2022 Capbern
Buying options
Tasting notes
The limestone-dominant soils of Ch. Capbern worked in the estate’s favour in the hot, dry 2022 growing season. The tannins are fully resolved and beautifully integrated for a Saint-Estèphe property, particularly in 2022, with the wine showing beautiful balance. It is full of plush, opulent, rich blackberry and plum fruit, yet finishes with mouth-watering, mineral freshness. Long, precise and impressive. Aged in 60% new oak. Blend: 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
The 2022 Capbern has vibrant red berry fruit intermixed with sage and cedar scents, nicely defined and more open-knit than its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with a pastille-like entry, seemingly quite Merlot-driven, fleshy with a composed, quite tensile finish that fans out with confidence. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.
From the team at Calon-Ségur and deep ruby/plum-hued, the 2022 Château Capbern has a youthful, unevolved profile in its black and blue fruits as well as crushed stone, graphite, and violet-like perfume. This carries to a rich, medium to full-bodied, concentrated Capbern that has solid depth of fruit, juicy acidity, and ripe tannins. It has all the right components, but it's going to need some time to come together.
Concentrated in colour and in flavour, this is one of the few big name wines this year that really does seem to have lost typicity, but no doubt impacted by the hail more than the vintage itself. Lots of spice, deep clove spice, feels lusicous in texture, but more exuberant than usual, lacks some of that old school Capbern restraint. Harvest September 6 through to 27.28hl/h yield, following hail early in the season. 60% new oak for ageing.