Blackcurrants, graphite, crushed stone, and liquid violet notes all emerge from the 2022 Château Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien), another deeply colored, powerful, full-bodied Saint-Julien. Coming from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it has a layered, elegant mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. It's going to stand with the truly greats from not only this terroir but the entire Médoc.

A posh, sophisticated St.-Julien that manages to maintain freshness, nuanced complexity and class in a hot year. In fact, this is one of the best Saint-Pierres. Layered and poised, with lots of minerals, dark berries and pencil shavings, followed by fresh, firm and polished tannins. The finish goes on for almost a minute. Really exciting, even for the 2022, when a lot of the wines from the left bank did really well. Drink from 2029. - Zekun Shuai

The initial blast of dark, red berries with black cherries, flowers, and spice leads the way to the wine's wealth of sweet, ripe, fruit on the palate, finishing with lush, rounded textures, espresso, and a hint of dark chocolate. The wine blends 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 10% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2028-2050.

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%. - Chris Kissack

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) is superb, just as it was en primeur. Inky dark fruit, new leather, lavender, licorice, spice and graphite infuse the 2022 with striking complexity and dimension. As always, Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien) is a big, heady wine. There's certainly a lot of wine here. The 2022 is so vivid. -- Antonio Galloni

Ripe and vivid, with plum, cassis and boysenberry notes spilling out. There's just enough singed apple wood and cast iron to keep this focused. Violet and anise accents chime in the background. A decidedly not-shy St.-Julien that captures this vintage profile nicely. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2027 through 2040. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. — J.M.

Ripe and glossy, this has vibrant fruit with a heady spiced aspect alongside cool freshness. Lovely frame and structure, filling and wide but controlled with a lovely freshly picked strawberry juiciness. A touch powdery and mineral towards the finish, a chalky aspect lingers, but this has nice terroir markers and a calm confidence overall.

(93+ points) Aromas of cassis, blackberries, pencil shavings and licorice introduce the 2022 Saint-Pierre, a medium to full-bodied, velvety and suave wine that's rich but integrated, concluding with a clean, gently tannic finish. A touch less flamboyant than this estate could be in the past, it's a more classical expression of this estate. - William Kelley