2022 Rouget (Pomerol)

The 2022 Rouget is very attractive and quite floral on the nose, with crushed violets infusing black cherry and boysenberry fruit. The medium-bodied palate is lightly spiced with sapid black fruit giving way to mocha hints toward the finish. This is one of the most elegant vintages from Rouget and it should age with style, though one bottle was a bit more chocolatey on the finish than the other. 92 points

The 2022 Rouget is a delicate, elegant wine. Crushed flowers, mocha and dark spice meld into black cherry, blackberry, chocolate and lavender. Rouget offers an appealing combination of intense, dark flavors layered into a mid-weight frame. There`s plenty of depth, but it`s expressed in an understated manner. I would cellar the 2022 for a few years, as the tannins could use a bit more time to integrate fully. Harvest began on September 6, the earliest ever here. Yields were 24 hectoliters per hectare, the result of spring frost and then dehydration during the summer. Tasted two times. 94 points

Inky plum in colour, this has a lovely balance, thoroughly enjoyable in its depth and plushness of blackberry and damson fruit character, clear bitter chocolate, mint leaf, eucpalyptus, slate and liqourice. It`s big and expands through the palate, and you feel the tannins step by step building to full impact by the close of play - but that is the way to do it, where it starts small and then builds. It`s concentrated, in the spirit of the vintage, and has plenty of Pomerol signature in its velvety tannins and bitter black chocolate finish, and even the flash of heat on the finish is taken in its stride. Great construction, waves of oyster shell and saffron, and this is an exceptional Rouget from owner Edouard Labruyere. 30% new oak. 95 points

A lavish, ripe style of Pomerol, the 2022 Rouget bursts with aromas of cherry preserve, sweet berries and toasty new oak, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and supple palate that`s rich and demonstrative. Readers who gravitate toward overtly jammy wines will appreciate it more than I did, but it is well made in its style. 90-92 points