2023 Grand-Puy Ducasse (Pauillac)

The 2023 Grand-Puy-Ducasse has a plusher bouquet compared to its Pauillac peers, though it manages to retain satisfying delineation, raspberry and blackcurrant mixed with tobacco and forest floor. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, well-judged acidity, moderate length with a minty finish. Drink over the next 15 to 20 years. 92 points

Inky plum colour, loaded up with Left Bank cassis and inky black fruits, crayon and liqourice root, balanced and sappy, but not giving too much away at the same time. A sign that this is becoming an estate to watch in Pauiillac, got to be one of the values of the vintage. Benjamin Cassoulet is the technical director from 2021. 93 points

The 2023 Grand-Puy Ducasse is fabulous. In fact, the 2023 is one of the best recent vintages I have tasted here. A wine of grandeur and sweeping intensity, this Grand-Puy Ducasse is seriously impressive. Silky tannins enshroud a huge core of dark fruit. Hints of graphite, dried flowers, mint and spice appear later, adding shades of complexity. It`s a magnificent effort by the team led by Technical Director Anne Le Naour. Tasted two times. 93-95 points

Exhibiting aromas of dark berries, cedary pencil shavings and oak vanillin, the 2023 Grand-Puy-Ducasse is medium-bodied, firm and chewy, with a somewhat herbal finish. 86-88 points