Bordeaux Harvest 2022

A small quantity but of superior quality!

Here are our notes from the 2022 harvest in our Bordeaux vineyards: Château Gantonnet, Château Victoria, Château Escalette, and Château de Barbe.

Overall, annual weather conditions produced a very healthy crop. Winter rain built up the soil’s water supply, allowing the vines to cope well with water stress during the summer drought. The Château Escalette organically farmed vineyard seems to have tolerated the intense heat better, contributing to the vintage’s rapid growth starting at flowering. The harvest began two weeks early in good weather and lasted about a month for all the properties.

At Château Victoria, with such a warm year, it was quite intense to time the harvest for optimal ripeness and strike the right balance between sugar, acidity, and quality of tannins. Following the usual pattern, the merlot grapes were picked first, followed by the petit verdot and the cabernet. At Château de Barbe, the merlot grapes were harvested first, particularly the plot “in front of the wood,” located on the slopes. The malbec and the cabernet vines followed.

Of course, at Château Gantonnet, the white grape varieties opened this harvest season, followed by the merlot and the malbec vines. The juices of the whites and rosés are fruity and tart, and the reds’ tannins are already silky.

This year looks a bit like 2018 and suggests the wines will be concentrated, fruity, and stunningly decadent.

Record heat and an early harvest for a very promising 2022 vintage!