Château Picque Caillou, Pessac Léognan, 2022
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
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.
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.
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.
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.