Bordeaux at the Crossroads: 2023 En Primeur

BY ANTONIO GALLONI |

Left Bank: Saint-Estèphe | Pauillac | Saint-Julien | Margaux | Moulis and Listrac | Pessac-Léognan and Graves | Left Bank Satellites | Sauternes

Right Bank: Pomerol | Saint-Émilion | Right Bank Satellites

Tasting Bordeaux en primeur is largely the art of shutting out extraneous noise and concentrating just on the wines. This year, the noise is especially loud as estate owners, winemakers, consultants, négociants and other professionals debate the merits of 2023 within the context of today’s global market. Many of these views are fueled by agendas, which is certainly understandable. For this taster, it’s only about what is in the glass. When all is said and done, 2023 has a lot to offer. It is not a great vintage across the board, yet plenty of wines merit serious attention.

Eric Kohler and Saskia de Rothschild at Duhart-Milon,
where they and their team turned out an especially fine 2023.

Eric Kohler and Saskia de Rothschild at Duhart-Milon, where they and their team turned out an especially fine 2023.

The 2023 Growing Season & Wines

Two thousand twenty-three was the hottest year on record in France, although that was not the case in Bordeaux. The growing season got off to an early start. A dry winter and warm temperatures in March led to early bud break. Flowering took place under especially favorable weather as vines set a generous crop. June brought heavy rain and elevated temperatures, unfortunately, the very conditions that are ideal for mildew. Vineyard managers had to be especially vigilant and ready to intervene quickly, decisively and often with greater frequency than most years. Compared to other recent vintages with similar disease pressure, damage from mildew was relatively contained, at least at top estates.

“We had to treat frequently,” Technical Director Juliette Couderc told me at L’Évangile. “The key was really managing crop loads on different types of soils at the property. We had ten people focused just on this task. Ultimately our yields were higher for Merlot than Cabernet Franc.” Technical Director Guillaume Pouthier at Les Carmes Haut-Brion shared a similar view.  “The whole year came down to managing water in the vineyards, We had to make very specific decisions for each site pretty much in real-time as the season unfolded.”

The rest of summer was relatively cool and lacking in sunlight, to the point winemakers started to worry if fruit would ripen properly. "We were unsure of quality all the way through August because vegetative growth continued," CEO Thomas Duroux explained at Palmer, echoing the thoughts of many of his colleagues. From mid-August, two heat waves and well-timed rains caused the outlook to shift. “August storms were incredibly localized,” Technical Director José Sanfins explained at Cantenac Brown, just outside the château’s gleaming new winery. “For example, one parcel might have gotten some rain while the adjoining blocks saw none.” This further heightened irregularity in ripening. “It was hot and dry but also quite cloudy during the middle of August, Henri Lurton relayed at Brane-Cantenac. "We had some issues with mildew. That final blast of the year really changed the style of the year.”

Marielle
Cazaux and her team turned out a brilliant 2023 at La Conseillante.

Marielle Cazaux and her team turned out a brilliant 2023 at La Conseillante.

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Tasting Bordeaux en primeur is largely the art of shutting out extraneous noise and concentrating just on the wines. This year, the noise is especially loud as estate owners, winemakers, consultants, négociants and other professionals debate the merits of 2023 within the context of today’s global market. Many of these views are fueled by agendas, which is certainly understandable. For this taster, it’s only about what is in the glass. When all is said and done, 2023 has a lot to offer. It is not a great vintage across the board, yet plenty of wines merit serious attention.

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