Armailhac, Clerc Milon, Coutet, Dalem, La Prade, Talbot
You can't fault the Bordelais for their commercial nous. They know as well as everyone else that the market has been sluggish, and are looking to electrify their 2023 Bordeaux en primeur campaign with some significant discounts. Top properties are being released substantially cheaper than last year. Mouton-Rothschild ('shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage', according to Neal Martin) came out 35% down on its 2022 price. The story so far of 2023 Bordeaux is: well-made, classically-styled wines released at some very keen price points.
Talbot used to have a sleepy reputation, but recently, under the guiding hand of Jean-Michel Laporte (ex of Conseillante), it has been singing, proving just how good its terroir actually is. The 2023 is impressive, and Neal Martin notes he may prefer it to the 2022. Clerc Milon is 'easily one of the Pauillac wines that has been making the biggest strides forward in recent years' (Jane Anson); like its Mouton stablemate Armailhac, recent vintages have seen it on a serious upwards trajectory.
There are some attractive values to be found on the right-bank. We were impressed by the silky, floral dark fruit in Nicolas Thienpont's wines Alcee, Puygueraud and especially La Prade: the latter is grown on a limestone plateau in the Côtes de Francs (an area the Thienpont family have been largely responsible for reviving), and in this vintage incorporates a plot of Cabernet Franc established by massal selection. In the 19th century, Fronsac enjoyed a higher reputation than Pomerol. It was later eclipsed, but has latterly been enjoying something of a revival. Fronsac property Dalem has been a real success in recent vintages. (It's also worth noting we have good physical stocks of the 2019 and 2020 vintages). And 2023 is not a vintage to forget Sauternes and Barsac, which excelled after a series of challenging vintages: Coutet is laser sharp. /NT
Read the full vintage report here
