Impressions of the 2023 Bordeaux vintage

Ian Hampsted

Ian Hampsted

Location
London
Many thanks to Fine & Rare and kudos to them for once again sponsoring this excellent event. I tried as many 2023s as possible in the allotted two and a half hours of speed dating and think I have a pretty good impression of this vintage.

My expectations were high and I expected to love this Bordeaux vintage given how it has been described as being a ‘contemporary classic’ vintage characterised by wines with balance, freshness and terroir expression.

I came away a trifle underwhelmed even though many of the wines were within the range of my expectations. I found them less compelling and interesting than I was expecting. They were not quite the triumph of modern Bordeaux winemaking that I was hoping for. Here are some key themes:
  • The 2023 Bordeaux vintage is not in the same league as 2022, nor 2020 or 2019 for that matter, but it is a better vintage than 2021 and 2024 (which I tried in the summer). It is a good vintage – like say 2004 - but it is not an outstanding one – so 7/10, whereas 19/20/22 would be 9+/10 and 21/24 would be 5-6/10.
  • The most successful appellation is Pomerol, while St-Emilion is all over the place. On the left bank St-Julien is again the most consistent.
  • While these wines are being spun as being fresh and classical with terroir expression most of them are ripe, and I could not help thinking a little bit too ripe in some cases – at least for my liking – with one notable exception in St-Emilion - as if erring towards picking later rather than sooner, which in my view not only leans against the notion that these wines are fresh and with great terror expression, but which is regrettable. In fact I think the use of freshness with respect to this vintage may be somewhat of a misnomer, and this and ‘terroir expression’ - or typicity if you like - are not necessarily consistent with what today’s winemakers see as ‘optimal physiological ripeness.’
  • These come across as well made wines in a difficult vintage – in part caused by the after effects of a tropical humid spring. The 2023s do not have the effortless brilliance of the 2022 vintage – they seem a bit laboured by comparison - apart perhaps from two superb wines from the Rauzan Segla & Canon stable
  • However, the dry and sweet white wines are fabulously good in 2023
  • Wine of the tasting – once again – Pichon Lalande – by a nose -- there were no first growths at the tasting – and a lot of the super seconds and equivalents were not there either
  • If I was buying, and I not, my value picks would be Carbonnieux Blanc, Cantemerle, Lagrange (St-Julien) and La Croix de Gay (Pomerol)
Here are my banded scores for the wines I tasted (rouge unless stated)


Carbonnieux Blanc 93-95 – just superb for the price

Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 93-95

Château De France Blanc 90-92

Larrivet Haut Brion Blanc 92-94

Latour Martillac Blanc 92-93

La Louviere Blanc 93-94 – 100% sav blanc

Olivier Blanc 91-93

Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc 93-95



Les Carmes Haut Brion 92-94

Domaine De Chevalier 92-94 – well behind this estate’s marvellous ’20 and ‘22

Haut-Bailly 92-94 – ripe with a lot of oak

Smith Haut Lafitte 93-95



Clerc Milon 93-95 – one of the best wines this estate has ever produced, excellent precision

D’Armailhac 92-93

Duhart Milon – 93-95 – a cool classic, on great form in recent vintages

Grand Puy Lacoste – 91-93 – very ripe, not a great GPL

Lynch-Bages 94-96 – class

Pichon Baron 93-95 – very ripe, again plays second fiddle to the Comtessa

Pichon Lalande 95-97 – class and elegance personified



Beychevelle 93-94 – menthol notes and welcome freshness

Branaire 92-93 – good but again a tad too ripe for my liking

Gruaud Larose 93-95 – this estate is in great form and continues to deliver

Lagrange 93-95 – half the price of Gruaud and just as good – a fabulous Lagrange

Leoville Poyferre 92-94 – still tarted up as ever

Leoville Barton 93-94

Langoa Barton 92-93



Angludet 90-91 – confected

Brane Cantenac 93-95 – still in scintillating form

Giscours 93-94 – ripe again, but otherwise good

Kirwan 91-93 – good acidity

Rauzan Segla 94-96 – pure class

Cantemerle 93-94 – really adored this, has some welcome classicism



Beau-Sejour Becot 91-93 – adding cab franc stems brings abv down to 13.1% - welcome freshness to this wine, maybe a trend can start here?

Canon 94-96 – pure class, a bit less ripe and a bit fresher than 20 and 22?

Canon-la-Gaffeliere 93-95 – always seems to shine

Clos Fourtet 92-94

Pavie Macquin 92-94

Troplong Mondot 93-95 – continues on top form

Trottvielle 89-91 - and 15% abv…

Valandraud 88-90 – also 15% abv and a mess

Villemaurine 88-90 – over ripe and a mess



Beauregard 91-92

Petit Village 93-95 – fabulous Pomerol terroir expression and sex in a glass

Bon Pasteur 91-92

Clinet 93-95

Gazin 92-94 - I liked this a lot but the ‘22 is significantly more impressive

La Croix De Gay 93-95 – triumphant

Le Gay 93-95 – really superb



La Tour Blanche 93-94

Suduiraut 93-94
 
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Great overview and notes, Ian - very informative. Thanks.

"while St-Emilion is all over the place" - this could potentially sum up the appellation in general to be honest. But perhaps I'm being unfair in saying that.

"Clerc Milon 93-95 – one of the best wines this estate has ever produced, excellent precision
Duhart Milon – 93-95 – a cool classic, on great form in recent vintages"

Seems to me that both the Milon's have been upping their game of late. Recent Duhart vintages have been really impressive.

Will also be interesting to see how well these wines sell (or not) given that there is plenty of well-priced Bordeaux available on the secondary market, as well as better recent vintages preceding it.
 
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Thank you. Very much confirms en primeur impressions. Makes me glad I’ve bought Coutet and Suduiraut for work. A tad worried about what you say for St Emilion - we were gifted a parcel of Bélair-Monange, did you by chance try it? More personally, I’m bit disappointed Les Carmes HB marked so low, as I bought it (with Fieuzal and Langoa B)…anything specific?
 
I also attended the world's biggest scrum for a couple of hours too! Nothing to add to Ian's excellent notes but de Fieuzal did show very well, both red and white, and has to be one of the value picks of the vintage. Simone-you bought well with that one. Cantemerle was also superb at its very reasonable price point. La Louviere too.

I only bought 6 bottles EP (3 x Labergorce and 3 x Laroque). I thought Labergorce showed well but perhaps a mistake tasting it after Brane Cantenac and Laroque wasn't there but I did enjoy it when tasted EP. I'm too old to buy much red from Bordeaux these days but I could be tempted by some dry whites from Pessac which I think showed particularly well.

I still can't get over the shock that this tasting was free (I think it was £50 last year) and as well as a huge number of wines on taste there were some excellent cheeses to enjoy. Well done Fine & Rare.
 
Simon - Belair Monange was a no show - and hence no Trotanoy or Lafleur Petrus either - from the same Mouiex stable. However knowing Belair Monange quite well I am confident that the 2023 will be slick and competent but most probably a little on the ripe side and on the high side in alcohol as has been the case since the demise of the Delbeck era.

Regarding Les Carmes Haut Brion I don’t count myself as being an ardent disciple - it typically has 50% cab franc in the blend - but was very good in 2020 (but not the 100 point wine some critics labelled it). The 2023 is not in the same league as the 2020, but nevertheless acquitted itself well (and exactly the same for DDC). As for Langoa, again accomplished but not quite as good as the ‘19 or the ‘22 - can’t recall trying the ‘20.

Rainer - iirc St-Estephe was conspicuously under-represented - only three wines on show - one was Phelan Segur - but sadly no Montrose, Cos or Calon Segur.
 
I remember trying to have an article on their changing criteria for scores in Decanter, but they were, of course, not interested.
How well does “underwhelmed” sit with your scores?
Are they based on the (understandable?) premise that decent Bordeaux will start at the 90 level vs. the entirety of wine from elsewhere?
 
Yes John it is based on my experience of the high quality of modern Bordeaux vintages and specifically as I noted in my first post that my expectations for these 23s was very high - perhaps in hindsight unrealistically so. Two examples would be the two wines I mentioned above - LCHB and DDC - both banded 92-94 but both perhaps not meeting my high expectations and falling short of what was produced in previous better vintages like ‘20 and ‘22.
 
I’ll be eagerly awaiting the Jeroboams in bottle version next year… as they often have the producers that are not on show at F+R. Will (as I did for 2022 append thoughts here).

On the price points. Many of the 2023 prices have softened considerably. Given the amount of wine around I’d guess they will drop a little further.
 
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