The 2022 vintage in Bordeaux continues to impress, yielding some epic wines including the 2022 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion, which has earned an amazing THREE perfect 100-point reviews!

Read on for details, and for a trio of highly regarded Bordeaux reds in the $25 to $55 range, then hit the Big Green Button to scoop up a bottle or six-pack to enjoy over the coming half-century

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2022 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion
Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux, France
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100 Points, Vinous - Antonio Galloni:
(1/2025) "The 2022 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a towering masterpiece from Technical Director Guillaume Pouthier. Dark and seamless in the glass, the 2022 presents an exotic mélange of black cherry, lavender, sage, blood orange, menthol, espresso and dried flowers, showing tremendous depth and substance in all of its dimensions. Time in the glass hints as to what is to come in the years and decades that follow. The 2022 is a co-ferment of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot done with 70% stems that saw six full weeks on the skins. Élevage is 70% new oak, 20% 18HL cask and 10% amphora. Most importantly, all the elements are so well balanced that nothing sticks out. Instead, it is the wine's total sense of harmony that is mind-blowing. Magnificent. Drinking Window: 2030 - 2072."

100 Points, Decanter
(12/14/2024) "Deep and brooding, this wine is beautifully floral with violets, irises, and peonies alongside ripe black cherries, liquorice, and dark chocolate. Concentrated yet bursting with energy, it flows effortlessly across the palate. Vibrant red fruits - strawberry, cherry, raspberry - sit atop a mineral backbone of salty, wet stones. Crisp yet powdery tannins and bright acidity give incredible tension. Despite its depth, it feels almost weightless, so drinkable yet built to age. Pure, pristine, and vibrant, with no trace of heat - just balance and finesse. Juicy, lively, and utterly compelling. A true expression of place and a sure-fire hit. 70% whole bunch fermented. Two years ageing, 80% new oak, 10% big 20hl vats and 10% amphora. 3.55pH. 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot. Drinking Window: 2029 - 2050."

100 Points, Wine Advocate
(3/6/2025) "The 2022 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is the finest wine bottled to date at this estate under Patrice Pichet's ownership and Guillaume Pouthier's direction. Unfurling from the glass with aromas of violet, iris, dark wild berries, pencil lead and mulberries, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated with a deep core of fruit beautifully framed by velvety, precise tannins, segueing into a long, saline and perfumed finish. Suave and harmonious, it was crafted with 70% whole bunches and matured in 70% new oak. This unconventional blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot represents a turning point for the estate, cementing its rapid ascendancy in the Bordeaux firmament. Drink date: 2032 - 2062."

Online prices range as high as $280, with a median of $210. Bordeaux of this caliber, at this price, with such an extended drinking window is something very rare indeed!

Vin Chicago Price: 187

A Trio of HOT Bordeaux Buys!

2020 Château Pierre 1er
St.-Émilion, Bordeaux, France
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We poured this last week for a group of French ex-pats and got big smiles, especially once they heard the price. At other stores this delightfully classic, ready-to-drink Bordeaux goes for $32 to $35. While it's worth those amounts, our price puts it even more in the sweet spot!

"The 2020 Pierre 1er is a very pretty, mid-weight Saint-Emilion. Ripe red-toned fruit, mocha, spice and rose petal are nicely amplified. Supple and forward, but not at all heavy, the Pierre 1er is an attractive, forward Saint-Emilion that will drink well right out of the gate. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2035."
          - 92 Points, Vinous - Antonio Galloni (12/2022)

"Juicy fruit with crushed stone and a crunchy undertone. Blue fruits. Floral. Medium body. Linear fine tannins and a crisp finish. Citrusy undertones. Salty and minerally, too. Drink after 2025."
          - 94 Points, James Suckling (5/14/2023)

"Ripe blue fruits on the nose, chewy and plush tannins, but not too heavy or thick, more textured and finely mouthcoating but with ripe and cool blue fruits rather than heady perfumed black fruits which gives freshness more than overt power or concentration. Still quite sticky and chewy, ripe with plenty of fresh strawberry and cherry. Stops a little short, the texture just taking control but nice elements here. Feels well worked, just forward and overt right now. Does have an element of restraint and I like the gentle, defined salty touch on the end. Full and powerful right now, yet still with charm. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2039."
          - 92 Points, Decanter (1/4/2023)

Vin Chicago Price: 24.79

2022 Château Dalem
Fronsac, Bordeaux, France
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We've been looking to the 100 producers of Bordeaux's relatively small Fronsac region more and more as a source of quality reds at extremely fair prices. This 2022 bottling from Brigitte Rullier Loussert's Château Dalem delivers the goods!

"The 2022 Dalem is seriously impressive. Dark plum, black cherry and spice notes open first, followed by lifted floral tones and vibrant acids that pull it all together. I would give this a bit of time to soften, as the tannins are pretty potent. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2037."
          - 93 Points, Vinous - Antonio Galloni (1/2025)

"A fresh-toned and complex Fronsac, showing a touch of cocoa powder to the ripe berry fruit plus a hint of ink, graphite and spices. Almost full-bodied but not heavy, with vibrating tannins towing the fruit to a long, lively finish. The tannins are chalky and already dissolved. Merlot and cabernet franc. Delicious now but will hold well in the next eight to ten years."
          - 95 Points, James Suckling (12/18/2024)

"A nicely saturated core of plum and cassis flavors is well-supported by warm earth and sweet tobacco notes. Shows violet and sanguine flashes through the focused, steady finish. Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2026 through 2035. 5,000 cases made, 2,000 cases imported."
          - 92 Points, Wine Spectator (3/31/2025)

Vin Chicago Price: 34.99

2020 Château Lagrange
St.-Julien, Bordeaux, France
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As good a value as the Château Dalem is, this hugely acclaimed Left Bank red may be even more remarkable. A triple 95-Point, Third Growth bottling for $55? Yowsers!

"The 2020 Lagrange is a fine follow-up to the excellent 2019. Offering up aromas of creme de cassis and plums mingled with hints of violets, licorice, pencil shavings and vanilla pod, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with a deep core of ripe but vibrant fruit that's framed by powdery tannins that assert themselves with gentle grip on the finish. Drink Date: 2027 - 2055."
          - 95 Points, Wine Advocate (4/6/2023)

"Coming from depressingly low yields of just 26 hectoliters per hectare (the lowest since 1991), the 2020 Chateau Lagrange checks in as 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot that was raised in 60% new French oak. It's a gorgeous, complete Saint-Julien offering remarkable purity in its cassis, violets, chocolate, and leafy tobacco-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, with terrific balance, a pure, focused mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and beautifully integrated oak, it's going to benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and cruise over the following 2+ decades in cold cellars. Maturity: 2027 - 2047."
          - 95+ Points, Jeb Dunnuck (3/29/2023)

"The 2020 Lagrange has wonderful control and mineralité on the nose, very precise and well defined, a touch of dried rose petal emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, white pepper and a saline undertow. Very complex and persistent on the finish, this is one of the more cerebral wines of the vintage. It's not to be underestimated (though too often, it is). Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking Window: 2030 - 2060."
          - 95 Points, Vinous - Neal Martin (1/2024)

Vin Chicago Price: 54.99