Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Intense primary notes of forest berries and cherry. This is a plush wine with fine herbal complexity and leather as counterpoints to the fruit. Well-balanced palate with soft tannin and firm posture. For me the strongest young LCHB since 2016.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
After a strong 2019 and an ok 2020, this seems to be taking the elevator down to the basement with the 2022 vintage. Ripe and concentrated fruit with notable heat and a distracting nail polish feature. Not improving on the palate which felt soapy, lacked mid-palate, showed green, unripe tannin and ended in an abrupt finish.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
A detailed aroma profile with sweet red berry fruit complemented by perfume and a bouquet of flowers, specifically roses. The palate was unfortunately a bit austere with heat adding to the body and yielding a power level that unfavorably contrasts the filigree nose. Nose 95+ palate 90 = 93.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
A ripe profile with cassis, cherry confit and red currant fruit, fresh herbs. There was depth to it and even some polish. The palate mirrored the ripeness and concentration, with notable heat but in decent balance. At this stage felt like a slightly below-average, but respectable Poyferré.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
A broad, leathery base with ripe red cherry and a touch of perfume which was not enough to rebalance the dominant secondary aromas. The palate then downright alcoholic with drying, coarse tannin.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Red berry fruit, sweet in style with a decent amount of sugar coating, amplified by sweet spices and baking powder. Intense palate, mouthcoating tannin but felt in reasonable balance. Overall nothing much to complain about, major pitfalls were avoided, but struggled to find a particular allure.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Ripe fruit profile with red and dark cherry, sweet spice and a touch of vanilla. Bold and structured palate, the balance is there and the palates matches the intensity from the nose.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Ripe but still elegant and detailed nose with a broad range of spice, herbs and iron-like minerality complementing the mixed berry fruit. Unfortunately also marginally alcoholic. The palate is in good balance with soft tannin and plenty of structure.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Ripe fruit with a bit of heat, but a prominent earthy base that helps to anchor the fruit with a nice additional feature of perfume. But things collapse when you move on to the palate where this felt more like a spirit than wine, overpowering everything else.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
This was the biggest surprise for me. A beautiful nose of chocolate, espresso and roasted coffee beans supplementing a ripe and pretty classic fruit profile. The palate is perfectly harmonious with soft texture and supple tannin. This reminded more of Chateaux Margaux than of Brane-Cantenac which while consistently solid, typically throws hands in a lower weight class. This could in fact prove to be the best wine from this estate to date, also easily surpassing all more recent great vintages like 2009, 2010, 2015 or 2016.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Ripe fruit profile with leathery complexity and marginal heat. This is a decent wine, but unusually concentrated and lacking elegance for Rauzan-Ségla. After a 4-year winning streak (since 2018) it seems they misfired a bit in 2022.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Ripe red cherry fruit, pretty extracted in style but expertly balanced by complimentary aromas of sweet spice, raw vanilla beans and herbal aromatics. The palate was structured, well-made but with a touch of heat. The nose was beckoning 98+, but the overall only 95 at this point especially in direct comparison to Figeac.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
A multi-facetted, detailed and elegant wine already prior to bottling boasting plenty of herbal notes such as dried herbal seasoning and black tea, red and dark cherry fruit, leather and mineral notes of pencil shavings. The palate is juicy, fruit-forward, wholesome already now with great structure and precision, consistent presence and a long and tapered finish. A candidate for a perfect score.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
A cooked fruit with leather and more leather. The palate does manage to portray acceptable balance, but also shows notable heat and more cooked fruit. This was the worst I saw in terms of ripeness and extraction and a shocker after the outstanding 2020. This felt as if it was already past its peak before bottling.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Fruit of pear, grapes and lemon, fine layer of spice. Thick and creamy texture, but lacked the acidity to balance it. Will surely improve with time, but may easily require up to 20 years. Best case would be a 2001 situation, but not guarantee optimal balance will ever be reached.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Mostly gooseberry fruit with a decent intensity to it. Aromas of spice add some complexity, but not more. Slightly creamy texture, but I felt the this struggled with the acidity which felt insufficient.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Intense and ripe fruit with some spice and iron-like mineral notes. Similarly intense palate, but wild and unhinged. Balance appeared ok, though.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
This showed a pretty unique profile with a distinctly sweet, gummi bear-like fruit along with a bit of sweet spice. Medium+ intensity palate with a bit of heat, but otherwise decently harmonious.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Ripe fruit of red cherry, dried herbs and mineral notes initially provide for an average but ok impression. But the palate follows up with overly cooked fruit and a lack of balance.

Main takeaways: 1/ Despite a considerable amount of hype, this came across as bi-polar vintage with for every insanely good wine at least one dead-on-arrival counterpart. 2/ High alcohol levels, over-extraction and cooked fruit appear to be common pitfalls. 3/ Top wines were 1. Figeac (98), 2. Brane Cantenac (97), 3. Les Carmes Haut Brion (96). Full list of 20 wines and scores in included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Mixed berry fruit, partially sweet but unfortunately also partially cooked. Lots of smoky aromas. As a rare occasion in this vintage, the palate actually suffered from too acidity. But the tannin were also rather drying and felt unripe.