Not sure how many of the “130 Castles in the Union” of Bordeaux Eddie and I tasted at the Union des Grands Crus Bordeaux 2022 tasting event, but taste we did! We go to this preview of newly released Bordeaux wines every year – we missed a couple as everyone did when events went on hiatus through Covid – so we were thrilled to attend this latest event.
The preview event we attended was filled with sommeliers, journalists, and restaurant and wine shop owners – as it has been in the past – so it was nice to reconnect with many of my peers after such a “dry spell”. We were also blessed with seeing some of the same winery representatives across the table we hadn’t seen in a while – and some Chateau owners too!
Again, as it’s been a couple of years, everyone just seemed so relieved to finally meet again over fine wine that came across the ocean to be shared. (The evening’s event, open to the public, would be filled with wine lovers, aficionados and collectors.)
Appellations represented include Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Pauillac, Sauternes and Barsac, Pessac-Leognan, Graves, Pomerol, Listrac-Medoc, Moulis-en-Medoc, Haut-Medoc, Medoc, Margaux, Saint-Julien and Saint-Estephe. There was enough wine to fill two rooms of excited tasters.
You can see the story in my public photos here or read on. We appreciated everything we sampled! In general, I felt that many of the 2019s were good to drink now and didn’t necessarily require a lot of aging, the blends were well done, there was a buzz about the Merlots and the Cab-based Bordeaux from Pauillac.
Again, and just in general, some of the reds were dark, tannic and brooding while others were fresh and lively which to me means there was a lot to appreciate no matter what blends you normally lean towards.
The whites – Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Sauternes that I enjoyed – benefitted from great fresh fruit and winemaking skills. I enjoyed almost every single one I sampled.
Though we didn’t come close to tasting everything, we would recommend that you seek out these stellar 2019: Chateau Lynch Bages, Chateau Phelan Segur, Chateau de Chantegrive, Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot, Chateau Leoville Barton, Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Chateau Gloria, Chateau Fonreaud, Chateau Dauzac, Chateau Talbot, Chateau Rauzan Gassies, Chateau Croizet Bages, Chateau Prieure Lichine, Chateau Gazin, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, Chateau Pavie Macquin, Chateau Clinet, Chateau La Tour Figeac, Chateau Grand Mayne, Chateau Pape-Clement, Chateau Latour-Martillac, Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse, Domaine de Chevalier, Chateau Haut-Bergey, Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron, Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Chateau Larrivet Haut Brion, Chateau Bouscaut, Chateau Clos Haut-Peyraguey, Chateau Doisy Daene and Chateau Sigalas-Rabaud.
A complete list of the UGC members can be seen here: https://www.ugcb.net/en/members
Keep up with UGC news and events here: https://www.ugcb.net/en/home
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in the first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
