Bordeaux 2023
Our flying visit to Bordeaux for Primeurs Week over two cold yet sunny days this year afforded us the opportunity to taste well over 160 wines and thus gain a deeper understanding of the vintage, where its successes are found, and where to warrant some circumspection when purchasing.
All in all, we found the better 2023s simply delightful – plenty of the ripeness of 2022, and if not quite at the same level as their predecessor in terms of sheer intensity and power, then undoubtedly with excellent balance and juicy freshness to make them delightful prospects for mid- and long-term ageing.
Indeed, many of the 2023s we encountered combine the depth, density, and ripe tannins of a sunny vintage with the vibrant, expressive aromas and flavours of a more traditionally 'Atlantic' season – a tour de force given the challenges of a growing season that gave (generous bud-break, successful flowering, dry and sunny Indian Summer) as much as it took (mildew pressure in the spring, heat spikes at the heart of the summer). Where producers getting their picking dates and sorting right had the most significant impact on the vintage's quality.
Here are clarets combining the ripe opulence and plush textures of modern, sunny years with the fine-grained tannins, raciness and sensible alcohol levels of more traditional vintages, a lovely balance which prompted robertparker.com’s William Kelley to describe it as a ‘hybrid vintage’. The best wines this years are exceedingly pleasant clarets with a real sense of place.
Wines setting a new tone for fine, controlled, and accessible Bordeaux, offering moderate alcohol levels, low pHs, and juicy, ripe fruit.
Qualitatively, we place the 2023 vintage above the pleasant but not exceptional 2017 or 2021. Overall it would be ranked just after 2019, 2020 and 2022, however it pays to look at the specifics - some 2023 wines manage to surpass their counterparts from those vintages with elegance and energy. The best reds are precise, pure, and approachable, and although not everyone got it right in 2023 (which is why we went down to check for ourselves!), we have selected fabulous clarets for you, at all price points.
Which brings us rather neatly to the pricing. This season, the opportunity is greater still, as properties are responding to the clamour for sensible pricing with welcome - and often considerable - reductions of their release prices. Price tags that are often compelling then, especially when the liquid currently maturing in barrels under the Châteaux is as seductive as it is in many of these 2023s.
Do let yourself be tempted!
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