Bordeaux 2023: Our en primeur verdict and top-scoring wines

Another year of challenges and contrasts has produced a Bordeaux 2023 vintage that reflects both the warm and wet conditions of the year, as well as key winemaker decisions at crucial moments. The best wines have superior freshness and concentration, and will delight lovers of ‘classic’ Bordeaux wines. Quality can be found at every price point, yet the vintage is not a widespread success. Wines are also emerging en primeur onto a challenging market, and release prices may provide some interesting opportunities for consumers. Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for the top-scoring Bordeaux 2023 en primeur wines Join Decanter Premium today to enjoy full access [subscriber-content]Unlike in some previous years, and certainly in 2020 and 2022, there was little hype around 2023 emanating from Bordeaux. Reports of ‘best vintage ever’, ‘unprecedented’ or ‘record breaking’ can sometimes build anticipation of en primeur tastings and campaigns, but the 2023s emerged with much less noise surrounding them. Throughout the tastings, there was almost more focus placed on the potential prices and state of the fine wine market, than on the quality of the barrel samples. See more Bordeaux 2023 articles : Bordeaux 2023: How the weather conditions shaped the vintage Bordeaux 2023: Decoding the yields Bordeaux 2023: What to expect from the wines stylistically Bordeaux 2023 market analysis: Lafite Rothschild released The lack of fervour ahead of en primeur was perhaps not so surprising given two factors. Firstly, the wildly alarming news headlines that dominated last year of mildew destroying huge parts of Bordeaux. This, somewhat false, rhetoric was then further compounded by a largely miserable summer then interminable heatwaves – all not exactly desirable for a ‘great’ Bordeaux vintage. Secondly, Bordeaux 2023 arrives at one of the worst times for the fine wine market in recent history, alongside ongoing question marks about the post-release price performance of Bordeaux en primeur wines specifically. [caption id="attachment_528656" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Credit: Luke Carver.[/caption] Market uncertainty There was talk in mid-April of many estates setting their release dates for the end of April and beginning of May, well in advance of a normal year, and also ahead of seeing any critic’s tasting notes or scores – all of which is highly unusual. One cannot avoid the precarious nature of the market, with a number of problems facing fine wine sales. These include, but are not limited to; economic instabilities, political upheavals, cost of living increases, and even the upcoming US election when, if elected, Donald Trump may or may not reinstate tariffs on wine imports. There’s also the fact that there remains plenty of good Bordeaux stock sat unsold in cellars; and high interest rates are de-incentivising négociants and merchants from taking their allocations on borrowed money without the promise of guaranteed onward sales. While the situation is somewhat similar to last year, the high prices of the 2022 en primeur campaign failed to galvanise buyers – despite the quality on show. Merchants have called for large price decreases this year, back to 2019 levels, although it's inevitably still too early to know whether this would be enough to lure buyers back into the fold. The first few releases this week have been warmly received by merchants – with Lafite and Las-Cases dropping 31.7% and 40% on an ex-négociant basis, year-on-year, according to Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade. Mouton is expected to release next week, with Cheval Blanc and Pavie soon after, so we shall have to wait and see whether there are more wines that present appealing purchases. The market aside, consumers will be happy to know that quality is there, in every appellation at every price point. [caption id="attachment_528655" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Château Lafite Rothschild is a contender for wine of the 2023 vintage. Credit: Luke Carver.[/caption] How Decanter compiled this Bordeaux 2023 en primeur report This year, because I am heavily pregnant, our en primeur coverage expanded to include the assistance of Panos Kakaviatos, long-time Decanter contributor and Bordeaux en primeur regular, who provided additional tasting help throughout three weeks in April. In total, we covered tastings at: 78 individual estates Three négociants: CVBG, Joanne and Moueix. Five consultants: Rolland & Associés, Derenoncourt Consultants, Laboratoire Oenologique Boissenot, Laboaratoire Oenoconseil and Hubert de Boüard Consulting with special thanks to Julian Viaud, Romain Bocchio, Eric Boissenot, Antoine Medeville, Emilien Delalande and Bryan Dessaint for vintage assessments and answers to endless questions regarding weather conditions, yields, blends, alcohols and pHs. The Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) Cru Bourgeois, Pessac-Léognan & Graves and St-Emilion Grand Cru Classé appellation events Bill Blatch’s annual Sauternes and Barsac gathering We also found time to attend: One cellar inauguration The annual Academie du Vin dinner, this year celebrating a host of vintages all ending in 04 – the oldest being Château Siran from 1914! The UGCB Primeurs opening cocktail party at Château Léoville-Poyferré in St-Julien The annual primeurs closing party, the Fête du Bontemps, this year held at Château Guiraud in Sauternes. While I have written up tasting notes for many of the classified estates on the Left and Right Banks, Kakaviatos covered everything else – including larger consultant and négociant tastings, as well as assessing Bordeaux’s mid-tier and value ranges, plus the dry white and sweet wines. A large percentage of wines were tasted at least twice, and while we were in agreement on many wines, we do have our individual favourites as highlighted by our tasting notes and individual appellation analysis.> In the interests of speed, and to provide buyers with notes for wines that are being released already, we’ve listed and uploaded tasting notes and scores for wines that scored 97 points or above as well as those now available to purchase. We have also provided analysis on where to look for both quality and value below. Tasting notes for these wines, totalling 600, will be added to the Decanter database next week. [breakout]

Bordeaux 2023 vintage ratings and highlights Provisional red wine vintage rating: 3.75 out of 5 - above 2021 but below 2019, 2020, 2022. Classically structured reds with freshness, energy and concentration. The best are full of refinement and tension, offering plenty of tannic heft but balanced by high acidities and bright fruit profiles.

Provisional red wines of the vintage: Lafite, Mouton, Haut-Brion, Petrus (98-100 points)

Provisional white wine vintage rating: 4 - above 2021, 2020, 2019 but below 2017 and 2014. Zesty and full whites with high acidities, finesse and long lengths. Styles range from hints of sweetness and tropical fruit to highly varietal with crisp stone fruit and lively citrus flavours.

Provisional white wines of the vintage: Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion

Also excellent: Domaine de Chevalier, Malartic Lagravière, Smith Haut Lafitte

Provisional sweet wine vintage rating: 4 - above 2022, 2019, the same overall as 2021 Bold and flavourful sweet wines with high sugar levels giving roundness but with balanced acidities providing mouthwatering and unctuous mid palates.

Sweet wine of the vintage: L’Extravagant de Doisy Daene

Also excellent: Coutet, de Fargues, Guiraud, Raymond-Lafon, Suduiraut

[/breakout] 98-point wines (in alphabetical order): Beauséjour Bélair-Monange Canon Figeac La Conseillante Las Cases Latour Margaux Montrose Palmer Pichon Comtesse Vieux Château Certan 97-point wines: Angélus Beau-Sejour Bécot Cheval Blanc Ducru Beaucaillou Gruaud Larose L’Eglise Clinet La Mission Haut-Brion Lafleur Le Pin Les Carmes Haut-Brion Pavie Pichon Baron Pontet Canet Smith Haut Lafitte Troplong Mondot Most improved Lascombes Pavie Monbousquet Under the radar wines: Château Barbe Blanche (Lussac St-Emilion), Vieux Château St André (Montagne St-Emilion), Château La Vieille Curé (Fronsac), Château de Chambrun (Lalande de Pomerol). Appellation overviews Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac, Moulis A mixed bag with estates on gravel, and those that weren’t affected by hail or heavy rainfall, generally performing well. There were some standouts, especially Château La Lagune and Château Sociando Mallet, which crafted wines of elegance and balance, while some wines miss the mark in terms of concentration and depth with overly tart and acidic fruit and short finishes. Consumers will find some good value gems, including among the official Cru Bourgeois for early drinking pleasure. Top wines : Château La Lagune, Sociando Mallet (Haut Médoc) Value picks : Château Clarke (Listrac), Château Les Ormes Sorbet (Médoc), Château Potensac (Médoc). St-Estèphe Some excellent wines from this northerly appellation, typically showing a mineral edge with graphite, wet stone and liquorice elements, as well as both density and tension. Winemakers reported two key advantages in St. Estèphe in 2023. The area saw lower rainfall levels than in Margaux and its higher percentage of cooler clay soils helped during the heatwave. Despite the best efforts to sort the Merlots, however, estates here often had among the highest-ever percentages of Cabernets in their blends. Among the many non-classified wines in this appellation, one encounters various levels of tannin quality, with some showing somewhat austere levels, while others proving more successful. Château de Pez was a particular standout in 2023. Top wines : Château Cos d'Estournel and Château Montrose proved the two best from the appellation, but the edge goes to Château Montrose, for which only 35% of the harvest was used. Its polish with iron-like grip resembled Château Latour, along with beautiful precision in its expression of graphite, red cherry, and white flower. Value picks : Le Crock, de Pez, Haut Marbuzet. St-Julien As with the rest of the Médoc, the wines often had firmer-than-usual tannins, with Merlot not as qualitative for final blends. Beychevelle, for example, has its highest-ever proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, said the estate. Some estates, such as Branaire-Ducru and Lagrange, stressed particularly gentle extractions to craft lighter-than-usual styles of St-Julien, while others, like Lévoille Las Cases, opted for a more powerful style. Léoville Las Cases, which featured the lowest-ever percentage of Merlot in the 2023 blend, was particularly successful in that style; the wine resembled the linear finesse, precision and subtle power of Pauillac neighbour Château Latour. Others walked a tightrope between power and elegance, some succeeding more than others. Léoville Barton and Léoville Poyferré both performed well in that vein, as did Ducru Beaucaillou, which waited until after the September rain to pick Cabernets and used 85% in the final blend – alongside 15% merlot, 3% less than last year. But, an overall favourite - especially in terms of price/quality ratio - is Gruaud Larose; a stellar 2023 wine with a powerful yet supple palate that is imbued with both black and red berry fruit, seashell and floral freshness. This is a top wine for the appellation. Value picks : Gloria, Moulin la Rose, Teynac. Pauillac [caption id="attachment_528658" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Credit: Luke Carver.[/caption] A strong contender for appellation of the vintage with plenty of structured Cabernets from the gravel terraces. Both Lafite and Mouton showed exceptionally well and were contenders for the best wine of the appellation – depending on who you ask. Overall, Pauillac has a wide variety of wine styles, including a forebodingly powerful Lynch Bages, which showcased a whopping 95 IPT of tannin – and it tasted that way! One finds more balanced, linear efforts in a precision-focused Latour and a structured yet suave Pichon Longueville Baron. The best estates, however, had an extra level of opulence that was rather rare in 2023, and they include Mouton Rothschild but also a wonderful Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, blending 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. Even though one almost wants a bit more Merlot richness, the wine exhibits classy lead pencil and crushed mint with subtle dark chocolate. It's long on the finish, elegant and with mid-palate grip and juiciness. The good news is that mid-range classified brands succeeded, too, including fine performances from Batailley, Clerc Milon, Duhart Milon, Haut-Bages Liberale and Pedesclaux, for example. A very good Haut-Batailley from the Lynch Bages stable is also worth looking out for. Value pick : Pibran. Margaux Things were more challenging here, compared to the northern Médoc, but there are some standout wines. Estates with the means and resources, including the ability to treat vines at weekends, were able to best handle the mildew pressure and limit its impact. Château Rauzan-Ségla managed adeptly and is one of the top wines of the appellation, alongside Château Margaux, which had pickers stop at 10am due to the heat. As in other parts of the Médoc, Margaux has some ‘highest-ever’ proportions of Cabernets in the blends, with gorgeous floral aspects and quite refined tannins that exemplified the appellation signature. Quality also depended on the extent to which estates were able to remove grapes unfit for the wines, with much talk of sorting, sorting – and more sorting. As in other parts of the Médoc, lacking Merlot affected some wines, leaving an impression of somewhat stricter-than-usual tannins, but a handful of châteaux rose above the vintage, such as Château Angludet and Château Brane Cantenac. Estates with cooler microclimates such as Château Du Tertre, near a forest, or Château Giscours, with deep clay in parts of its vineyard, also crafted wines with pleasing mid palate juiciness. Château Palmer, one of the wines of the appellation, had plenty of excellent Merlot and proved more balanced and refined, all the while exhibiting rare opulence, compared to its 2022 vintage. Pessac-Léognan and Graves [caption id="attachment_528653" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Credit: Luke Carver.[/caption] Pessac-Léognan includes some superb wines in the 2023 vintage, but there was sometimes a sense of estates not quite finding top gear. The warmer soils seemed to have been more affected by the late summer heatwaves than further north on the Left Bank. At Smith Haut Lafitte, director Fabien Teitgen recalled how the Cabernet berries were quite small, stressing that 2023 proved to be the second warmest vintage after 2022, but with more water. September rain helped the ripening process, relieving some vines of hydric stress. That sentiment was echoed at Les Carmes Haut-Brion, one of the best wines of the appellation, where director Guillaume Pouthier also pointed out the importance of both sorting and managing extractions to achieve the smoothest possible wines. The general impression was of wines with more Cabernet-like structure, given that Merlot was not as successful. The excellent Domaine de Chevalier, for example, reflected a certain Pauillac-like power, with less Merlot than usual in its blend. Alcohol levels were often 14% and higher, which mostly explained by the long ripening period for Cabernet Sauvignon, remarked Jean-Christophe Mau at Château Brown, which made an impressive wine and is a top value pick from the appellation. The vintage was dubbed the Odyssey at Château Haut-Bailly, which, like Smith Haut Lafitte, crafted a wine of balance, precision and refinement. Another favourite was Malartic-Lagravière, with much verve, red and black fruit. Top wine : Haut-Brion towers above all the wines, with sheer class in its expression of seashell freshness and ripe fruit. It has a layered palate with both subtle concentration and pristine elegance, leading to one of the longest finishes of all wines crafted in Bordeaux in 2023. Value picks : La Garde, Brown. St-Emilion [caption id="attachment_528660" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Credit: Luke Carver.[/caption] In a speech to assembled media, Bordeaux oenologist and consultant Axel Marchal said that the 2023 vintage expressed the limestone and cool clay freshness especially well in St-Emilion. Many of the best wines did indeed come from vineyards on the limestone plateau and the clay and limestone slopes. The trend towards picking Merlots earlier and extracting less new-oak tannin continues apace, and was especially successful Pavie. The wine is, in our view, the best en primeur sample tasted since Gerard Perse took over the estate, as it expresses its A-grade terroir impeccably. Late summer heatwaves proved more difficult for vines on sandier and lighter soils along the plain. But, one does not need to take out a mortgage for top wines in St-Emilion. Consumers have multiple excellent Grand Crus Classés coming from limestone and clay, from Fonplégade, Rochebelle and Bellefont-Belcier to Laroque, Lassègue and de Ferrand – among others. A special mention goes to the brilliant Bélair-Monange, at which 2023 was the first vintage vinified in new cellar facilities. Top performers : Beauséjour, Beau-Séjour-Bécot, Bélair-Monange, Cheval Blanc, Figeac, Canon, Clos Fourtet, Troplong Mondot, TrotteVieille and Pavie. Value (price/quality) gems from St-Emilion : Maybe top wines from the Grand Cru Classé category in St-Emilion are not quite under-the-radar, but readers should take note that prices have not caught up with quality at many estates from this category. This includes wines like Châteaux Bellefont-Belcier, Bellevue, Corbin, Fonplégade, Laroque, Lassègue, Rochebelle and Tour St Christophe. Pomerol As one can expect for the summer heatwaves, cooler soils of Pomerol proved especially excellent for the vintage, starting with the wine of the appellation, Petrus, where the deep blue clay ensured magnificent freshness, juiciness, and density. It was more difficult for warmer, sandier soils, where the risk of stress meant the potential of rougher tannins – and these can be encountered in the appellation. Rest assured, however, that many other estates performed well, including Vieux Château Certan (VCC), Eglise-Clinet, L’Évangile, La Conseillante, Clos du Clocher, Lafleur, Lafleur-Gazin, La Fleur-Pétrus, Latour à Pomerol and Hosanna. Some estates with lighter soils and judicious tannin management crafted fine, delicately-styled Pomerol, such as Château de Sales. Top wines : Petrus above all, but also La Conseillante, VCC, Lafleur, L’Évangile, Le Pin and Clos du Clocher. Sauternes & Barsac [caption id="attachment_528654" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Credit: Luke Carver.[/caption] Overall quality was excellent, in both Barsac and Sauternes. The key to success came with late rainfall that finally brought needed botrytis to ensure success – and the extent to which estates handled the massive mildew attack in June. Pickings from 2 to 12 October provided about 75% of the total harvest. Many wines reflected the richness of the 2022 vintage, but with better acidity, achieving clearly a superior balance between residual sugars and acidity. In this vintage, top wines came from both Barsac and Sauternes. Château Coutet, L’Extravagant de Doisy Daene, de Fargues, Guiraud, Raymond-Lafon and Suduiraut convey opulence, botrytis spice and freshness, surpassing the quality of the 2021 vintage, as well as the class of 2022. Dry whites By and large, the dry whites of Graves, and especially Pessac-Léognan, proved successful in 2023. There are some standout wines that combine opulence and verve, and are certainly riper (and better) than the dry whites of the 2021 vintage, while also maintaining balance thanks to acidity. White wine grapes were less impacted by the mildew in Pessac-Léognan, resulting in higher yields than for the reds. In the southern Graves, the dry whites generally proved more interesting than their red counterparts. Elsewhere in Bordeaux, dry whites also proved successful – notable from cooler limestone and clay soils on the Right Bank, and cooler parts of the Médoc. Top Pessac-Léognan whites : Château Haut-Brion Blanc, La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, Domaine de Chevalier, Smith Haut Lafitte, Malartic-Lagravière. Value picks : Château de Chantegrive (Graves), Château de Cérons (Graves), Château Fonréaud Le Cygne (Bordeaux Blanc), Château Lestage La Mouette (Bordeaux Blanc). [breakout] All Bordeaux 2023 coverage: Verdict & top-scoring wines | How the weather conditions shaped the vintage | Decoding the yields | Wine styles: what to expect

Appellation analysis

[/subscriber-content] Top-scoring Bordeaux 2023 red wines tasted en primeur [wine-collection] Additional reporting by Panos Kakaviatos. Related articles Bordeaux 2023: Decoding the yields Bordeaux 2023: What to expect from the wines stylistically Bordeaux 2023 market analysis: Lafite Rothschild released