2022 Chateau du Retout Haut-Medoc [D92][WS92][JS91][V91]

Producer: Chateau du Retout 
Region: Haut Medoc, Bordeaux, France 
Blend: 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot 
Year: 2022 

Retail Price: $40.00 
Our Price: $19.99* 

Haut Medoc is a distinguished appelllation within Bordeaux's Left Bank and epitomizes the timeless elegance of Cabernet-based wines.  Haut Medoc is known for wines of exceptional depth, complexity and age-worthy character.  While most people associate great Bordeaux with the very expensive Grand Cru Clase - you can find some of the best values in Bordeaux by looking for bottles labeled Cru Bourgeois.  Cru Bourgeois is a great way to find exceptional quality and value.  The goal of the Cru is to focus on quality and be more egalitarian than the rigid Grand Cru Clase label.  Cru Bourgeois wines are also more likely to be family-owned than the big business Grand Cru wines.  he Crus Bourgeois classification is reviewed every five years, ensuring continuous quality improvement.  The Cru Bourgeois Superieur label applies to only 56 wineries in Bordeaux.  After the phylloxera crisis at the end of the 19th century destroyed most French vineyards and WWI led to the disappearance of smaller wine estates, Chateau du Retout fell into disrepair.  It was brought back to life only in the 1950s by the Kopp family who still own the estate today.  The 2022 Chateau du Retout Haut-Medoc was #45 of Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2024.  It's lively and bright with a well-defined nose.  It's medium-bodied and quite concentrated with firm tannins.  This Bordeaux is very drinkable with a savory and subtly-spiced undercurrent.  It's gentle, delicate and oh so charming.  It has notes of blackberry, blueberry, spiced currants, singed cedar, vanilla, paprika, licorice and tobacco.  Enjoy!

Decanter, 92 Points 

"Lively and bright, a hit of instant freshness and salty, liquorice grip to the cool blue and black fruit with tension and focus. Not so fleshy or dense, more straight and linear with a savoury and subtly-spiced undercurrent. Well worked and defined with juiciness and a cool clarity. Gentle, delicate, but oh so charming and very drinkable. HVE certified. 3.91pH. Harvest: Merlot 19 - 28 September, Petit Verdot 26 September, Cabernet Sauvignon 27 September - 6 October." 

Wine Spectator, 92 Points 

" #45 of Top 100, 2024.  Shows the ripeness of the vintage, with dark currant and blackberry notes framed by singed cedar and vanilla. Ends with a tug of warm earth, a light twang of iron and a steady grip. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2034. 9,600 cases made, 1,990 cases imported." 

James Suckling, 91 Points 

"Olives, paprika and spiced currants throughout with firm but dissolved tannins that turn caressing and polished in a linear, medium-length finish. Fine-grained and not chewy. Drink from 2025." 

Vinous, 91 Points

"The 2022 Chateau du Retout has a well-defined nose, with blackberry and bilberry scents and pleasant estuarine aromas emerging with time.  The palate is medium-bodied and quite concentrated, with firm tannins, but it retains freshness, with bold black fruit laced with blueberry and tobacco on the finish.  Give this two or three years." 

Alcohol: 14% 

*Price and availability in store may vary. Discounts do not apply to wines like this one currently on sale.