rich style, massive, mouthfilling, with rich alcohol and enough freshness to bring it all together. A rich Rayas blanc indeed! Grapefruit and aniseed on the long finish. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Chante Cigale, Extrait | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 95 | A touch smoky, flinty, this is tight and tense on the palate, dry and savoury. It's really quite focused, never overly fat, with a long, straight finish. Should age with interest. Domaine Chante Cigale continues to rise up the rankings of white Châteauneuf producers – consistently excellent. Perfect balance. Fermented then aged for 10 months in demi-muids. Just 850 bottles made. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Gourt de Mautens | Vin de Pays de Vaucluse | White | 95 | Deep yellow/gold in colour, with intense honeysuckle and dried pear. Rich, almost oily in texture, this is powerful and potent, but with good balance. 30 months in barrel before being bottled unfiltered. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Solitude, Barberini | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 95 | There's noticeable struck match reduction on the nose, which works its way through into the finish. The oak work is robust and toasty, but somehow doesn't occlude the pear and pineapple fruit. Exceptionally long in the finish, this is a massive white Châteauneuf with serious extract. For lovers of an oaked style, and those looking for a white that repays long ageing. Aged in 100% new oak barrels for 10 months. Drinking window: 2026-2040 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine JP Jamet, Vernillon | Condrieu | White | 95 | Already really expressive and bright. Good acidity here, all enjoyably ripe, with fresh peach flavour. Actually quite light in style, not too oily, a very fresh feel on the palate. A blend of lieux-dits Côte Chatillon and Coteau de Vernon, all aged in amphora. Drinking window: 2023-2026 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Laurent Fayolle, Les Diognières | Hermitage | White | 95 | Beautifully expressive already, full-bodied, rich and opulent, with a touch of mille-feuille pastry and poached pear on the finish. Well balanced and long, the alcohol is present but in check, as is the oak. I would drink this young as it has a wonderfully drinkable side to it that others lack in 2022. From a 0.18ha plot of 70-year-old Marsanne at the foot of the Hermitage slope. Malolactic completed. Drinking window: 2025-2033 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Marc Sorrel, Les Rocoules | Hermitage | White | 95 | Very old school, almost Baroque nose, with dried mango and dried pear. Full-bodied, powerful and concentrated, the acidity is well balanced, the finish very long. A touch of hay and barley sugar, there are already some quite mature confit aromas. The alcohol feels slightly raised, but this is nonetheless an impressive Hermitage, one that favours grandeur over finesse. Malolactic completed, no fining and no filtration, then 18 months in oak. Drinking window: 2030-2040 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Martin Clerc, La Roncharde | Condrieu | White | 95 | Powerful, expressive mango and peach aromas, open and strong. Full-bodied, but with a soft, juicy side that gives the wine some charm. The oak influence is prominent, so give this a year or so to settle before drinking. A long, concentrated style, with balanced acidity and a mineral edge on the finish providing structure and cut. Fermented in barrel with natural yeasts, 12 months maturation in barrel with lees stirring and malolactic completed. Drinking window: 2025-2038 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Niero, Coeur de Roncharde | Condrieu | White | 95 | Lightly floral style, with sweet, ripe peach on the nose which flows through to the palate. Great concentration and length, it's a flamboyant, oak-influenced expression, one with real intensity and concentration. Lovely sense of purity, this is a new cuvée for Niero since the 2018 vintage. From the granitic lieu-dit Roncharde, just above the Côte Chatillon. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Stéphane Ogier, Les Vieilles Vignes de Jacques Vernay | Condrieu | White | 95 | Lovely jasmine aroma, more floral than many 2022s. Full-bodied, but not heavy or oily, the acidity is fairly low but it has good shape, energy and a long finish. Assertive, straight and focused. All fruit from the Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf lieu-dit of La Combe. Aged in demi-muids and small foudres. Drinking window: 2024-2034 Click to see full details | |
| Tardieu-Laurent | Condrieu | White | 95 | Slightly reductive nose currently, but it’s pure, fruity and juicy on the palate, with vibrant acidity and a long finish. A powerful and concentrated, joyful style of Condrieu with rich peach, apricot flesh, cinnamon and citrus. Fermented and aged for 10 months in new and one-year-old barrels. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Tardieu-Laurent | Hermitage | White | 95 | Ripe, open and expressive, with honeyed mango and honeysuckle. Very full-bodied and creamy in texture, smooth like puréed mango. A rich, opulent style, with balanced acidity and well-integrated oak, making for an impressive, grand wine. From lieux-dits Les Pierrelles, Les Beaumes, Les Murets and La Croix. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in barrels (new and one-year-old), where the wine spends one year, followed by a further year in Stockinger foudres. Drinking window: 2025-2040 Click to see full details | |
| M Chapoutier, Lieu-dit Hongrie | St-Péray | White | 94 | A full-bodied, generous, bold style of St-Péray, it has a strong character and an assertive nature. The oak here is quite marked, shaping the finish, giving it some length and tension. A powerful, dry St-Péray. Some vines are 20-25 years old, others are younger. Mostly aged in demi-muids with around 15% new oak. Drinking window: 2024-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Cave de Tain | Hermitage | White | 94 | Precise, citrussy aromas, then a full-bodied palate showing mango and pear. Acidity is quite low, but the amount of dry extract makes up for it, creating a powerful, rich style. The oak, while liberal, is well integrated and doesn't overwhelm the fruit. Aged in barrel, 30% new, the rest one or two years old. Drinking window: 2025-2036 Click to see full details | |
| Delas Frères, Domaine des Tourettes | Hermitage | White | 94 | Crème pâtissière on the nose, very creamy and rich. Full-bodied, rich and opulent on the palate too, the oak is generously applied, the acidity quite low, but the general effect feels quite authentic. Good length, and a silky, almost oily texture. Lots to enjoy here, in a very luxurious, rich style. Drinking window: 2025-2036 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Marc Sorrel | Hermitage | White | 94 | Dried pear aromas that are quite discreet for now. Full-bodied, powerful, opulent and rich, the alcohol feels quite prominent, but there's plenty of extract and flavour, with a strongly saline finish. Oak is well integrated. Quite a mighty style. Drinking window: 2023-2038 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Coursodon, Silice Blanc | St-Joseph | White | 94 | Exotic pineapple and mille-feuille pastry aromas. Generous, full-bodied, the bright acidity helps to provide a sense of drinkability. A serious, powerful, long, fairly majestic style of St-Joseph, and is far from the most expensive. Fermented in stainless steel, malolactic completed. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Gonon, Les Oliviers | St-Joseph | White | 94 | Quince and pear, ripe but not overripe. Silky, broad and full – as always for this cuvée – but with good freshness and acidity, and gently warming alcohol on the finish. Very long, with good tension and a touch of honey and nougat to end on. An intense and concentrated vintage. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| M Chapoutier, Les Granits Blanc | St-Joseph | White | 94 | Full-bodied, silky and fresh. The reduction is well controlled, a touch of struck match brings complexity. Fine, elegant, bold but well balanced. From the east-facing lieu-dit St-Joseph. Drinking window: 2024-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Niero, Les Ravines | Condrieu | White | 94 | Fresh, expressive and perky style without too much weight or excessive body. Good acidity and the alcohol doesn't feel as high as some 2022s. Lightly spiced nectarine fruit, this has energy and drinkability, though is certainly rich and ripe. 20-year-old vines on average, across five excellent lieux-dits, 40% aged in barrel, the rest in stainless steel. Drinking window: 2023-2026 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Niero, Chérytage | Condrieu | White | 94 | Ripe apricot flesh on the nose, with floral nuances such as violets. Full-bodied but not heavy, with good acidity and a precise, focused finish. The oak is quite noticeable but doesn't overwhelm the fruit and the finish is long. This is not a new cuvée, but rather an evolution of Niero's cuvée Héritage. After a closer inspection of plot boundaries, it transpired that the Chéry plot was partly in Vernon, partly in Chéry, so now Niero is bottling the Vernon part separately and the remaining part of Chéry now goes into Héritage since the 2021 vintage, hence the new name, Chérytage. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Beaucastel | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 94 | An aromatic vintage at this stage, with honeyed pear and honeysuckle characters. Full, round and generous, with plenty of glycerol, all cut through by a strong beam of acidity. Alcohol is just gently warming. Certainly a rich vintage, all about power, weight and ripeness. Drinking window: 2024-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Nalys | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 94 | A full-bodied expression, the generous fruit is further accentuated by flowing, silky oak – all cut through, thankfully, by a line of acidity and a long finish. Plenty of impact, no lack of intensity or concentration. Give it a year or two for the oak to fully integrate. Drinking window: 2025-2037 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine André Mathieu, Vin Di Felibre | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 94 | Floral on the nose, soft and silky on the palate. There's a light oiliness to the texture, and a little mineral glint that helps bring freshness. It’s extrmely well balanced, and is one of the better white Châteauneufs this year. Poached pear flavours linger underneath the well-integrated oak. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Famille Isabel Ferrando, Vieilles Clairettes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 94 | Strong smoky bacon and struck-match characters here, leading to a medium-bodied palate. This has more freshness than most white Châteauneufs in 2022, it has detail and pep. On the palate it's quite richly fruited, with citrusy acidity. Not too full or alcoholic, this is one of the more successful white cuvées this year. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Le Clos du Caillou, Les Safres | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 94 | There’s a creamy vanilla touch to the pear fruit on the nose, then really quite unctuous and rich on the palate. It does have some intensity and brightness to balance it, and a long finish. Great overall balance, good freshness, powerful but not excessive, this is classic white Châteauneuf. Fermented then aged for four months in old barrels. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Fonsalette | Côtes du Rhône | White | 94 | Honeysuckle and Williams pear, really full-bodied, silky and opulent this year. The richness is countered by gentle acids and mineral notes. Fresh and balanced, very big this year. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Cave de Tain, Fleur de Roc | St-Péray | White | 93 | A discreet nose at the time of tasting, this will take a while to unfurl. There's a good sense of energy and freshness within, however, so it has the inner reserves to do that. Silky and harmonious, this will always be a rich and powerful style, and has good length and concentration. 25% new oak. Drinking window: 2024-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Clape | St-Péray | White | 93 | Quince and pear. Rich and ripe but not overly so, it's silky on the palate, fairly high in alcohol, enjoyably full and opulent, with a fresh core. Includes a new parcel this year of 70-year-old Marsanne, so is now around 90% Marsanne, 10% Roussanne. The rest is a mix of 60-year-old and seven-year-old vines. Vinified in oak. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Tunnel, Marsanne | St-Péray | White | 93 | Rich and exotic, with ripe mango and pineapple. Explosively powerful flavour, rich in alcohol, very long, concentrated and opulent in style. I would drink this young to enjoy its intensity and attitude. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Farge, Grain de Silex | St-Péray | White | 93 | Lightly honeyed pear aromas lead to a full and flowing palate that’s satin textured. Has a feeling of freshness and purity, rolling on to a soft finish. A really lovely expression of Roussanne, the acidity is quite low but it feels authentic in its balance. Drinking window: 2023-2026 Click to see full details | |
| Cave Julien Cécillon, Gemini | St-Péray | White | 93 | Gorgeous, exciting nose combining struck flint and rich mango and apricot. Full-bodied, but not excessively so, with richly ripe stone fruit and well-integrated oak work that adds complexity and length. Excellent. Smart winemaking. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Cave de Tain, Epsilon Collection | St-Péray | White | 93 | Good sense of depth and satisfying fullness. Real concentration, vinosity and balance, with a long finish. Leafy herbal notes further contribute to its drinkable, refreshing style. From 40-year-old vines grown on a granite bedrock. Drinking window: 2023-2026 Click to see full details | |
| Cave de Tain, Epsilon Origine | Hermitage | White | 93 | Very full-bodied and broad on the palate. A big, slow moving wine, with balanced acidity and an inner freshness that help to keep it vibrant and drinkable. Immensely rich in glycerol, however, so be prepared for a massive wine. Spends 10 months in 400-litre barrels, one third new. Drinking window: 2024-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Coursodon, Le Paradis Saint-Pierre | St-Joseph | White | 93 | Full-bodied, with intense oak work but it's well integrated and will further harmonise. The alcohol is a little high, but this has great intensity and concentration and a long finish. Matured for 12 months in barriques. Drinking window: 2024-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Jolivet, Clef de Sol | St-Joseph | White | 93 | A touch of copper to the colour. Very ripe indeed, with rich dried pear aromas. Full-bodied and thick, the acidity is somehow well balanced, the oak isn't excessive, and the overall effect is an almost absurdly ripe and opulent St-Joseph, but somehow it remains enjoyable thanks to its inner freshness. It's very good, almost Hermitage-like, but be prepared for a big mouthful! Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Cave de Tain, Epsilon Origine | St-Joseph | White | 93 | Slight smoky bacon notes to the aromas. Full-bodied, rich and opulent with popcorn notes. The acidity is low but feels authentic, and it finishes long, with a deep set mineral drive. Matured in 400-litre barrels, one third new, the rest quite young. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Maison Bruyère & David, Les Parcelles Blanc | St-Joseph | White | 93 | A gentle, attractive honeysuckle and apricot aroma. Medium-bodied, fresh and well balanced, with good acidity, intensity and focus; this a classic, harmonious, enjoyably drinkable St-Joseph to be drunk young. Fermented then aged for 10 months in barrel, some new, some two years old. Drinking window: 2023-2026 Click to see full details | |
| Tardieu-Laurent | St-Joseph | White | 93 | A ripe style, with a mango and rich peach flavour. Full-bodied, fairly powerful, with slightly noticeable alcohol but it's only slightly raised. Creamy and fresh on the palate; a classic, well-made example. Fermented and matured for 12 months in new and one- and two-year-old barrels. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Clos de la Bonnette, Légende Bonnetta | Condrieu | White | 93 | Very rich, full-bodied, concentrated and opulent. It has a sweet richness that is further accentuated by the oak, plus an inner citric bite and some noble bitters that help bring balance to this very intense, concentrated Condrieu. There’s a long, saline, firm finish. No new oak, malolactic completed. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| André Perret | Condrieu | White | 93 | Lovely sense of purity and precision, the balance here is better than most, with great freshness despite the raised alcohol that is quite typical for 2022; a long, precise and flowing finish, however. Pure peach, silky, attractive, but richer and riper than a typical vintage chez Perret. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Martin Clerc, Côte Bellay | Condrieu | White | 93 | Full-bodied, rich and ripe. Surprisingly neat on the palate, the ripe, opulent fruit has been well shaped by the oak, and the overall effect is of a powerful, intense Condrieu that will need time to relax, then will likely be long lived. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in oak, 20% new. Drinking window: 2025-2039 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Nalys, Saintes Pierres de Nalys | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 93 | Gently nutty notes to the fruit, it's all quite restrained, more about texture than aromatics. There’s a good sense of tension on the palate, it’s very persistent, with a long, resonant finish. With impressive focus, drive, salinity and extract, this should be good in youth and in age. A real sense of completeness. 20% fermented and aged in barrels (barriques and demi-muids), the rest in stainless steel. Drinking window: 2024-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Château La Nerthe | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 93 | Buttered popcorn and tobacco leaf on the nose, this is shot through with expensive oak. Powerful on the palate, extremely loud and proud, with rich poached pear and star fruit on the long finish. Almost too powerful really, but makes a huge impression. 20% new oak. Likely to be very good value. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Château Mont-Redon | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 93 | Quite pale in colour. It’s fresh on the nose, neat and compact on the palate. Star fruit flavours flow into the finish, with marked sappy acidity. A drinkable, medium-bodied style without excess alcohol or oak. Also contains 10% Piquepoul. All fermented and aged in stainless steel. Likely to be a good value option. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Chante Cigale | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 93 | A little tight on the nose, so give this a few months. It’s fresh, tense and very much about texture and vibrancy rather than fatness and fragrance. Good acidity, length and impact. A blend of equal parts Grenache Blanc, Piquepoul, Bourboulenc, Roussanne and Clairette. Brilliant for a Tradition cuvée, will be very good value. Drinking window: 2023-2034 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Solitude, Tradition | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 93 | A white Châteauneuf that's more about texture and shape than exuberant aromatics, it's enjoyably textural thanks in part to the oak, with well balanced, keen acidity. It’s fresh, not overly fat, and has a good sense of focus. Should be very good value, and could well age much better than my conservative estimate. 30% aged in new oak barrels. Drinking window: 2023-2026 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Bosquet des Papes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 93 | Interesting reductive smoky note to the aromas, and some enjoyable freshening rosemary touches to the palate. Good length, this is vibrant and well balanced. Generous but not fat, with good concentration of flavour. Well-integrated oak completes the package. A blend of Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Clairette Rose, Bourboulenc and Grenache Gris. 20%of the final blend is aged in demi-muids, the rest in stainless steel. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, Clos Roquète | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 93 | A touch richer in pineapple fruit than a typical year, but still fresh in aroma. Also slightly fuller in body, with a creamy pear touch to the fruit and slightly raised alcohol. It’s long however, and delicious, with a gentle mineral line. 3.5ha parcel between Rayas and Piedlong, on sandy clay. Foudres and demi-muids, and no new oak – just one, two and three years old. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| La Sousto | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 93 | Really lovely floral expression with satsuma notes – there’s admirable freshness, and even a little saline mineral nip that freshens the finish further. Medium- to full-bodied, not overly fat or alcoholic. Likely to offer good value. Aged for six months in concrete eggs. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine JP Jamet | Côtes du Rhône | White | 93 | With its bright apricot characters, this is juicy and full of flavour. It’s punchy, with nice vibrancy and good acidity. A Marsanne-dominated, crystalline style. Drinking window: 2023-2025 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Chaboud-Cellier, Boscus | St-Péray | White | 92 | A subtle, struck match reductive element brings interest to the nose. There's a keen, flinty edge on the palate, then good acidity, fresh melon and pear fruit, with subtle, noble bitter nips on the finish. Some clever winemaking here, it's nicely crafted. Drinking window: 2024-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Eric & Joël Durand | St-Péray | White | 92 | Fresh nose of scratched citrus. Plump but not overly full, this has good acidity and a nice sense of energy, focus and drive. Satsuma and fresh herbs make for a refreshing, early-drinking style. 30% is fermented in barrique, half new, half one-year-old, which adds to its complexity. Drinking window: 2023-2025 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Johann Michel | St-Péray | White | 92 | A fuller, riper style than most, with melon, pear and apricot flavours. This is big, broad and full, with a silky mouthfeel. The alcohol is present but gives the wines generosity and opulence. Vinified in stainless steel. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Marc + Marlène | St-Péray | White | 92 | Apples and pears on the nose, fresh, floral and fragrant. Well balanced, fresh again on the palate and ends neat. Very drinkable style, 70% aged in stainless steel, 30% in old barriques. Drinking window: 2023-2025 Click to see full details | |
| Vidal-Fleury | St-Péray | White | 92 | Mandarin and lemon thyme, this has a lovely aromatic profile. Medium-bodied and delightfully fresh, with good acidity and a brisk feeling on the palate. Very good. Two-thirds matured in new oak, but it doesn't dominate the aromatics. Drinking window: 2023-2025 Click to see full details | |
| Yves Cuilleron, Les Rousses | Crozes-Hermitage | White | 92 | A really intense, ripe, pineapple-flavoured Crozes, with a rich, opulent mouthfeel. Concentrated and long, it's a big, flamboyant style that might be a bit much to share between two people, but will certainly have many fans. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Murinais, Cuvée Marine | Crozes-Hermitage | White | 92 | A lovely, authentic and easy-going style of Crozes, one with freshness and drinkability despite the rich, ripe fruit and fairly low acidity that this vintage has delivered. A long finish, very sunny and appetising. No malolactic, matured in concrete eggs. Drinking window: 2023-2026 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Stéphane Rousset | Crozes-Hermitage | White | 92 | Good sense of freshness and vibrancy here, showing lifted pear and melon fruit. Ripe but not overly heavy or rich, with well-balanced alcohol and a long finish. A very good result in this hot and dry vintage. Likely to offer good value. Half matured in stainless steel, the other half in recent but not new oak barrels. Drinking window: 2023-2026 Click to see full details | |
| Tardieu-Laurent, Vieilles Vignes | Crozes-Hermitage | White | 92 | A full-bodied, oaked cuvée, which is also ripe in fruit and with high alcohol. Extremely seductive to taste, it's explosively flavoursome but heady and rich – would be good with food. Appealing freshness under the oak, this will last. Fermented and aged for eight months in new and one-year-old barrels. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Chêne | St-Joseph | White | 92 | Well balanced, with good acidity and a generally fresh demeanour. Mango lifted by fresh satsuma citrus notes and an elevated finish. Tiny appearance of spritz, so decant. Comes from Chavanay, in the far north of the appellation. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Le Prieuré d'Arras | St-Joseph | White | 92 | Enjoyably fresh, with classic, ripe pear aromas from the Roussanne. A very full-bodied, ripe style and a touch creamy on the finish. Classic expression of the vintage with a natural feel and well-integrated oak. 12 barriques produced, two replaced every year, aged for 12 months. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Lionel Faury, Les Ribaudes Blanc | St-Joseph | White | 92 | Nutmeg spice on the nose, then stewed apple on the palate. The acidity feels a little unintegrated at this early stage, but it finishes long. No lees stirring, no new oak. Drinking window: 2023-2026 Click to see full details | |
| Pierre Jean Villa, Saut de l'Ange | St-Joseph | White | 92 | Pear skins and red apple scents. Full-bodied, it does have freshness and acidity that helps to hold it together. Pineapple on the palate, leading to a mineral finish and subtle nutmeg spice. Give this a year to harmonise. A rare, 100% Roussanne St-Joseph. Drinking window: 2024-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Hugo & Pauline Villa | Condrieu | White | 92 | Vinous, concentrated, with even some red fruit notes like raspberry among the pêche de vigne fruit. The alcohol is a little noticeable, but this has good concentration and freshness, with a clean, neat finish. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Montirius, Minéral | Vacqueyras | White | 92 | Spicy notes and lime leaf on the nose, this is enjoyably tight and brisk on the palate, with a fine mineral seam. A well-balanced, fresh style that exemplifies why Bourboulenc is so useful in bringing acidity and cut. No oak. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Vaudieu | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 92 | A well-balanced example that has good acidity, the oak corset is a little tight for the moment, so give this time to relax. With its macadamia and lime freshness, this will work on its own or with food. Half aged in new oak barrels, the rest in stainless steel, for nine months. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Clos de l'Oratoire des Papes, Les Chorégies | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 92 | Lime leaf and tobacco aromas. The oak work is quite noticeable here, but it makes for an enjoyable, intense and focused wine, and it lengthens the finish. Not overly full-bodied, ripe or alcoholic in what can be a rich vintage, but this should age with interest. Drinking window: 2023-2031 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Marcoux | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 92 | A full-bodied, rich and ripe example, with unctuous pear fruit. The alcohol is a little raised but this has good length and classic Châteauneuf breadth and weight. Not overly full-bodied, it does retain a sense of drinkability. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| La Bastide St-Dominique, Chapelle | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | White | 92 | A floral style, full-bodied and petal-soft. Some noble bitter notes on the finish, a touch saline, well balanced. Fermented then aged in new oak barrels, this is a very rare 100% Clairette Rose. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details |