Bartons, Cos, Haut-Brion, La Mission, Lynch
It has been a packed week on the Bordeaux en primeur campaign trail, with many signal releases in fast succession. We are also pleased to report that many chateaux continue to release their 2023s at substantial discounts on their 2022 price. At the top end, first growth Haut-Brion came out 39% down on its 2022 release price, and its soulmate property La Mission Haut-Brion came out 30% down. (And La Chapelle de la Mission is a fabulous second wine, all dark fruit and stones on the seashore.) Cos d`Estournel (35% down on 2022) is a phenomenal St-Estèphe, or in the words of William Kelley at the Wine Avocate, 'a contemporary classic in the making'.
From St-Julien, we had a monumental Léoville-Barton, a star in its vintage and commune. Sibling property Langoa Barton is also excellent. Both these properties enjoy a spanking new shared winemaking facility, where the newly diverse range of vat sizes permits a more precise approach to winemaking. That in turn shows through in the winemaking. The Bartons have also put enormous work into developing Moulis chateau Mauvesin Barton over the last decade, and it's a real bargain.
Super-Second Lynch-Bages (34% down on its 2022 release price) is another overperformer of recent vintages, with the Cazes family sparing no expense in making it as good as they can. It is another beneficiary of a completely revamped winemaking facility, as well as a formidably detailed vineyard mapping. /NT
Read the full vintage report here
