2022 Château Potensac, Médoc, Bordeaux

2022 Château Potensac, Médoc, Bordeaux

Product: 20228007300
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2022 Château Potensac, Médoc, Bordeaux

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Description

Blend: 43% Cabernet Sauvignon; 37% Merlot; 19% Cabernet Franc; 1% Petit Verdot.

As direct and earnest as ever, this is a benchmark Potensac that delivers interest and value. The property was untouched by spring frost and summer hail, but 20 hectares have been removed, and the second wine was discontinued. 

This wine has the cool linearity typical of the northern Médoc but with more midpalate volume, given the concentration of the vintage. The minerality is quite mouth-watering, and the liberal proportion of Cabernet Franc adds a floral nuance. 

This is focused and purposeful, offering early pleasure and some development in bottle.

Drink 2026 - 2038

Score: 17/20

Berry Bros. & Rudd (April 2023)

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Critics reviews

Neal Martin, Vinous91-93/100

The 2022 Potensac has an intense bouquet with layered red and black fruit, cedar and light mint aromas. This is a Potensac with purpose. The palate is a little creamier than previous vintages on the entry, but then the tannic framework makes its presence felt. Firm grip, quite fresh and sappy with a fine thread of acidity maintaining poise. This is a superb Potensac. Tasted twice with consistent notes, though the wood came through more at the château compared to another at Boissenot's tasting.

Drink 2026-2042

Neal Martin, Vinous (April 2023)

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Antonio Galloni, Vinous91-93/100

The 2022 Potensac is super-expressive right out of the gate. Black cherry, plum, lavender, spice, and gravel are all beautifully delineated. Pliant and beautifully layered, the 2022 marries density and vibrancy to great effect. There’s quite a bit of tannin, but also enough fruit to balance things out. The 2022 is a serious Potensac, that is for sure. Once again, Jean-Hubert Delon and his team made a Médoc that overdelivers big time.

Drink 2027-2042

Antonio Galloni, Vinous (April 2023)

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Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW92-94/100

A blend of 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36.5% Merlot, 19.5% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2022 Potensac is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a bit of swirling to bring out notes of crushed blackberries, cassis, and warm plums, with hints of cracked black pepper and fertile loam. The medium to full-bodied palate is packed with black fruit preserves, supported by firm, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, with loads of savory sparks on the finish. Nice!

Drink 2027-2047

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent (May 2023)

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Jane Anson93/100
Balance and depth to the fruit. This must be the most concentrated Potensac that I have tasted En Primeur, but you can pick out individual characters of sweet blackberry puree, slate, liquorice root, firm tannins, almost drying on the finish but there is juice and the cold ash aspect that is such a lovely sign of Cabernet Sauvignon on gravel. One to look out for. You needed the expertise of consutlant Eric Boissenot with press wine I imagine in this kind of vintage, and it works well here. No 2nd wine now here as of this vintage, back to keeping things simple. No Chapelle de Potensac this year. Tasted twice.

Jane Anson, janeanson.com (May 2023) Read more
Jancis Robinson MW16.5/20
43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36.5% Merlot, 19.5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Second wine, Chapelle, no longer made. Unwanted batches sold in bulk. Cask sample. Fresh and floral with a leafy edge. Stony freshness on the palate. Broad but long, the tannins incisive. Firm, lingering finish. As usual, more definition and depth than most in this appellation. 14.5%. Drink 2028 – 2040

Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com (May 2023) Read more
Wine Advocate89-91/100

Aromas of dark berries, cigar wrapper and licorice introduce the 2022 Potensac, a medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy Médoc with a deep core of fruit and powdery structuring tannins. It's built along similar lines to the 2020.

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (April 2023)

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James Suckling94-95/100

Polished and refined with a deep core of ripe berries with walnut undertones. Medium- to full-bodied with firm, velvety tannins and a lingering finish. Deep and complex.

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (April 2023)

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Jeb Dunnuck90-92+/100

The 2022 Château Potensac is based on 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and a splash of Petit Verdot. It has lots of ripe blue fruits, graphite, and gravelly earth to go with full-bodied richness and depth on the palate. It's a big, rich, tannic Potensac that's going to be long lived. I suspect 3-5 years of bottle age will be warranted here.

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (May 2023)

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About this WINE

Chateau Potensac

Chateau Potensac

Château Potensac is a leading Cru Bourgeois estate located between the villages of Blaignan and Ordonnac in the far north of the Médoc. Potensac is a large property, consisting of 50 hectares of vineyards which are planted on soils rich in alluvial gravel and red clay. The vines (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc) have a high average age of around 35 years.

The grapes at Potensac are hand-harvested and then vinified in a combination of temperature-controlled, concrete and stainless steel tanks. The wine is matured in small oak barrels (20% new) for 14-16 months.

Quality at Potensac has been on an upward curve ever since Michel Delon (of Léoville-Las-Cases) fame took over the running of the property in the 1970s. He passed away in 2000 and Potensac is now run by his dynamic son Jean-Hubert, with the assistance of maître de chai Bruno Roalland.

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Médoc

Médoc

The Médoc is arguably the most famous red wine district in the world, home to many of the greatest and most renowned names of Bordeaux. It stretches north-west from the city of Bordeaux with the Gironde estuary to the east. The vineyards extend up to eight miles from the river and run for about 50 miles northwards. It is a surprisingly dull landscape, with the best land found on gravelly outcrops.

The most northerly, low-lying vineyards are classified as Bas-Médoc, whilst those on higher ground, closer to the city of Bordeaux, are entitled to the Haut-Médoc appellation.  Within that appellation, there are further communal or village appellations, namely Listrac and Moulis, and the four great names of St. Estèphe, Pauillac, St Julien and Margaux.  As a rule of thumb, the greatest wines are made at those properties closest to the river.

Recommended Châteaux from the Bas-Médoc:  Ch. Le Boscq, Ch. Patache d'Aux, Ch. Potensac, Ch. la Tour de By, Ch. La Tour Carnet, La Tour Haut-Caussan, Ch. La Tour-St-Bonnet, Ch. Verdignan, Ch. Rolland de By

Recommended châteaux from the Haut-Médoc : Ch. La Lagune, Ch. Cantemerle, Ch d’Agassac, Ch. Belgrave, Ch. Camensac, Ch. Charmail, Ch. Cissac, Ch. Citran, Ch. Lanessan, Ch. Liversan, Ch. du Moulin Rouge, Ch. Sociando-Mallet, Ch. La Tour Carnet, Ch. Verdignan, Ch. d’Arche, Ch. Beaumont, Ch. Lamothe-Bergeron

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Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and  Australia.

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