Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages Sonoma County Red Wine 2022 750ml

Cinq Cépages means "five varieties" in French. It is the name Chateau St. Jean chose for the flagship wine that has defined the Sonoma County Bordeaux blend conversation since the winery began making it — the five canonical Bordeaux blending grapes assembled each year by the winemaker from outstanding and proven vineyard sources across Sonoma County into a single expression that the wine world has periodically recognized as among the finest Bordeaux-style blends produced in California.

The 2022 is the most critically acclaimed Cinq Cépages in recent memory.The Tasting Panel's Meredith May awarded 99 Points Publisher's Pick in July 2025 — describing it as "a true icon in California winemaking" with "inky black-carmine hue," "graphite and new leather wrapped in plum skin, espresso and violets," and "a muscle-bound athlete." Decanter awarded 96 Points. Wine Enthusiast awarded 94 Points Cellar Selection, with the specific recommendation to hold until 2030–2040. The American Fine Wine Competition awarded Double Gold.

The blend — 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Malbec, 9% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot — was assembled by winemaker Mari Coyle from iconic sites: Cherryblock, Knights Valley, Alexander Valley, and Lancaster Estate. Twenty months in 70% new French oak. The Wine and Cheese Place found it "beautifully layered with crushed blackberry and black cherry notes, complemented by elegant cedarwood spices — exceptional fruit purity balanced by freshness and tension, supported by superfine tannins." Wine.com found "lavender oils, blackberry liqueur, dark chocolate, polished leather, and sage — full-bodied, floating on the palate with velvety tannins, even freshness, and good length."

This is the Cinq Cépages that the 2022 Sonoma vintage — warm and generous but with the structure that great Bordeaux-style blends require — produced at its absolute peak. Cellar it. Or open it now. Either decision is correct.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Chateau St. Jean was established in 1973 in Kenwood, Sonoma County — the historic estate on 250 acres in the Sonoma Valley whose château building and estate grounds provided the name and the aesthetic for one of California's most enduring premium wine brands. The winery is now part of the Foley Family Wines portfolio, whose extensive Sonoma County vineyard relationships give winemaker Mari Coyle access to the finest vineyard sources across the county's most celebrated AVAs.

The Cinq Cépages concept is foundational to the Chateau St. Jean brand identity: each year, Coyle selects fruit from outstanding and proven Bordeaux varietal vineyards across Sonoma County, blends the five canonical Bordeaux varieties — Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot — in proportions that the specific vintage's fruit quality dictates, and ages the assembled blend in new French oak long enough to build the structure and integration that age-worthy Bordeaux-style blends require.

The 2022 blend is the most Malbec-forward Cinq Cépages in recent history at 11% — an unusual proportion for a California Bordeaux blend that typically emphasizes Merlot in the secondary position. The Malbec's contribution to the 2022 is the single most unusual and the single most specifically interesting production decision: at 11% Malbec, the wine gains the inky color depth, the plush texture, and the dark fruit concentration that Malbec specifically provides while the Cabernet Sauvignon's 73% dominance maintains the structural architecture that the Cinq Cépages' ageing potential requires.

The vineyard sources are the most specifically prestigious available in Sonoma County's Bordeaux grape-growing regions. Cherryblock — one of the most celebrated Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard blocks in Sonoma County, historically associated with the finest reserve-tier California Cabernet. Knights Valley — the warm, volcanic soil enclave in the northeastern corner of Sonoma County whose thermal profile most closely approaches Napa Valley conditions. Alexander Valley — the warm, reliably excellent Cabernet Sauvignon-focused AVA whose depth and generosity have made it California's most consistently excellent Bordeaux red blend source outside Napa. Lancaster Estate — the prestigious Alexander Valley single-estate vineyard whose Cabernet Sauvignon is among the most specifically acclaimed in northern Sonoma.

Twenty months in 70% new French oak — the extended aging and the high new-oak proportion consistent with the Cinq Cépages' long track record of building cellar-worthy structure and integration.

Critics Reviews

The Tasting Panel — 99 Points · Publisher's Pick (Meredith May, July 2025): "The five Bordeaux blending grapes give this wine its name, a true icon in California winemaking. From its inky black-carmine hue to its dusty, teeth-gripping nature, it's a muscle-bound athlete. The dynamic foundation of graphite and new leather, wrapped in plum skin, espresso and violets gives a view into its deep soul."

Decanter — 96 Points

Wine Enthusiast — 94 Points · Cellar Selection: "Aromas of cherry, black plum and bitter cocoa powder flow from the glass on the nose of this blend. The palate is punchy and weighty, with loads of gripping tannin, spice and crushed berry flavors. Best from 2030–2040."

American Fine Wine Competition — Double Gold 2022

Wine.com (confirmed 2022 tasting note): "Purple/black-hued, the 2022 Cinq Cépages has a more complete feel and offers more purity as well as depth, with notes of lavender oils, blackberry liqueur, dark chocolate, polished leather, and sage. Full-bodied, it floats on the palate with velvety tannins, even freshness, and good length. Drinkable now, but best from 2029."

The Wine and Cheese Place (2022 confirmed note): "Beautifully layered with crushed blackberry and black cherry notes, complemented by elegant cedarwood spices. Exceptional fruit purity is balanced by freshness and tension, supported by a foundation of superfine tannins. Finishes long with nuances of cocoa nibs. A graceful and refined wine with the structure to age elegantly for many years."

Wine Library (2022 confirmed note): "Savory, floral and lavender aromas, with graphite, dark chocolate and creme de cassis flavors that expand on the palate and linger on the finish."

Tasting Profile

Nose Inky black-carmine — the 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Malbec combined producing a color of extraordinary depth that communicates the 2022 vintage's concentration before a drop has been tasted. The nose opens with the specific and memorably distinguished combination that the Tasting Panel's 99-point description captures most evocatively: graphite and new leather wrapped in plum skin, espresso, and violets. Graphite and graphite-mineral arrive first as the most specifically and the most precisely Bordeaux-adjacent secondary aromatic quality — not the fruity warmth of a simple Cabernet Sauvignon but the specific mineral-pencil lead dimension that the finest Sonoma County Bordeaux blends develop from Knights Valley and Alexander Valley volcanic soils. Lavender oils add the most unexpected and the most specifically Sonoma County aromatic dimension — present in the Wine.com note and entirely consistent with the herbal, floral complexity that the county's specific microclimate deposits in its finest Bordeaux blends. Blackberry liqueur adds concentrated dark fruit. Dark plum and creme de cassis add further concentrated black fruit depth. Dark chocolate adds rich secondary bitterness. New leather adds the most luxurious and the most specifically age-worthy secondary aromatic quality. Espresso adds roasted depth. Violets add the most delicate and the most aristocratically Bordeaux-adjacent floral dimension.

Palate Punchy, weighty, and muscle-bound — the Wine Enthusiast and the Tasting Panel together providing the most honest and the most complementarily accurate combined palate characterization. The entry is full-bodied and immediately concentrated — the 2022's warm growing season having built the fruit density that the 70% new French oak then structured across 20 months into the "more complete feel and more purity" that Wine.com found most specifically impressive in the 2022 relative to prior vintages. Crushed blackberry and black cherry carry the fruit character forward with the vivid, slightly compressed quality of a young, tightly wound Bordeaux-style blend that is holding itself in reserve. Spice builds from the oak and the Cabernet Franc component. Dark chocolate and cocoa nibs add the bitter richness. Creme de cassis deepens the palate's black fruit concentration. Cedarwood spices add the most specifically Bordeaux-referencing wood integration note. Sage and herbal notes from the Cabernet Franc add the structural aromatic complexity. The tannins — "gripping," "dusty," "teeth-gripping," "superfine" across different reviews — are the most honest single indicator of the wine's current development stage: genuinely present, genuinely structured, and specifically designed for the 2029–2040 drinking window that the Wine Enthusiast Cellar Selection designation recommends. Velvety floats across the palate with the quality that 20 months of new French oak integration achieves.

Finish Long, cocoa-tinged, and lavender-persistent. The "good length" that Wine.com confirmed and the "finishes long with nuances of cocoa nibs" from the Wine and Cheese Place characterization together confirm a finish of genuine persistence and genuine complexity. Graphite and dark fruit cycle through the close alongside the lavender and the leather. The tannin's structure provides the most enduring closing quality — dry, precise, and communicating exactly what holding this wine until 2030 or 2035 will release into something genuinely extraordinary.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

The concentrated dark fruit, gripping tannins, and 20 months of new French oak integration demand equally structured food accompaniments:

• Prime ribeye or short rib — the structure and dark fruit finding their natural protein counterpart
• Lamb rack with rosemary — the lavender and sage character connecting to the herbal preparation
• Aged Pecorino or aged Gouda — the tannin finding its natural pairing in aged hard cheese fat
• Braised short rib — the espresso and leather notes aligning with deep, long-cooked meat
• Dark chocolate desserts — the cocoa nibs and bitter chocolate of the finish meeting their match