Château Picque Caillou, Pessac Léognan, 2022

Name: Château Picque Caillou, Pessac Léognan
Brand: Château Picque Caillou
Price: 96 GBP

Available Vintages

all 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

justerini & brooks tasting note

Pauline Calvet's Picque Caillou is a perennial favourite of ours. Situated between Haut Brion and Merignac airport it makes a habit of outclassing far more illustrious names from the Pessac Leognan commune. Produced from 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot, and aged in 40% new oak barrels and a mixture of one- and two-year-old barrels, this is another terrific effort. Alas, yields were a low 33 hl/ha as the Cabernets planted on dry soils suffered a bit. Aromatically, this has a touch of sauvage, with notes of bramble, smoky cassis and vanilla. There's lots of intensity and a deep core of fruit underpinned by some slightly rustic tannins, which we expect to resolve during élevage. The overall impression is of vibrant fruit and refreshing acidity - an honest and well made wine offering excellent value for money.

critic reviews

88/100Chris Kissack,The Wine Independent

A somewhat curious nose of liquorice and leafy summer fruits, with redcurrant notes, it feels a little out of synch with the vintage. The palate is light-footed, with a rather juicy and open midpalate, supported by threads of ripe and finely grained tannins, which give the finish a slightly sappy edge. This will no doubt make pleasant drinking earlier than some, but I am not sure it really captures what the vintage had to offer.

DRINKING WINDOW 2025 - 2034

date of review 06/2025

89/100Yohan Castaing,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Notes of chocolate, licorice, dark berries and tobacco preface the 2022 Picque-Caillou, a medium to full-bodied, rather firm and compact wine with structured tannins, good depth at the core and a long, pencil lead-inflected finish.

DRINKING WINDOW 2025 - 2030

date of review 03/2025

88/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

Opens with reductive notes, relaxing to show sappy fruit flavours, raspberry and cassis, a little overpowered by the vintage with the incense, black pepper and drying tannins, but there are acidities underneath, and it's one to watch over ageing.

DRINKING WINDOW 2028 - 2040

date of review 05/2023

89-91/100Antonio Galloni,Vinous

The 2022 Picque Caillou is intriguing, to say the least. It offers up an exciting mélange of dark red/purplish fruit, leather, spice, tobacco, menthol and dried rose petal. There is a bit of edginess in the tannin, but also quite a bit of depth. Élevage will be critical here, and yet the potential is evident.

DRINKING WINDOW 2027 - 2037

date of review 05/2023