2022 Grand Puy Ducasse

The 2022 Grand-Puy-Ducasse has a very commendable nose with intense black fruit, sous-bois and pencil-box scents, great delineation and a sense of classicism. The palate is medium-bodied with fine but firm tannins, quite tannic for its class, but with ample freshness and plenty of length on the peppery finish. Excellent. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.

The 2022 Grand-Puy-Ducasse exhibits aromas of cassis, tobacco leaf violets and new oak, followed by a medium to full-bodied palate with a sweet core of fruit, ripe acids and chalky structuring tannins that assert themselves on the finish. This is a solid but somewhat rustic effort.

The 2022 Château Grand-Puy Ducasse is a gorgeous effort that might surpass the 2020 when all is said and done. Largely Cabernet Sauvignon (58%) yet with a solid dose of Merlot (40%) and a splash of Petit Verdot, this beauty exhibits a deep purple hue as well as powerful aromatics of blackcurrants, spicy oak, freshly sharpened lead pencils, and a chalky sense of minerality. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, this broad, layered, beautifully textured, and concentrated Pauillac has building tannins, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It's not, however, for the instant gratification crowd and needs to be forgotten for 5-7 years, if not a decade. It should see its 30th birthday in fine form.