Fri 14 June

It is the ultimate small estate with a big reputation. From a tiny vineyard only 2.7 hectares in size (a quarter of its rival Petrus), the small Pomerol property Le Pin makes a wine that places at the very peak of its appellation. The deep, very well-drained gravel soils on this particular (highly unusual) stretch of Pomerol soil give the 100% Merlot here an identity that can sometimes express like Cabernet, and tasting 2023 Le Pin blind I would have guessed the presence of some Cabernet. ‘Thirty years waiting for a '3',’reflected Jacques, ‘now we have one.’ Jacques made very little Le Pin in the challenging 2013 vintage, and none at all in 2003 after the great heatwave: now he has a showstopping 2023. Neal Martin calls 2023 Le Pin ‘one of the best vintages of Le Pin I have tasted from barrel’. The price of £6250/3 is down 17% from last year’s £7500/3.

Le Pin always marks the final release of a Bordeaux en primeur campaign, so all Bordeaux properties that have chosen to participate in the en primeur campaign have now put their wines on the market. As summer sets in, the negociants will close their books on en primeur, so now is the time to firm up orders.

Thank you for reading. See you here next year?

Thu 13 June

Figeac was a big winner in the 2022 St-Émilion reclassification, and now plays in the very top league: Premier Grand Cru Classé (A). It should probably have always been there, but never mind. This is one of the finest St-Émilions there is. It’s also one of the oldest properties in Bordeaux, with roots in the second century and the Roman Figeacus family. The most venerable vines are over 100 years old. But they also have a space age new cellar which saw its first vintage in 2021, designed to make things even more precise. Like its neighbour Cheval Blanc, it is sited on the Pomerol borders, and the deep gravel soils mean there is a lot of Cabernet in the vineyards. That in turn leads to an aromatic imprint that sometimes evokes the left bank. Not only is 2023 Figeac an exquisite success, the release price of £894 is a whopping 41% reduction on last year’s £1518. Siting the 2023 release price below that of the 2010, this is the biggest reduction of any property in the campaign.

‘One of the great wines of the vintage, and one that can rival its 2022 counterpart,’ writes William Kelley: also today, we have Pomerol’s La Conseillante.

And that is pretty much it for it 2023 Bordeaux. With one big exception: we are still waiting for Pomerol's great Le Pin.

Wed 12 June

There is not much critical doubt that Montrose is the best wine from St-Estèphe in 2023, and one of the clear stars of 2023 Bordeaux. The team pulled out all the stops: in a vintage in which Cabernet excelled, they chose (for the first time) to make the grand vin exclusively from the historic core of the estate, the gravelly Terrasse IV that passes in front of the chateau – which is also an optimum spot for Cabernet. 2023 Montrose is intense and monumental, full of blackcurrant, cedarwood and graphite notes. It is dense and saline, and while it is hard to approach at this early stage, it is so instantly clear that everything is in place for a truly great wine. The release price of £714/6 is also sharply down from last year’s £873. Dame de Montrose enjoys some quite serious structure for a second wine, and is very much in the same stylistic vein as the grand vin.

St-Estèphe property Tronquoy (formerly Tronquoy-Lalande) is part of the same stable, and benefits from the full power of Montrose winemaking expertise. As at Montrose, there has been a lot of focus on understanding the terroir and its potential. Tronquoy sits on a stretch of gravel and clay that lies up to 8 metres deep. It is a well-structured wine full of luscious black fruit, and finishes with an impressive menthol breath. There aren’t many wines that score so highly at this pricepoint. This vintage also sees the en primeur launch of Tronquoy Blanc, a 51/49 Sémillon/Sauvignon blend. It is vinified and aged in barrel, on the lees, and it offers meadowflower and peach notes carried by both the vibrant acidity and pleasingly waxy mid-palate.

Tue 11 June

Troplong Mondot is a property that has been transformed since the arrival of Aymeric de Gironde in 2017. Where the wine once had a reputation as being on the heavy, extracted side, it is now lithe and joyful, tense and crackling with energy. Troplong sits at the very top of the appellation, on the highest point of the limestone plateau. In a vintage like 2023, when mildew was a challenge, the vines benefit enormously from the exposure on this windy spot. Among Aymeric’s many changes here, he has brought forward harvest dates, stopped carrying out the malolactic fermentation in new oak, reduced fermentation temperatures, and decreased the proportion of new oak barrels used for the elevage from 90 down to 65 per cent. It’s all about letting a lovely terroir show through. 2023 Troplong is lovely; it is vibrant, vivid and supple, with a deeply satisfying underlying salinity.

‘This ranks as one of the standout wines in Pessac-Léognan,’ writes Neal Martin, ‘perhaps in Bordeaux itself.’ Haut-Bailly is often among the great wines of any given vintage, and 2023 is no exception. Planted on great gravel-and-clay terroir in Pessac, this is easily one of the oldest vineyards in the appellation, with a quarter of the vines between 100 and 120 years old. The Sanders family have been careful stewards of this property for 70 years, and generations of care and investment have allowed it to excel. Vineyard management is careful and very organic, with every plot precisely mapped. Cellar techniques are all about keeping extraction low and soft; they tend to lead to a wine that is monumentally elegant. The 2023 has a sense of both freshness and profundity. It is released at £540/6, a 25% reduction on last year’s release price.

‘We are very happy to return to this style of Vieux Chateau Certan,’ Alexandre Thienpont told us. ‘It is cooler and fresher’. It is also an amazing wine; dense and energetic, powerful and persistent, complete and still (for now) closed, but clearly a wine with huge underlying complexity. Already one can coax iris and violet from among the plum and blackberry fruit, along with graphite, Chinese spices and tobacco. The chateau sits between Petrus and Le Pin. With vines aged between 20-80 years (as against the Pomerol average of 30) it lives up to the ‘old’ in its name; this historical estate has seen only 3 changes of ownership in 300 years. The 2023 is released at very appealing 33% reduction on the 2022 release price.

Mon 10 June

‘L’If has more of a sense of identity than ever,’ Jacques Thienpont told us. ‘I think it is better than it ever has been.’ The hard work over the years since this St-Émilion property was established in 2010 (with the first vintage in 2011) are showing great results. Jacques is the man who is also behind Pomerol’s le Pin, and he really knows what he’s doing. The transformation of the vineyards is complete; the residual Cabernet Sauvignon is gone, and top-notch 20% Cabernet Franc brings a lot to the majority Merlot blend. But the real key is the growing maturity of the younger vines that Cyrille Thienpont and his team have planted over the years, which ultimately shows in the depth and character of the wine. 2023 was also the first vintage in their new cellar, which means the wine was raised more in concrete, less in steel. 2023 L’If is balanced and energetic, not flashy, but composed and complete and terribly elegant. It opens on cherries and flowers, and leads through a lifted mid-palate to finish on a sense of mineral salinity. ‘We waited on the Cabernet this year,’ Jacques told us. ‘It was a good decision. I am very pleased.’ The 2023 release price of £600/6 marks a 25% reduction on last year’s release price, and is the cheapest release price since the 2015 vintage.

Smith-Haut-Lafitte is a property with a long history, running from a branch of the French royal family (who granted the fleur-de-lys which appears on the coat of arms and the label), via the Scottish sailor George Smith (who added his surname), to the 19^th century Mayor of Bordeaux who signed off on the 1855 classification (and who graciously did not insist on the inclusion of Smith-Haut-Lafitte, though he might have). But Smith-Haut-Lafitte was dilapidated and in disrepair when Daniel and Florence Cathiard acquired it in 1990. In the decades since, they have spared no expense doing everything they can to allow this superb terroir to overperform. It is entirely organic (the Cathiards call it bio-precision, for their use of both drone and satellite technology to monitor the vineyards at micro and macro scale) and under conversion to biodynamics. They use horses to plough the vineyards (rather than tractors, which would compact the soil). They have a cooper making their own barrels, and are probably the only Bordeaux chateau with a dedicated nursery specifically for clonal rootstock. They also run two cellars: one for the grand vin, and an entirely separate one for the second wine Petit Smith-Haut-Lafitte, making it one of the more notable second wines in Bordeaux. The 2023 was a star in the overperforming commune of Pessac.  

Fri 7 June

Clinet is a top reference in Pomerol. ‘The name Clinet in Pomerol dates back to at least the 1770s,’ writes Jane Anson, ‘and you’ll notice it attached to a few of the appellation’s most prestigious vineyards, giving you some idea of how good the terroir is in this spot.’ The vines are 88% Merlot, 11.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and only 0.5% Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Sauvignon works well here, and in the early part of the 20^th century the vineyard was as much as 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. The vines average 40-50 years of age, with some as old as 80, and the soils are gravel laid over deep clay. In the cellar, recent years have seen the introduction of more smaller vats and the dialling back of new oak, in the interests of a style that is both fresher and more precise. The release price of £345/6 is a whopping 37% discount on last year.

A lot has been happening at St-Émilion property Beau-Séjour Bécot over the last few years. Juliette Bécot took over from her father in 2016. Since then, she has been working hard (and carefully) to make a very good wine even better. She has completely updated the cellar, swapping old steel vats for tailor-made inverse cement vats, which she argues facilitate a gentler extraction. She has also been experimenting with amphorae, larger-sized oak casks, and introducing an element of whole bunch vinification. It all leads to a more seamless, elegant style. This is a wonderfully-sited estate, with almost all the vines high on the limestone plateau. The 2023 vintage is released at £258/6, a generous 27% reduction on last year’s release price.

2023 marks the first vintage at Lascombes for former Ornellaia winemaker Axel Heinz. Uncorked didn't manage to taste here, but the critics seem pretty unanimous about the positive trajectory here. With a high proportion of Merlot in the vineyard here (for Margaux) the style at this second growth naturally tends to be more voluptuous.

Thu 6 June

Margaux is magnificent in 2023, and a clear contender for title of wine of the vintage. It is statuesque and composed, and at this stage it seems more restrained than the other first growths – but it has a seamless, coiled power wrapped up under the silky but powerful tannins. It is a wine with an immense future, and is released at a welcome 30% reduction on last year’s release price. We loved it. Pavillon Rouge is a very balanced. elegant wine in its own right; the first impression the nose gives is a bouquet of roses, and it too has a long life ahead. Pavillon Blanc is tense and saline, classy and charged, about the best Bordeaux Blanc you can find in a vintage in which the whites excelled.

From St-Émilion, we have Gruaud Larose. This is always a serious operator, and the 2023 is dense and structured, packed with dark fruit before finishing on notes of mint and marzipan.

Calon-Ségur sits on great terroir at one of the highest points in St-Estèphe; it is a perennial contender against Montrose and Cos d’Estournel for the appellation crown. The soils in Calon’s walled vineyard have what Jane Anson calls a ‘killer combination’ of gravel and diverse clays (blue, yellow and black) which bring great levels of complexity to the wine. Recent work in the vineyard has focussed on increasing both planting density (which can force vines to excel as they compete with each other) and the proportion of Cabernet, to bring it in line with the more gravelly sections of vineyard here. The release price of £468/6 is a welcome 23% reduction on last year’s release price.

Wed 5 June

This morning's first release is one of the most sought-after wines of recent Bordeaux vintages. Carmes Haut-Brion. An element of whole bunch vinification (stems as well as grapes in the vat) is common enough in Burgundy and with Pinot Noir in other regions, but is highly unusual in Bordeaux. A large proportion of stems in the vat (sometimes up to 80%) together with a high proportion of Cabernet Franc (up to 50%) together make Carmes Haut-Brion one of the most aromatically distinctive wines in Bordeaux. As the name suggests, the property is very close to Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion. (Carmes was once owned by Carmelite friars, as opposed to the Lazarite friars who maintained a mission at what is now La Mission). The last fifteen years have seen big changes, and Carmes has developed a very strong following. The vineyard (organic since 2009) is being moved towards biodynamics. The winery was built to allow for precision winemaking (and experimentation). Vats are variously in wood, steel, and concrete, in a variety of sizes. 2023 Carmes is an immensely vivid wine, defined by the dark flower aromatics, fine tannins that seem to shoot by in a rush of energy and a lifted, sweet-and-salty contrast in the finish. This is easily one of the vines of the vintage. It is released at £456/6, a very welcome 31% drop on last year’s release price.

The three properties of Rauzan-Ségla, Canon and Berliquet are all under the same ownership (the Wertheimer brothers’ Chanel Group), and all are managed by one of the best winemakers going, Nicolas Audebert. His mantra is ‘let the terroir do the talking’, which he applies through a mix of very hard work in the vineyard followed by very gentle, respectful winemaking. Rauzan-Ségla is one of the classiest tickets in Margaux, and one that rarely seems to lose money on the secondary markets. It is released at £360, a 29% discount on last year’s release price. 2023 Canon is ‘in the line of great Canon vintages’, says Jane Anson, giving it a potential 100 points. It is released at a 25% discount on the 2022 release price. Nicolas Audebert freely admits that when the Wertheimers acquired Berliquet, the intention was to roll the vineyards into neighbouring Chateau Canon. But they quickly realised that Berliquet has an identity all its own. Instead of submerging Berliquet into Canon, Nicolas and his team gave it some serious Chanel-style TLC, allowing it to flourish in its own identity.

Tue 4 June

Pichon Baron is intense and very focused, big, long and powerful. It is also, as Neal Martin has it, ‘quintessential Pauillac that will age gracefully over the next 30 or 40 years’. So perhaps not one to get stuck into early, but this super second is a monument to its vintage, and the future. This year the battle of the Pichons (Lalande v Baron) was harder than ever to call, but against the main stream of critical consensus (and our usual favourite) Uncorked inclined to this brilliant Baron.

Also today, we have the Durantou family wines. Neal Martin gives L'Eglise-Clinet a score of 98-100 and says it 'ranks as one of the best wines of the vintage'. At the other end of the scale, Castillon property Montlandrie looks like amazing value. It is released at £82/6, and Neal Martin gives it a score of 92-94. The stablemate wines Cruzelles (from Lalande-de-Pomerol) and Saintayme (St-Emilion) look like similarly good value.

Giscours has been on a big upward trajectory in recent years. This Margaux third growth has some excellent terroir across three well-drained, well-exposed gravelly slopes. Director Alexander van Beek has led a comprehensive terroir study, which led to a big rethink of the vineyard and an ongoing replanting programme. With very homogeneous soils, it made a lot of sense to increase the proportion of Cabernet – and the strength of Cabernet in 2023 has only reinforced that. Other developments in the vineyard have included a return to hand-picking and the raising of the trellising. It is released at an 18% reduction on its 2022 price.

Also this morning, we have the opulent, illustrious St-Emilion Grand Cru Classé A Pavie... while after lunch, we are back in Pomerol for Le Gay.

Mon 3 June

First out the door this morning we have the great Pichon Lalande. 2023 Pichon Lalande is effortlessly magnificent, pure and linear, composed and powerful. Dark fruit aromas are loaded with complexing notes of lavender and graphite, and the 'river stone' element that I find very characteristic of the property. Supple, silky tannins wrap up a muscular core that will take a long time to unfold. The vineyards at Pichon Lalande fan out from Latour and Pichon Baron in the south of Pauillac, near the Gironde. There is more clay in the soil here than in the north of Pauillac, which explains the relatively high proportion of Merlot in the vineyards (some 25%, with a greater proportion going into the Reserve - though in 2023, a full 80% Cabernet has made it into the final blend). There have been enormous investments in the cellar here since 2009, with the latest round in 2019. The price of £660/6 represents a very healthy 36% decrease on the previous vintage. Do not overlook Pichon Comtesse Reserve - it is a very serious wine in its own right. It has more Merlot in the blend than the grand vin and a slightly more immediate style, but still offers a brilliant insight into the style and character of Pichon Lalande itself. The 2023 is all cassis and rose, graphite and sea air, and is a lovely expression of the very specific terroir here.

Branaire-Ducru is immensely St-Julien, in an elegant and understated way, full of plum and tobacco, cedar, graphite and spice. It has a lot of charm, a lot of depth, and then a charge of energy on the finish. A lot has been changing at Branaire-Ducru, and it is quietly pushing its way towards the head of the St-Julien pack; the 2023 was comfortably in the top set at the St-Julien UGC. Things became noticeably finer in 2010 with a whole new winery, and the introduction of gravity-fed winemaking. Yields have been dramatically cut back. Most recently, they have doubled the number of vats in their cellar, which in turn allows for a much more plot-by-plot approach to vineyard management and winemaking. Director Jean-Dominique Videau together said, ‘it’s like building a winning sports car, it allows us to fine-tune things much more.’

Phélan-Ségur is ‘a star in the appellation,’ according to Jane Anson, which would ‘make it into a new version of the 1855 classification if one ever came around’. Quality is soaring at this St-Estèphe property, and that is reflected in the scores it has been achieving. The terroir has always been good; the largest and best vineyard plot is adjacent to Montrose, although there is another excellent and significant section alongside Calon-Ségur. While ownership changed in 2017, the steady hand of Director Veronique Dausse remained on the tiller. She has overseen an era of big improvements. In the cellar, the introduction of a larger number of small vats has enabled a much more parcel-by-parcel focussed approach to vinification. The oak regime has become much more gentle and a proportion of the wine is now vinified in neutral glass globes, the intention being to retain freshness.

Clearly one of the left-bank wines of the vintage, 2023 Palmer has an astonishing sense of energy. It is tense and powerful, and cracks along the palate like a whip. We argued about whether this was better than Chateau Margaux. Jane Anson writes, ‘There are very few châteaux that I would unquestionably say should be First Growths if the 1855 classification was to be revised, but this is one of them.’ Terroir studies, a rigorous and early adoption of biodynamics and a process of vineyard management that is both responsive and technically very sophisticated have together allowed Palmer to make the very best they can from one of the Médoc’s great terroirs. The release price of £1440/6 represents an 18% reduction on the 2022 release price.

Fri 30 May

There are no negociant emails whatsoever in my inbox this morning. But don't be deceived - it's the calm before the storm. Next week is going to be very busy. Almost every wine which has yet to appear is scheduled to be released over the course of next week. Have a good weekend...

Wed 29 May

We're taking a quick jaunt down to the wooded south of Pessac this morning, for the Kressman family's Latour-Martillac Rouge and Blanc. There's a lot of history here. The estate goes all the way back to the 12th century. The Kressmans came to Bordeaux in the mid-nineteenth century and set up as negociants; Alfred Kressman bought Latour-Martillac in 1930. In the early days, they made more white than red, but switched in the 1940s when realised how well the gravel soils here suited Cabernet. The vineyard is planted 55/40/5 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Petit Verdot for red, and in whites it is 60/40 Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon. There are some venerable Semillon vines which were planted in 1884. The Kressmans recently put the finishing touches to an impressive new cellar.

From Pomerol, we have Feytit-Clinet. I would habitually have written 'Jeremy Chasseuil's Feytit-Clinet' but in 2023, his sons Adrian and Etienne are jovially claiming it's all down to them. Jeremy pretended to be distraught at this, while beaming proudly. The wine is beautifully made, with juicy dark fruit complemented by floral top notes. The silky, rich mouthfeel also has a lovely; lifted freshness and it races over the palate, finishing with a smidge of graphite and smoke. It is long, sapid and very moreish. With less hydric stress than last year Jeremy notes it was easy for the grapes to reach maturity. He (or his sons?) continue to innovate here. 'We have smaller tanks than 5 years ago. And we have more people sorting the grapes than picking in the vineyard.' Neal Martin notes that the 2023 is 'on par with last year`s wine.'

Tue 28 May

From today until Thursday, Vinexpo Asia is taking place in Hong Kong. Many chateau owners or representatives will be showing their wares there, so we expect a quiet week with few releases. Truly, we live in a globalised world.

However, today we have Uncorked favourite Grand Mayne, from St-Emilion. Jean-Antoine Nony has been full-time director here since 2012, and his long-term vision is bearing fruit. One of his very first decisions was to begin a slow replanting programme, with the ultimate goal of bringing the proportion of Cabernet Franc in the vineyards back up to the 35% it was in 1934, when his grandfather acquired the property; he judges that Cabernet Franc is well-suited to an era of average rising temperatures. 2023 was a real success here. Jean-Antoine admits he doesn’t really understand why there was very little mildew pressure in his own vineyard, when his neighbours were being badly hit, but he doesn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. His best guess is the influence of the grasses and cereals he has been planting between the vine rows. ‘Who would have thought all this organic stuff works?’ he jokes. The vineyards of Grand Mayne form a single block around the chateau, across two terroirs. The hillside section is on clay and limestone, and the vines at the base of the slope are on sandy clay. The 2023 Grand Mayne is a seductive success: fresh and elegant, a little lush, and very refined. The plummy start leads through an energetic mid-palate, and finally to a long and appealing mineral finish. It is a 75/25 Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend.

Also on the right bank today, we have excellent value Pomerol La Pointe.

Fri 24 May

Laroque is always excellent value, and at £120/6, the high-scoring 2023 could be the best buy in St-Emilion. The vineyards here are mostly spread across the limestone plateau, half on sections of pure Astéries limestone (as at Canon) and half on red clay over limestone (as at Troplong-Mondot). The intensive investments of the last decade have done great things at this property, and David Suire has fashioned a superb 2023, with juicy, vibrant fruit and a serious mineral crunch underneath. 

Thu 23 May

'We weren't so popular in the Parker era because everyone wanted big wines. We never changed the way we made wine, but now fashion has returned to us.' When you visit smart St-Émilion property La Gaffelière, you can barely see the vines for the profusion of flowers and grasses between the rows. Cover crops help prevent soil erosion, and bring biodiversity to the vineyard. The vines are in three spots: on the limestone plateau next to Ausone, over the cusp of the slope on limestone-embedded clay, and at the bottom of the slop where the black sandy soils need careful management, but also bring very fine aromatics. A long-term programme of vineyard replanting has seen the percentage of Cabernet Franc return to where it was in the first half of the 20th century. 2023 La Gaffelière evokes blackberry and rose petals. It is a powerful but very well-contained wine, less opulent that the sweeter-styled 2022, but fresh and well-balanced. It finishes with that moreish, mineral sense of sapidity we found characteristic in those 2023 St-Émilions made from fruit grown on limestone. It is released today at £270/6. Not only is that a 21% reduction on its 2022 release price, it also feels like a genuine Bordeaux bargain for a wine of this quality.

Also this morning, we have much-loved Pauillac Grand-Puy-Lacoste. Emmeline Borie struggles to think of another vintage like 2023: ‘When the fruit came into the winery we couldn’t believe it, the Cabernet and the Merlot felt like they were products of a different growing season. The Cabernet was cool and fresh and strict and muscular, the Merlot was opulent and generous. But the blending was very easy. They came together like they were made for each other’. The result is a very classic GPL, dark and powerful, intense, elegant, with a driven, energetic finish. It is released at £273/6, a 24% drop on last year’s price.

Also today, back in St-Julien we have Lagrange and in Margaux, Cantenac-Brown.

Wed 22 May

Sara Lecompte-Cuvelier has been making a name for herself with a succession of brilliant performances at Leoville Poyferre. Her 2023 is a beguilingly aromatic Poyferre, tense and supple. It opens with dark fruit, charcoal and a breath of sea air, and has that signature explosion of Asian spice on the finish. It is also released at a very appealing 34% discount on the 2022 vintage. 'This', writes Neal Martin, 'is a contender for the best Saint-Julien in show.'

Lusciously silky, but also with a real tense, coiled energy, Brane-Cantenac is one of our absolute favourite picks in left-bank Bordeaux. There is vivid, dense, dark fruit with very floral topnotes, a snap of energy in the mouth, and a crunchy, mineral finish that persists powerfully. The perfume, the balance and the sheer elegance are compelling. The Plateau de Brane forms the heart of Brane-Cantenac; these 12-meter-deep gravel soils are one of the best terroirs in Margaux. The best vines here, and the backbone of the wine, are the 60+ year-old Cabernet Sauvignon vines planted after the great frost of 1956. Proprietor Henri Lurton has made 30 vintages here. Over that time he has conducted extensive soil studies (to ensure that grape variety and rootstock are well matched to soil types) and begun to transition the vineyard to organics. Under his stewardship, Brane has also become known for the excellence of its work with oak, with the origins and toast levels of barrels constantly being monitored and reviewed.   

Tue 21 May

Olivier Bernard’s Domaine de Chevalier is a real success story this vintage. The rouge is vibrant and finely textured, opening on cassis, cherry and rose petal notes, leading to a fine gravelly note that seems to sum up the character of the appellation. The blanc is extremely composed, a high-wire balance of blossom and fleshy lemon fruit. It opens with a burst of citrus, shows some waxy weight on the mid-palate, before closing on a long and lingering finish. Monsieur Bernard could not contain his pride when he showed these to us.

Also this morning, popular as the 'dragon boat' wine in China, Beychevelle, and the perennial Haut-Medoc value Beaumont.

Dense and fresh, pure and penetrating, Gonzague Lurton has made another excellent Durfort-Vivens; it finishes on a savoury note that very much reminded of the limestone-driven saline finishes we tasted in many St-Emilion wines this year. It always has a high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon, but this year, at 92% Cabernet, the proportion is as high as ever. A visit to Durfort is always striking for the view of 'terracotta warriors' in the cellar, and the wine is now raised in 30% amphorae as against 70% new oak. The amphorae bring a line of pure, focused fruit character to the wine. We also have Haut-Bages Liberal. The quality of the 2022 really caught our eye last year, and we were keen to see if proprietor Claire Villars-Lurton could repeat the trick. It's another Cabernet-heavy wine (86% Cabernet Sauvignon) which opens on cassis and roses, and finishes on cinnamon and dark chocolate. There is a long, serious finish. The vineyard is fully biodynamic here, and Claire is also experimenting with zero added sulphite wines, a relative novelty in Bordeaux. 

Mon 20 May

It's a bank holiday in France today. Whit Monday. No releases expected. Stand down.

Fri 17 May

From Margaux this morning, we have du Tertre, which has been getting 'a lot of love and investment' (Jane Anson) in recent vintages.  And from St-Julien, an impressive, layered Saint-Pierre. Both of these are interesting mid-tier choices.

Thu 16 May

It's lean and muscular, long and powerful: it's Cos d'Estournel, released this morning 35% down on its 2022 price. It is a phenomenal St-Estephe, or as William Kelley has it, 'a contemporary classic in the making.' Cos Blanc is a fabulous white in a vintage in which many whites have triumphed: it is all peach, crushed rock and salinity, with a very tensile structure.

Also this morning, from Pessac we have Pape-Clement. And from Margaux, we have d'Issan, which to my great regret I missed tasting.

Wed 15 May

Another busy day on the Bordeaux front kicks off with the Vauthier family properties: Ausone, Moulin-St-Georges, La Clotte and Fonbel.

There is no doubt in my mind that (however good Leoville-Barton and Las Cases were) that the finest wine we tasted from St-Julien this year was Ducru-Beaucaillou. It is released today at a 34% reduction on its 2022 release price. This is a beautifully balanced, beautifully structured wine, fine but powerful. I was astonished by the length of the finish, which ambushed me in the car park outside the property.

Tue 14 May

Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion have run on parallel tracks ever since they were first laid out in the 16th century. While Haut-Brion has always been in private hands, La Mission was for a long time owned by the church, and housed a mission of Lazarite Friars - hence the name La Mission. It wasn't until 1983 that both properties finally united in the hands of the Dillon family. The 2023 vintages of each are released this morning. La Mission is released 30% below its 2022 price, and Haut-Brion is released 39% below its 2022 price.

The terroir at these two properties is pretty similar; La Mission has a little more sand and limestone, and its vineyards are framed by two streams which provide a little extra moisture in hot, dry years. In the words of Jane Anson, Haut-Brion is 'often the benchmark for what can be achieved in any given vintage of Bordeaux'. The historical pedigree at Haut-Brion is astonishing: it was the wine served to King Charles II on his Restoration to the English throne, and the first wine to have a published tasting note (in Samuel Pepys' diary). Part of the secret to its complexity is the array of fine terroir it sits on, which moves from limestone to sandy gravels via large gravels to deep clays, and on, through sixteen different soil types. My first impression on tasting 2023 Haut-Brion was of a floral sea of salty purple fruit. There are impressions of smoke, and freshly tilled earth, leading to a stony, monumental finish. 2023 La Mission majors on black fruit, with graphite and seafood, and possesses a beautifully refined tannic structure.

The Pessac terroir favours white wines as much as red, and in 2023 in particular, whites excelled here. Haut-Brion Blanc and La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc are two of the world's great white wines. Both enjoy immense energy, balancing richness and acidity on their to way to a powerful crescendo.

We also have super-second Lynch-Bages, released at a substantial 34% discount on its release price. It is opaque and dense, structured, with a tense energy lifted by a vein of freshness. Lynch has always enjoyed very fine terroir; over recent vintages, the Cazes family have been treating that terroir with a new respect. The formidably detailed investigation and mapping of the estate have given them a new understanding of it; 2020 saw the inauguration of a huge new cellar, with 80 gravity-fed tanks enabling a more precise, parcel-by-parcel approach to vinification. Recent vintages have reaped the benefit, and the 2023 is outstanding.

And from St-Julien we have a lovely, well-balanced Gloria full of aromatic complexity.

Mon 13 May

For precision engineering in a glass, few wines anywhere can rival Cheval Blanc. Every aspect of viticulture, terroir and winemaking is expensively, intensively pored over here. Cheval Blanc sits at the limit of the St-Emilion appellation, bordering Pomerol and Petrus, with a third of its vines on the same streak of Petrus blue clay. Sections of the vineyard also lie on gravel and sand, with total plantings at 60:40 Cabernet Franc to Merlot. Plantings follow Pomerol rules more than those of St-Émilion, with Merlot often on the more gravelly soils, and Cabernet Franc on well-drained clay. Pierre-Olivier Clouet (formerly Technical Director, now MD) told us how pleased he is with the balance and harmony he finds in 2023 Cheval Blanc. ‘Everything performed as it should. Also, the young vines excelled. Everyone talks about old vines, and we have great old vines here. But it’s like people. You can have a profound conversation with old people. But it’s always more lively when young people join in.’ Uncorked is very much on board with William Kelley’s assessment that Cheval Blanc is ‘one of the most profound wines of the vintage.’ It is released at a 19% discount on the 2022 vintage.

St-Julien stablemates Léoville and Langoa Barton have been in the hands of the same family longer than any other Bordeaux classed growth (the Bartons bought both in the 1820s), but Léoville and Langoa Barton enjoy very distinct identities. The Léoville Barton vineyards lie in the north of St-Julien, between the chateau and the river, and the style tends to be old-school St-Julien, powerful and elegant. The Langoa Barton vineyards lie in the south of the appellation, on cooler, gravel-rich soils, often facing north. This cooler terroir tends to lend the wine a more restrained, red-fruit profile – and it works very well in hot years, such as 2023. Both Léoville and Langoa also enjoy a spanking new, shared winemaking facility. Where previously there was a one-size-fit-all approach (the one size being 200 hectolitre vats), there is now a diverse range of vat sizes (80, 120, 150 and 200hl). That permits a plot-by-plot approach to winemaking, which in turn translates to more precision in the final wine. That really shows through in both wines: 2023, Langoa is both deep and energetic, with the plum-and-cherry approach followed by a moreish salty minerality; Léoville is a monumental and structured, one of the clear stars of its commune.

Mauvesin Barton is a much newer Barton project – though the chateau itself goes all the way back to the 15^th century. The Bartons acquired Moulis chateau Mauvesin in 2011, and appended their family name as a sign of their commitment to quality. The mixed clay-limestone and sandy-gravel soils underpin excellent terroir, but there was a lot of work to be done. The vineyards needed to be extensively replanted. Drainage channels were laid, the winery was renovated, a new barrel cellar was built. Mauvesin is now much improved; the 2023 offers attractive plum and chocolate aromas against a gravel-and-menthol freshness.

Also today, we have the Perrodo family Margaux properties Labegorce and Marquis d'Alesme.

Fri 10 May

Today is NOT a bank holiday in France. No, really. But after two days off the French are probably making a 'bridge' to the weekend, and we are not expecting any releases today. However, next week will be busy with a lot of important releases scheduled.

Thu 9 May

Happy Ascension Day! France is off work. No Bordeaux releases.

Wed 8 May

Happy VE Day! World War II officially ended in Europe 79 years ago today. France is off work. No Bordeaux releases.

Tue 7 May

One of the very big names in St.Emilion, Angelus, is released this morning at a 27% discount on last year's price. On the left bank, we have the Lorenzetti wines Pedesclaux (Pauillac) and Lafon-Rochet (St-Estephe). Both are excellent, well-sited values in their respective communes. From Pessac, Malartic-Lagraviere is released in both rouge and blanc: the red is supple, bright and dark-fruited, the blanc is a high-energy mix of Amalfi lemon and candlewax.

We are back in Pauillac after lunch for Haut-Batailley. Haut-Batailley was created in 1942 when Batailley was partitioned for inheritance reasons - it qualifies as a fifth-growth under the 1855 classification as it was previously part of a property listed in the classification. For a long time it was managed by François-Xavier Borie of Grand-Puy-Lacoste, but in 2017 it was acquired by the Cazes family (who also own Lynch-Bages). It is released at £216/6 (down from £260/6 last year).

Mon 6 May

See, it’s not just the French who are allowed bank holidays. Uncorked’s retail store is closed for business today, but be assured we are still happy to look after your allocations. This morning's first release is the 'laser-sharp' (Neal Martin) Coutet. Coutet has a partnership agreement with Domaines Baron Phillipe de Rothschild, who assist with winemaking and distribution, so it is no suprise to see Mouton-Rothschild also released. Mouton is as succulent and flambuoyant as Lafite is austere. For Neal Martin, 'it is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage'. It has an unusually high proportion of Cabernet this vintage, and Jane Anson writes, 'When Cabernet works at Mouton, it is hard to beat, and it's on full display in 2023. One of my clear wines of the vintage. Of any vintage.' It is released at a 35% discount on the 2022 vintage.

Also from the same stable, we have Clerc Milon and Armailhac. Clerc Milon is 'easily one of the Pauillac wines that has been making the biggest strides forward in recent years' (Jane Anson). It is an unusual beast in modern Bordeaux in that it still has a tiny surviving proportion of old-vine (1947) Carmenère. Neal Martin writes, 'Superb. If Mouton-Rothschild is beyond your budget—yes, I am familiar with that feeling—then this is where you should look'. Clerc Milon and Armailhac both follow Mouton in having a high proportion of Cabernet this vintage. Like Clerc Milon, Armailhac has been following a steep upwards trajectory in recent vintages, following serious investment in vineyards and cellar.

Fri 3 May

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. I was seriously impressed by the complex, energetic, layered 2023. It is released today at a 25% reduction on last year's price; and Neal Martin writes, 'I may actually prefer it to the previous vintage.’ Both Stephane Derenoncourt and Eric Boissenot consult, and the recent roster of experiment and innovation going on here is very impressive. 

Also released at a 25% reduction on last year, we have Haut-Medoc third growth La Lagune. Not one Uncorked had the pleasure of, but Galloni perceives a wine with a 'bright future'.

Thurs 2 May

Today sees the release of the Lafite stable with both Carruades de Lafite and Lafite itself offered as the cheapest available vintage on the market - precisely what en primeur is all about! It's an exciting call - the Wine Advocate's William Kelley believes Lafite is 'the finest of the first growths this year'. 'The main criteria for good terroir is how it handles water.' Eric Kohler is pretty confident that Lafite and its stablemates have just that: it's gravel and more gravel shot through with seams of black sand. In periods of heavy rain (like early 2023) excess water drains away, but in periods of drought and intense heat (like late summer 2023) there is always deep-lying water available for thirsty old vines. These wines excel. Duhart-Milon gives me the impression of silky tannins stretched across stone. Under the smoky, tobacco-and-plum perfume of Carruades there are deep layers of wet slate. Neal Martin notes 'this is surely one of the best Carruades I have tasted at this stage'. Lafite seems austere and closed now but even so it can't resist giving away ghostly floral aromas. In the mouth it is both monumental and beautifully balanced. The aftertaste seems slow to rev up but gets bigger and bigger, and is hugely long. This is a wine with a great future.

Pomerol’s L’Evangile is also part of the same stable. Jane Anson calls L'Evangile 'an insider's Pomerol', 'a fascinating exercise in terroir'. It sits on a gravel corridor straddling the famous blue clay of Petrus. Powerful and refined, it has 'a beautiful Pomerol signature'. It is released at a substantial 30% discount on last year's release price.

Wed 1 May

Happy Labour Day! It's a public holiday in France so La Place de Bordeaux (the array of châteaux, courtiers and negociants who get wine from vineyard to merchant) is closed. Nothing to see here. Go about your business.

Tues 30 April

Pontet-Canet has a history of going early and igniting a Bordeaux en primeur campaign with a big price reduction. That’s exactly how they fired up the 2019 campaign, and they are back again with a brilliant 2023, and a whopping discount on last year’s price. The luscious silkiness of 2023 Pontet-Canet is testament to the huge investments that have been made at every level here over the last 20 years. It was one of the very first properties in Bordeaux to switch to biodynamics (there still aren’t a huge number who have), and horses are used to work the vineyard. The wine is raised partly in concrete amphorae and partly in barrel. There are even a couple of giant egg-shaped barrels. They all contribute to the exquisite texture and complex profile of what is clearly among the wines of the vintage. ‘It was an easy vintage for us,’ Technical Director Mathieu Bessonnet told me. ‘We are used to working hard in the vineyard, so mildew was not a big problem for us’. In the late August heatwave, they used a chamomile preparation to treat the vines, and gave them a ‘sunscreen’ of clay. The grapes sailed through.

It's not Léoville-Las Cases anymore, it's just Las Cases. Leave disputes about the name aside. (They may have annoyed some of the neighbours). When a Super Second releases at 40% less than the previous vintage, you sit up and listen! This is the cheapest release from this Chateau since 2015 and the first to be made in their new gravity-led cellars, with twice as many tanks meaning an even greater precision than before. The resulting wine is a little less austere than usual – often a hard one to taste en primeur – whilst still 'conveying a sense of seriousness'. 2023 is the most Cabernet vintage here, with 86%, a welcome 13.1% alcohol, and a top class effort. Also from the Delon stable we have Clos du Marquis and Pomerol's Nenin.