Talk-A-Vino

“Classic”.

“Normal”.

This is practically a tradition for me to start the year with the Bordeaux tasting – a UGCB new vintage preview. The Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) is a market organization representing Grand Cru wineries (Chateaux) in Bordeaux. UGCB currently has 131 members and focuses on the promotion of Bordeaux Grand Cru wines around the world, organizing more than 100 events in 15+ countries.

I had been coming to these events for quite a few years by now, and I always make an effort to ask one question of the winemakers – “How was the vintage”? Among responses, I had an interesting range of opinions, with some of the answers even contradicting each other. For example, one of the winemakers said that they lost 35% of the crop due to the mildew. However, nobody else seems to have the same problem, even within the same appellation.

But no matter what, there seems to be a consensus to call this vintage “classic”, or “normal”, as some people referred to it. There was a good amount of rain in the spring, with even growing conditions throughout the summer and harvest in the fall. So the 2023 Bordeaux shall be known as Classic. My general impressions of the tasting also confirm this designation – I would call the majority of the wines I tasted “a classic Bordeaux”.

The wines below represent the list of favorites, the wines that were drinkable right now, or may be after a short decanting. Where 2022 was mostly ready to drink right away, 2023 being “classic” will definitely benefit from the time in the cellar as it has acidity and structure to build upon. But hey, you will be the judge of it.

Now, to the wines I enjoyed in the tasting:

Pessac-Léognan (the only Grand Cru region in Bordeaux producing both white and red wines). Most of the whites I tried were delicious. The reds were mostly on the leaner side, but overall nice and “classic”.
2023 Château Carbonnieux Blanc Pessac-Léognan
2023 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion Rouge Pessac-Léognan (’22)
2023 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc Pessac-Léognan (’21, ’22) – probably the most favorite among the whites
2023 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge Pessac-Léognan (’21, ’22) – one of the top red favorites, ready to drink now
2023 Château de Fiuzal Blanc Pessac-Léognan (’21, ’22)
2023 Château de Fiuzal Rouge Pessac-Léognan (’22)
2023 Château Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc Pessac-Léognan
2023 Château Larrivet Haut-Brion Rouge Pessac-Léognan
2023 Château Latour-Martillac Blanc Pessac-Léognan (’22)
2023 Château Malartic-Lagravière Blanc Pessac-Léognan (’21)
2023 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc Pessac-Léognan – my second favorite white wine. Bright and beautiful.
2023 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge Pessac-Léognan

Margaux
For the first time in many years, this was my favorite region in the tasting. The wines were mostly well-balanced without killing the palate with a tannin attack, as many others did.
2023 Château Brane-Cantenac Margaux (’21, ’22)
2023 Château Cantenac Brown Margaux
2023 Château Dauzac Margaux
2023 Château Giscours Margaux
2023 Château Kirwan Margaux
2023 Château Lascombes Margaux (’22)
2023 Château Rauzan-Ségla Margaux (’21)
2023 Château du Tertre Margaux

Pauillac
I guess I gravitate to Pauillac – almost every one had been on my favorite list for several years in a row. Second favorite group after Margaux.
2023 Château Batailley Pauillac (’21, ’22)
2023 Château Clerc Milon Pauillac (’21, ’22)
2023 Château d’Armailhac Pauillac (’21, ’22)
2023 Château Duhart-Milon Pauillac (’21, ’22)
2023 Château Grand-Puy Ducasse Pauillac (’21, ’22)
2023 Château Haut-Batailley Pauillac (’21, ’22)
2023 Château Lynch-Bages Pauillac (’21, ’22)
2023 Château Lynch-Moussas Pauillac (’22)
2023 Château Pichon BaronPauillac (’22)

Listrac-Médoc
2023 Château Fourcas Dupré Listrac-Médoc
2023 Château Fourcas Hosten Listrac-Médoc

Haut-Médoc
2023 Château Cantemerle Haut-Médoc
2023 Château Coufran Haut-Médoc – love the winemaker’s philosophy – Bordeaux needs to be released aged. 2009 and 2011 vintages are the current vintages sold in the US, 2007 is in the UK.

Pomerol
2023 Château Le Gay Pomerol (’21, ’22)
2023 Château Gazin Pomerol
2023 Château Rouget Pomerol – the only wine in Bordeaux made by a Burgundy guy – according to the winemaker, the Burgundy guy himself.

Saint-Émilion
2023 Chateau Valandraud Saint-Émilion (’21, ’22)

Saint-Estèphe
2023 Château Phélan Ségur Saint-Estèphe (’21, ’22)
2023 Château Ormes De Pez Saint-Estèphe

Saint-Julien
2023 Château Beychevelle Saint-Julien (’21)
2023 Château Léoville Barton Saint-Julien (’21, ’22)
2023 Château Léoville Poyferré Saint-Julien (’21, ’22)
2023 Château Saint-Pierre Saint-Julien (’21)

Sauternes and Barsac
This category was scarcely populated, with only 5 producers presented. When I asked about the vintage, everyone said with an ear-to-ear smile, “Perfect!”. And yet only 2 of 5 wines (below) were perfectly balanced, with cleansing acidity on the finish; the other 3 had a wonderful burst of bright sugar, without acidity on the finish to ever bring the wine to balance.
2023 Château Bastor-Lamontagne Sauternes (’21, ’22)
2023 Château Coutet Barsac

There you are, my friends. The 2023 Bordeaux Grand Cru vintage – The Classic. Cellar it. Or drink it. It is a classic, so unless you can wait for another 40-50 years, just drink it now. Well, maybe decant some of the bottles first.

Ohh, and don’t forget to save some room in your cellars for ’24 and ’25, both mentioned with lots of emotion and pride as something “special”… Let’s just wait one year…