Bordeaux 2023 in de pers

Ook dit jaar besteden wijnrecensenten weer uitgebreide aandacht aan het nieuwste oogstjaar 2023 in Bordeaux. Op deze pagina verzamelen we de meest treffende quotes van de wijnrecensenten om een goed beeld te schetsen van het oogstjaar. Dit overzicht wordt bijgewerkt zodra er nieuwe informatie beschikbaar komt.

Bijgewerkt: 17 mei 2024.

William Kelley (The Wine Advocate)

"Bordeaux’s 2023 vintage is a fascinating paradox. While the year was one of the warmest in recorded history, it wasn’t very sunny—in contrast with recent warm vintages such as 2022, 2020, 2019 and 2018."

"The young wines, tasted from cask, reflect this paradox, possessing—at their best—the depth, density and ripe tannin of a sunny vintage but also the vibrant, expressive aromas and flavors of a more traditionally “Atlantic” season."

"...the vintage is more varied in quality and style..."

"...in some estates, Cabernet amounts for a higher-than-usual percentage of the blend."

"The best 2023s exhibit the fully ripe tannins and suave, seamless mouthfeels of a sunny vintage such as 2019; yet their vibrant aromas and flavors, evocative of fresh fruits and flowers, are more indicative of a cooler year."

"But this is far from a frivolous vintage: plenty of tannin and more classical pHs lend the wines serious structure, even if it is generally nicely integrated."

"Above all, however, the vintage tended to amplify the voice of each estate and terroir, producing extremely characterful wines."

Neal Martin (Vinous)

"Nobody will deny that, unlike 2022, 2023 is a heterogeneous vintage. This precludes it from being a bona fide great vintage. It would sit uncomfortably on a mantelpiece alongside 2016, 2020 and 2022. Just as undeniable is that some châteaux pulled out magical wines from their top hat, surpassing those aforementioned years in one or two cases."

"Generally, 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."

"One virtue that underlies the best wines is the brightness or what the French term “éclat”. It’s a kind of nascent energy that, in my experience, augurs a sample that will evolve into a great wine."

"Unequivocally, it is a great vintage for dry whites. Vines benefitted from cooler summer temperatures and cooler nights that locked in acidity..."

"There are caveats in 2023 that cannot be ignored. A major one is that frequently, the tannins come across as hard and render finishes austere with insufficient fruit to maintain balance."

"Another caveat is that some estates didn’t control yields. Green harvesting in July was an important factor in reducing and concentrating fruit. Sometimes, there is dilution on the finish, plus a tangible lack of grip so that the wine seems to drift away."

"Despite the disparity in quality, it cannot be denied that it is bejeweled with a clutch of spellbinding wines."

"The vintage has its virtues: pinnacles of quality, lower alcohol, traits of classic claret, freshness and sapidity."

Antonio Galloni (Vinous)

"When all is said and done, 2023 has a lot to offer. It is not a great vintage across the board, yet plenty of wines merit serious attention."

"The best 2023s are intensely aromatic and perfumed. Many wines are marked by bright acids, red-toned fruit and linear, vibrant tannins. On the Left Bank, Cabernet features more heavily in blends than it does in most years because Merlot was more heavily impacted by mildew and dilution. There are plenty of stars on the Right Bank, too. It is a vintage with very clear markers of place."

"Where the vintage is less successful, the 2023s can feel light and/or vegetal."

"In tasting, the 2023s are also lower in alcohol than what has become the norm in recent years. This is especially true on the Left Bank, where many wines are in the 13%-ish range."

"I give a slight edge to the Left Bank this year. Merlot was more sensitive to both mildew and higher yields, while Cabernets benefitted from late-season heat."

"That said, a few appellations stand out because of their high level of quality and consistency. I was deeply impressed with the wines of Saint-Estèphe."

"Readers will find plenty of terrific wines in Pauillac and Saint-Julien. Quality is very good, with some notable peaks, but overall, not as many wines overachieve, their considerable beauty notwithstanding."

"In Pessac-Léognan, which really should be two appellations, quality is somewhat variable."

"The dry whites are a mixed bag. Many are on the richer side and appear to be lacking some verve."

"Sauternes ... the 2023s are the most exceptional group of young wines I have ever tasted here. This is an epic vintage for Sauternes and Barsac in which many wines overachieve. The 2023 Sauternes are dynamic, mesmerizing wines."

Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux)

"There is an enjoyable Left Bank-Right Bank distinction in this vintage, that was sometimes less clear in 2022 with the overall ripeness of the fruits."

"I feel 2023 is a Cabernet Sauvignon year, particularly in the sweet spot of the northern Médoc..."

"...personally I welcome a return to a more nuanced, terroir and estate-driven feel to the wines."

"...the long ripening (when not impacted by mildew or heat spikes according to terroir) gave beautifully ripe fruits, plenty of density through the palate and firm tannic architecture allowing for wines that will undoubtedly age well."

"In a vintage like 2023, there is a big difference between those that have succeeded, and those who have struggled..."

"Not everywhere has succeeded, but there are more than dozens of bottles that are worth tracking down, and that you will be thrilled to discover."

"You’ll find some exceptional white wines in 2023 Bordeaux..."

"The sweet wines ... can seriously recommend buying them."

James Suckling

"...the best reds show balance and freshness with deep center palates of ripe fruit and a complement of polished tannins."

"I like them better than many of the highly touted 2022s because they are so Bordeaux in their nature with their tensioned mouthfeels and energetic finishes."

"Tasting hundreds of young wines highlights that the vintage was not an across-the-board home run for all appellations or wineries. Smaller wine estates in lesser-known regions seemed to struggle to make really outstanding wines, but they are just a small step down in quality compared with 2022 due to less density of fruit and structure as well as length."

"Dry whites are excellent quality in 2023."

"Sauternes and Barsac appear to have made outstanding sweet wines again."

"To my taste, some of the 2023 reds have remarkable structure because of their lower alcohols – up to one degree alcohol less than 2022 – and vibrant acidities."

"The transparency in the wines is definitely a feature in 2023. This is both good and bad in that you can discern great terroir and precise winemaking, but you can also see less-than-pristine viticulture and cellar work in bottles even at this early stage. Some wines definitely lack form and depth because of overproduction. Some are also overextracted. But I didn’t taste many unripe wines, even from small producers in less popular subregions."

Lisa Perrotti-Brown (The Wine Independent)

"...the styles of the Médoc wines are counterintuitive to the heat of the growing season … refreshing, medium-bodied red wines with modest alcohols, lower pHs, and even red berry characters."

" it’s a real mixed bag ranging from breathtaking beauties down to “Oh dear, what happened here?” shockers."

" there are super-interesting wines that have been made in that “classic” great Bordeaux style we’ve all been yearning for, but this will also be a year to choose your buys carefully."

"It was not a “classic” great growing season nor a consistent one, yet some classically styled wines at the pinnacles of greatness have emerged from the 2023 Bordeaux jungle."

"A few producers have potentially produced their best wines ever, thanks largely to recent improvements to their vineyards and/or wineries."

"The other good news is for lovers of “classic” Bordeaux wines. 2023 has revealed itself in the form of lighter-weight styles, around 13.5% or below on the Left Bank and mostly below 14.5% on the Right Bank, delivering predominately savory/earthy/minerally characters while downplaying the juicy-fruit expression that dominates the styles of 2018, 2019, and 2022."

"On both banks of the estuary, there is a mid-palate thinness and a shortness of finish apparent in some wines, ultimately down to over-cropping and/or dilution from the rains."

"Whereas 2019, 2020, and 2022 were consistent vintages in which, if the effort was made, everyone could win, 2023 was a game of winners and losers."

"For Pomerol and Saint-Émilion lovers, this is a vintage to seriously consider buying."

"Although it was a hot vintage, 2023 was an excellent year for dry white wines of moderate alcohol levels, refreshing acidity, and a full spectrum of flavors."

"…quality for 2023 Sauternes is consistently high."

Jancis Robinson

"Expect high percentages of Cabernet in blends, good colour, ripe tannins and the vintage’s signature freshness and acidity. The Cabernet Sauvignon has also helped bring alcohol levels down below those of 2022, the degree generally hovering around 13%."

"Hence the profile is a little more traditional and temperate compared with recent ‘solar’ years, a hark back to yesteryear but with more polish and maturity in the wines."

"Overall, 2023 offers some good to very good wines of a more ‘classic’ bordeaux nature. The power and density of recent top years (2022, 2020, 2019, 2018) is more muted but, on the whole, the top châteaux have delivered in a fresher and less extreme form."

"Indeed, for much of Bordeaux in 2023, the stamp of each terroir is manifest in the wines."

"As with the Cabernet Sauvignon in the Médoc, the Cabernet Franc in Pomerol and St-Émilion turned out well this year and, where cultivated, tends to figure in a significative way in blends."

"The freshness of the vintage is there but the ultimate quality of the dry whites seems to depend more on picking dates and soil type than appellation. Sauvignon Blanc harvested too early or cultivated on particularly dry soils can lack aromatic punch and fruit intensity, while when grown on clay or limestone soils, it seems more expressive and to have greater line and length."

"Sauternes/Barsac, by and large, had a successful vintage in terms of both quality and quantity."