2022 Château Malescot St Exupery, Margaux, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
The 2022 Malescot Saint Exupéry was picked from 19 September until 5 October, stopping over two weekends as it rained. Every parcel contributed fruit to the Grand Vin, with 14.5% alcohol. Raised in 70% new oak with most malo done in barrel, it has a fragrant bouquet with red cherries, raspberry coulis, blueberry and violet scents.
The palate has a well-defined entry with sour cherry, raspberry, blackcurrant and touches of marmalade. Not powerful but harmonious with a silky texture, this precision-tooled Margaux will give 20 to 30 years of drinking pleasure.
Drink 2027 - 2052
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (April 2023)
The 2022 Malescot Saint Exupéry is dense, powerful and voluptuous. Black cherry, mocha, espresso, liquorice and chocolate are all amplified. In 2022, Malescot is quite the extrovert. These days Malescot is not as classic as it used to be, but this is a good showing, even if the alcohol comes through a touch.
Drink 2027 - 2047
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (April 2023)
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2022 Malescot St. Exupery comes barreling out of the glass with bold notions of black raspberries, blackcurrant jelly, and fresh, juicy plums, followed by wafts of violets, cinnamon stick, and forest floor. The medium to full-bodied palate is densely laden with black and red berry layers, framed by firm, fine-grained tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing long and perfumed. This is very pretty!
Drink 2028-2055
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent (May 2023)
Offering up aromas of rich blackberries, cassis, sweet spices, pencil shavings and creamy new oak, the 2022 Malescot St. Exupery is medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with a broad attack that segues into a layered core of expressive fruit that's framed by sweet, powdery tannins.
A blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, this is one of the appellation's most flamboyant wines but it retains good balance and boasts a healthy pH of 3.55.
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (April 2023)
Attractive dark-berry character with blackberries, blackcurrants, walnuts and dark spices. It’s full-bodied, concentrated and dense with a compact and very fine tannin structure that builds up. It’s deep and balanced with violets and pure blue-fruit undertones. Lingering and very polished finish. Structured and firm.
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (April 2023)
Intensely perfumed and fragrant on the nose, supple and succulent, really quite juicy and highly acidic with both a dark blackcurrant and red cherry juiciness, tannins are nicely present, filling but with a great texture, and this has a nice overall brightness and vibrancy that some don't have.
I really like this; feels elegant and nicely detailed, soft, and really not trying too hard. It will be for easier drinking than some, but nice. A yield of 30hl/ha. Harvest 19 September - 5 October. Ageing in French oak for 12- 14 months, 70% new.
Drink 2029 - 2045
Georgina Hindle, Decanter.com (April 2023)
The 2022 Château Malescot Saint Exupéry is gorgeous and certainly a Margaux worth seeking out. Dense purple-hued, with a rich, powerful bouquet of ripe black fruits, melted chocolate, smoked tobacco, and spice, it picks up a beautiful floral character with air, is full-bodied, and has a layered, opulent mouthfeel as well as a great finish.
It shows the vintage's building yet velvety tannins and will warrant just 4-5 years or more of bottle age, but it's a brilliant wine in the making.
Jeb Dunncuk, JebDunnuck.com (May 2023)
About this WINE
Chateau Malescot St Exupery
Château Malescot-St-Exupéry, a 3ème Cru Classé Margaux property, can trace its history back to the 18th century. Over the years its reputation slipped and the estate became dilapidated and run-down.
In 1955 Malescot-St-Exupéry was purchased by the Zuger family who invested heavily in the estate, and it is now one of the best-maintained and most quality-driven of the Margaux crus. Today it is run by Jean-Luc Zuger. The winery and the cellars are located in the town of Margaux, while the vineyards now consist of five separate parcels in the commune of Margaux.
Malescot-St-Exupéry's wine is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot - it is matured in oak barriques, 80% of which are new, for 16 months and is bottled unfiltered.
Malescot-St-Exupéry can be light and lean when young but after 6-7 years of cellaring displays a seductive perfume and a harmonious and silky texture which few wines from Margaux can match.
Margaux
If Pauillac can be seen as the bastion of ‘traditional’ Red Bordeaux, then Margaux represents its other facet in producing wines that are among Bordeaux’s most sensual and alluring. It is the largest commune in the Médoc, encompassing the communes of Cantenac, Soussans, Arsac and Labaude, in addition to Margaux itself. Located in the centre of the Haut-Médoc, Margaux is the closest of the important communes to the city of Bordeaux.
The soils in Margaux are the lightest and most gravelly of the Médoc, with some also containing a high percentage of sand. Vineyards located in Cantenac and Margaux make up the core of the appelation with the best vineyard sites being located on well-drained slopes, whose lighter soils give Margaux its deft touch and silky perfumes. Further away from the water, there is a greater clay content and the wines are less dramatically perfumed.
Margaux is the most diffuse of all the Médoc appelations with a reputation for scaling the heights with irreproachable wines such as Ch. Margaux and Ch. Palmer, but also plumbing the depths, with too many other châteaux not fulfilling their potential. There has been an upward shift in recent years, but the appellation cannot yet boast the reliability of St Julien. However, the finest Margaux are exquisitely perfumed and models of refinement and subtlety which have few parallels in Bordeaux.
Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Margaux, Ch. Palmer, Ch. Brane-Cantenac, Ch. Rauzan-Ségla , Ch. Dufort-Vivens, Ch. Ferrière, Ch. du Tertre, Ch. Giscours, Ch. d'Angludet.
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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Description
“Exuberance” remains the watchword for the wines from this château. A high level of ripeness is always sought, and the harvest was, as usual, relatively late. But there is a good level of freshness and a pH level of 3.65, notably lower than some. But the richness and intensity of the fruit is this wine’s raison d’être.
Blackcurrant coulis and sweet vanilla give this an alluring, if rich, succulence. The tannins are silky and well-handled, still leaving sufficient grip for an extra dimension of spicy tension. There is plenty of concentration, with yields lower than some at 30hl/ha.
Cabernet Sauvignon 55%; Merlot 40%; Petit Verdot 5%
Drink 2028 - 2042
Score: 16/20
Berry Bros. & Rudd (April 2023)
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