- According to Neal Martin (Vinous), Bordeaux 2023 is a heterogeneous vintage riddled with paradoxes.
- Only one wine achieved his highest score of 98-100 points – L’Eglise Clinet.
- Martin suggested that ‘deep [price] cuts’ are needed for the campaign to work.
Now that the En Primeur campaign has kicked off, critics have started releasing their Bordeaux 2023 in-barrel scores. Vinous recently published Neal Martin’s assessment of this ‘Dalmatian’ vintage, characterised by ‘spots of astounding quality’ but also ‘all manner of shortcomings’ – even in some of the region’s most famous names.
Bordeaux 2023 vintage overview
‘A season riddled with paradoxes,’ Neal Martin described Bordeaux 2023 as a heterogeneous vintage. According to him, it ‘would sit uncomfortably on a mantelpiece alongside 2016, 2020 and 2022’. However, the critic acknowledged that ‘some châteaux pulled out magical wines from their top hat, surpassing those aforementioned years in one or two cases’.
The keyword that defined 2023 is ‘classicism’, meaning ‘lower alcohol levels in the 13-something range,’ without the opulence of previous vintages.
Martin further noted that ‘the 2023s are relatively more tannic than we’ve become accustomed to, more linear and vertical, though endowed with greater fruit concentration than the 2021s’. He continued: ‘The best wines embrace these traits while maintaining sufficient fruit and grip, occasionally harking back to the kind of barrel samples encountered in the early days of my career, and I mean that in a good sense’.
Overall, Martin claimed that ‘despite the disparity in quality, it cannot be denied that it is bejewelled with a clutch of spellbinding wines’.
Top-scoring Bordeaux 2023 wines
Neal Martin’s top-scoring Bordeaux 2023 wines can be seen in the table below. Only one wine achieved the maximum barrel range of 98-100 points – the 2023 L’Eglise Clinet. Martin said that ‘it’s very harmonious and fans out brilliantly on the finish’.
Three wines received a barrel range of 97-99 points: Margaux, Lafleur and Le Pin. In his tasting note, Martin called the First Growth a ‘quintessential Château Margaux’ but noted that it ‘will require ten years in bottle to really show what it is capable of’.
Regarding Lafleur, he said it was ‘one of the few profound wines this vintage’. He described Le Pin as ‘so pure and refined, it seems to embrace and gently hug the senses’.
En Primeur and the global market
Despite the virtues of the vintage, the question of whether it will present value is pertinent in the current economic climate. For Martin, the ‘newborn wines blink open their eyes to survey a bleak economic landscape and finger-pointing between various factions as to who’s to blame’. He said that ‘deep cuts, not gestures, are the only thing that will open wallets’.
This week’s first releases have seen discounts of up to 40% on last year. However, back vintages of similar quality that remain available for less continue to challenge the En Primeur tradition.
Stay tuned for our analysis of the best value releases.
WineCap’s independent market analysis showcases the value of portfolio diversification and the stability offered by investing in wine. Speak to one of our wine investment experts and start building your portfolio. Schedule your free consultation today.
