Picpoul de Pinet 2022 vintage rating: 4.5 / 5
An electrifying, savoury scent meets my nostrils as I wind down the car window: wet rocks, mossy greenness, a briny tang; it’s the smell of the sea. I can’t see it yet, all I can see are neat rows of trellised vines blurring past, on a flat expanse of pale, clayey-looking soils. I know it’s there though, I can sense it.
We are driving along the edge of the Étang de Thau, a large lagoon, behind which the Picpoul de Pinet vineyard area spreads over 1,550ha. Being a coastal, Mediterranean climate, rainfall is low, winters are mild and sea mists and breezes play an important role in getting the vines just enough moisture.
The 2021 and 2022 vintages were markedly different in climate terms. Most of what is available on the market now, however, is from 2022, with only three 2021s shown at the tasting, all of which were Patience cuvées but none of which scored particularly high.
