Château Alcée, 2022
Château Alcée, 2022
- 75cl
- 14.5%
- Red Still
- Merlot
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Optimal drinking window: 2026 - 2038
Château Alcée is a small Bordeaux estate producing wines in the classic Right Bank tradition - 100% Merlot for this vintage, and built with genuine care rather than commercial ambition.
The 2022 vintage was one of the warmest and driest on record in Bordeaux, producing wines of concentration and ripeness without sacrificing freshness, and Alcée has made the most of it: dark fruit, a firm tannic backbone, and the kind of mineral grip that suggests real character in the glass.
Alcée is the pet project of widely-celebrated winemaker Nicolas Thienpont (of Pavie-Macquin fame especially, one of 2021's wines of the vintage), so it's not a huge surprise to see the wine perform at this level quality, though you still rarely expect to see this in Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux.
Nicolas has sought to push quality further and further, converting to organic farming, replanting vines, reducing yields and delaying harvesting until optimum phenolic ripeness. Winemaking is similarly assiduous, with laser-sharp selection at the sorting table and plot-by-plot vinification.
Right now the 2022 is doing what young, concentrated Merlot does: sitting slightly coiled, the fruit rich but not yet fully integrated with the oak. Give it another year or two and the black cherry and salted mineral grip will start to meld into something more seamless. By 2028 or so we'd expect the tannins to soften into a plush but structured frame, with secondary complexity — earthy, iron-tinged, a little dried fig — beginning to emerge. The plateau is probably somewhere in the early-to-mid 2030s, where everything comes together and the limestone freshness really shines. Hold much beyond 2035 and the fruit may begin to recede, though the structure suggests it won't fall apart quickly.
What the critics say:
"Another crunchy wine, showing strawberries and cherries with some flowers and stone. Fine tannins with a salty, lightly austere finish. Pure merlot. Drink now and enjoy."
"Deep dark ruby garnet, opaque core, purple reflections, delicate rim brightening. Black notes of blackberries and liquorice, subtle touch of noble wood, tobacco nuances. Complex, substantial, fine black cherries, integrated, ripe tannins, shows good length, nougat in the finish, has maturity and certain ageing potential."
"Limestone really does save these higher alcohol wines in the vintage, allowing a breath of freshness to run underneath the fruit, and providing a fresh cushion of air, even if this is a little subdued aromatically right now. Black cherry, orange peel, salted cracker freshness, good grip and length. 22hl/h yield, so extremely low here, 13ha estate, 50% new oak."
Tasting Notes
AppearanceDeep ruby-purple, dense and youthful with very little sign of evolution at the rim.
NoseDark plum and blackcurrant up front, with cedar and a subtle, earthy graphite quality underneath. The 2022 warmth shows in the generosity of the fruit, but there is restraint here too — this is not a jammy wine.
PalateMedium to full-bodied with ripe, firm tannins that still need a little time to fully soften. Dark cherry, cassis, and a mineral, chalky edge on the mid-palate give it shape and direction. The acidity is well-balanced for the vintage.
FinishClean and persistent, with a lingering savouriness and a faint tobacco note on the very end.
Overall impressionA classically structured Bordeaux that needs a little patience but has the material to justify it.
Food Pairings
In Bordeaux, a wine like this would most naturally appear on the table alongside entrecôte à la bordelaise — rib-eye steak finished with a shallot and red wine reduction, perhaps with bone marrow stirred in. Duck confit is another local staple that works beautifully with structured Merlot-based reds, the richness of the duck fat meeting the wine's tannins in exactly the right way. A slow-cooked lamb shoulder with herbs from the Landes forest would be equally at home. Even a well-aged hard cheese — a wedge of aged Ossau-Iraty from nearby Basque country — makes for a fine, unfussy match.
We think this wine would go well with
Serve at around 16-18°C — too warm and the alcohol starts to dominate, too cool and the tannins tighten unhelpfully. A 30-45 minute decant is worthwhile in 2026, helping to open up the fruit and soften the edges. A standard large-bowled Bordeaux glass will do the job well, giving the wine room to breathe without over-aerating it.
Bordeaux's vineyards sit on a varied mosaic of soils, and without precise plot information for Château Alcee it is difficult to be specific — but estates in this tier typically farm clay-limestone or gravel-over-clay soils that give Merlot its characteristic plumpness and Cabernet its structural backbone. The 2022 growing season was exceptionally warm and dry, concentrating sugars and polyphenols across the appellation. The resulting wines carry genuine weight but retain the freshness that Bordeaux's Atlantic-influenced climate generally provides.
Bordeaux is the world's most famous wine region and covers an enormous and varied area across the Gironde department of southwest France. The appellation encompasses numerous sub-zones and communes, from the Cabernet-dominant Left Bank to the Merlot-led Right Bank and everything in between. Entry-level Bordeaux AOC wines can be sourced from across the entire region and blended accordingly, offering broadly accessible, food-friendly reds at competitive prices. The rules permit red, white, and rosé production, with reds typically built from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
The 2022 growing season in Bordeaux threw everything at the vines: a warm, dry spring that brought flowering forward, followed by scorching summer heat that had many producers genuinely worried about their fruit. By August, some vineyards were showing real stress, with leaf burn and shrivelling grapes becoming common sights across the Left Bank. The saving grace came in September when temperatures dropped and gentle rains arrived just when the vines needed them most, allowing the late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon to finish properly whilst preserving freshness.
What emerged from this rollercoaster was a vintage of surprising quality, though yields were predictably low. The reds show concentrated fruit with ripe tannins that avoid the harsh edge that excessive heat can bring - that September reprieve really mattered. Merlot fared particularly well, ripening before the worst of the summer stress, whilst Cabernet Sauvignon varies more depending on terroir and how well individual estates managed the heat. We're finding the wines drink beautifully now with immediate charm, though the better examples will certainly reward patience over the next decade.
FAQs
What does Château Alcee 2022 taste like?
Dark plum, cassis, and cedar with a firm tannic structure and a mineral, graphite-edged finish. It's a classically proportioned Bordeaux red with genuine depth — not flashy, but built with real intent.
What food should I pair with this wine?
Think classic French bistro fare: entrecôte with a red wine reduction, duck confit, or a slow-roasted lamb shoulder. Aged hard cheeses work well too if you want something less involved.
Should I decant this wine?
Yes — give it at least 30-45 minutes in a decanter before serving. It's a young, structured wine and a little air makes a real difference to how it opens up in the glass.
Is this wine worth cellaring?
If you have the patience, yes. The 2022 vintage in Bordeaux produced wines of genuine concentration and structure, and Château Alcee has made the most of it. A few years in a cool, dark cellar should be well rewarded.
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Château Alcée
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