Full-bodied yet fresh and linear with bright fruit and firm, fine tannins. Crunchy and minerally. Fresh

The 2022 Grand Mayne was picked from 8 to 20 September and needed time to settle in the glass. Black cherries, crushed strawberry, graphite and licorice aromas appear with time. This needs its barrel maturation to cohere the aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with a sweet, slightly vanilla entry. The new oak is prominent at the moment, although there is sufficient fruit to soak that up. Indeed, a second sample demonstrates much more precision and sophistication on the finish. Bon vin.

The Nony family has produced a silky, intense, balanced but fully charged wine in 2022, with muscular tannic construction, plenty of layers, edges of smoked caramel, blueberry and bilberry fruit, deep colour extraction, cinammon and clove that make the oak impact pretty evident. This is impressive, with ageing ability.

Darker plums, currants, iron, and leathery nuances, as well as plenty of background spicy oak, emerge from the 2022 Château Grand Mayne, a ripe, medium to full-bodied, straight-up sexy 2022 with sweet tannins and a great finish. Plush, hedonistic, and balanced are the key words here, and I'd be happy with bottles in the cellar. Tasted multiple times, this should easily be in the same ballpark quality-wise as the 2019 and 2020.

The 2022 Grand Mayne offers up generous aromas of sweet berry fruit, spices, espresso roast and new oak, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy palate with a broad, velvety attack and a deep core of fruit framed by powdery tannins that assert themselves on the youthfully chewy finish. This is a ripe, gourmand Saint-Émilion that represents a generous but balanced interpretation of the vintage. If its élevage remains in the background by the time it's in bottle, it may make my review look conservative.

More oaky and firm than it was during the en primeur tasting, the 2022 Grand Mayne reveals an oaky, introverted bouquet of oak, spices, espresso roast and dark berries. Medium to full-bodied, rich and concentrated, it has a fleshy core of fruit and an assertive, youthful tannic frame that segues into a long yet firm and somewhat dry finish. This is a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc.

75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple. Fruit smells very ripe indeed. Sweet, smooth palate entry . Lacks a little freshness. But the tannins are well disguised. (JR)