critic reviews
The 2022 from Saint-Pierre is a whopping 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 12% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. This has produced a wine with a dark and smoky nose, dense with rich fruit and oak, a brooding and savoury style. The palate continues in the same vein, with a dense, dark and brooding style of fruit, the flavours all Cabernet orientated with tar, liquorice, black pepper and white flowers, all set in a voluptuous texture, with a rich underpinning of dry and grippy tannins. The palate concludes with a wash of dark and salted fruits, followed by a flourish of rich tannic grip. A huge wine, structurally confident, with a tannic substance that will demand decades of cellar time, but so much character. An impressive, must-buy 2022. Tasted twice. The alcohol on the label is 13%.
High Cabernet Sauvignon in a vintage where this grape ripened fully, and it really comes across in the intense but savoury character of the blue and black fruit. Chalky edge to the tannins, intense and vivid sage and clove spices, crushed rocks, ink and crayon.
The 2022 Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien), which has more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, is more opulent and primal on the nose than the Gloria. Blueberry filters through black fruit as hints of iodine and violet emerge over time. The medium-bodied palate offers sapid black fruit, fine-boned tannins and wonderful structure and purity. What I appreciate about this Saint-Pierre is that it is quintessentially Saint-Julien. Armed with a reassuringly long finish, this has immense potential.
A particular success for this estate, the 2022 Saint-Pierre offers up aromas of cassis, licorice and violets, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy palate that's lively and sapid, with powdery structuring tannins and a penetrating finish. Its tannic weight tempers the wine's sweetness of fruit to deliver a classy, nicely balanced result.