Reflections of the Bordeaux 2023 Vintage

There’s no doubt that Bordeaux is and has been the most important and influential fine wine region in the world.

The region has been producing benchmark wines for decades, and despite everything thrown its way, six of the past ten vintages were declared as ‘outstanding’. It’s surely a great time for claret-lovers!

Unlike any other region in the world, Bordeaux sells their wines using the ‘En Primeur’ system (except for Château Latour, which exited the system with the 2012 vintage). This En-Primeur system gives the customer the opportunity to buy wine 18 months before it will be bottled, albeit at a discounted price. The wine is sold based on speculative ratings of wine merchants and international critics who travel to Bordeaux to taste the wines directly from the barrel.

The 2023 vintage is particularly important, with several wine-critics stating that it may even dictate the future of the whole En Primeur system. Not because the vintage was an extreme of sorts, but because its quality falls somewhere between the legendary status of 2022 and the difficult, but classic 2021 vintage. Prices have steadily risen over the years and the media have been pressing for the wines to be released at heavily discounted prices from last year, even suggesting discounts of up to 25%. So, the question arises, how good is the 2023 vintage, and how will the prices compare?

Armed with a booklet, pen and bottle of water I made my way from Château to Château tasting all the ‘grand vins’ and several of the smaller Châteaux taking note of each and every wine I tasted and awarding each a score. Having heard that 2023 was never going to have the wow factor of 2022, it was an immediate reminder that Bordeaux effortlessly excels in producing well balanced, and charming wines that will delight over the long term even in more difficult years.

This was the second hottest year on record, after 2020. It was not a scorching heat due to the consistent cloud cover until late August, which proved fundamental in defining the character of the vintage by allowing the grapes to reach full maturity and ripeness. Whilst I don’t think every Château succeeded in making spectacular wines, there are many that are definitely worth tracking down.

In comparison to the 2022 vintage which gave us wines of enormous structure and intensity, the 2023 vintage wines are way more terroir-driven with lower levels of alcohol (around 13%) and are particularly fresh across Bordeaux. The best wines are extremely balanced and fruit-driven, with an intense mid-palate and a structured backbone allowing the wines to age gracefully for many years.

The are superb Cabernet Sauvignons from the more successful Châteaux on the left bank of the region. I believe the most successful vintners were patient enough to wait for the grapes to fully ripen before harvesting, despite the storm warnings. It was an undoubtedly difficult decision to ignore the warnings but those wineries that picked too early have a notable slight gap on the mid-palate and lack a balanced structure.

On the right bank, the Merlot did particularly well on St Emilion’s limestone plateau. When comparing my scores for left bank or right bank, I realised that four out of six of my highest scoring wines are from the left bank, so I’d probably call the vintage left-leaning (only just).

My favourite wines on the left-bank showed a beautiful intensity and a perfumed fragrance with a precise, yet delicious lift on the mid-palate that carries the wine effortlessly through to the finish. I believe both Château Margaux and neighbouring Château Palmer were two success stories, producing their typically fragrant and perfumed wines with fantastic precision. I must also praise their ‘secondary’ labels including Pavillon Rouge and Alter Ego which were equally impressive.

I admit to having a soft spot for the biodynamic wines from Château Pontet Canet, and I was not disappointed - the wine was particularly precise and showed off a gorgeous saline finish that kept me going back for more. Another wine that impressed this year was the structured Château Montrose which was remarkably approachable in style with crunchy blackberries and a never-ending, sophisticated finish.

On the right bank, Château Canon was electric, with supple tannins and beautiful fruit as was Château Figeac and Château Cheval Blanc both with laser-like precision. Just a stone’s throw away in neighbouring Pomerol, Château La Conseillante has stunning aromas of violets with layers of complexity that will be slowly uncovered with time.

The expensive 1st growths are expected to shine, but there are other wines that have particularly shone in the 2023 vintage. Château Haut Bages Liberal was remarkably terroir-driven, with flavours of sweet strawberry, cherry fruit, bramble and sage. Winemaker Claire Villars-Lurton has been making exceptional wines in recent years and I’m sure that her biodynamic approach has worked to her advantage in coping with the climate change pressure such as heat spikes and mildew.

The recent addition of Axel Heinz (Ex winemaker at Ornellaia) overseeing Château Lascombes seems to have paid off, with them having produced a wine that is worthy of the second growth that they are. Château La Gaffelière, Château Angludet, Château Gazin, Château Lagrange and Château Valandraud were particularly successful in my opinion.

On the contrary to 2022, the dry white and sweet wines were exceptionally fresh and flavoursome, and I would not hesitate in recommending you add a few 2023 whites to your cellar.

Having now returned from Bordeaux, I would say that 2023 is definitely a successful vintage with some beautiful wines to discover. I don’t think it’s a vintage where all wineries managed to produce their finest wines, but surely a vintage that is worth discovering. Following the legendary 2022 vintage was always going to prove hard, and I think that similar to 2001 or 2016, it is somewhat overshadowed. This leaves us with the most crucial part, the price.

Since we are currently only mid-way through the campaign, with only a few of the wines having declared their price, I cannot take a firm stand on the price-quality ratio of the vintage, however, with Château Léoville de las Cases having opened the campaign with a 36% price reduction and quickly followed by a 26% price reduction by Château Pontet Canet, the 2023 vintage is definitely looking extremely interesting for wine-lovers and investors alike.