En Primeur Bordeaux 2023

The 2023 Bélair-Monange is terrific. I find it much more reserved than in most recent years, in a very good way. Bright acids and beams of tannin shape this super-classic Saint-Émilion. It’s a style I like very much. Hints of dark-toned fruit, leather, dried herbs and spice build into the potent, layered finish. This is impeccably done. It will be interesting to see what Edouard Moueix coaxes from Bélair-Monange now that he has a brand-new cellar. Will the wines be extroverted, as they were in the early going, or more reserved, like the 2023?

Score: 94 - 96 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2032-2063

The 2023 Belair Monange is the first vintage from this newly created property that incorporates a balance of fruit from the plateau and fruit from the hillsides, as restructured and replanted parcels are returning to production. Wafting from the glass with attractive aromas of raspberries, violets and kirsch mingled with hints of incense, licorice and rose petals, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with a deep and textural core of fruit, lively acids and powdery tannins, retaining a cool, ethereal profile that foregrounds its limestone origins.

Score: 94 - 96 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The 2023 Bélair-Monange was picked September 11 to 29 at around 45hL/ha. It has a very intense, very well-defined bouquet: black cherries, mulberry and light iodine mixed with estuarine scents—scintillas of kelp and oyster shell in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, very fresh and animated. Focused and mineral-driven, the 2023 has one of the most refined finishes that you'll find on the Right Bank this year. This is a very strong follow-up to the 2022 and it may even surpass it, though this is cut from a very different cloth insofar that it is unapologetically more classic in style.

Score: 95 - 97 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2028-2054

The 2023 Berliquet marks another important step forward for this château. Floral aromatics are immediately alluring. Bright, sculpted fruit and vibrant acids convey finesse through to the saline, delineated finish. This is the first vintage made in the new cellar, which surely helps. Élevage is in French oak and amphora. Berliquet is all charm in 2023. Tasted four times.

Score: 91 - 93 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2027-2043

The 2023 Berliquet is the first vintage produced in the estate's new winery, equipped with double the number of vats, permitting proper separation of blocks. That's especially important, as Berliquet is a more diverse terroir than Canon, and it can now be interpreted with much more precision. Offering up aromas of cherries, black raspberries, licorice and violets, it's medium to full-bodied, pillowy and layered, with a fleshy core of concentrated fruit, refined, chalky tannins and lively acids.

Score: 93 - 95 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The 2023 Berliquet was picked 23 September to October 5 at 45hL/ha, matured in 34% new oak plus 10 amphorae. Initially, the nose is quite backward and doesn't want to play. Give it a few swirls and it opens to reveal black cherries, blackcurrant and a distant tang of oyster shell emanating from limestone soils. The palate is medium-bodied with a very harmonious entry. Finely weighted, tensile and slightly savory in style, this is very elegant, finishing with citrus-like freshness. Berliquet has definitely been in the ascendant in recent vintages, and this is another to add.

Score: 93 - 95 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2028-2050

A wine of classicism and reserve, the 2023 Canon is less overtly expressive than most recent vintages, keeping much of its personality in reserve. Nevertheless, I watched it grow considerably over the two weeks I spent in Bordeaux. Bright red-toned fruit, blood orange, mint and spice are some of the many notes that open in the glass. It is a wine that marries generous fruit with classical rigor. I won't be surprised if it shows even better with time. Tasted four times.

Score: 94 - 96 Antonio Galloni, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2033-2063

Wafting from the glass with aromas of mulberries and raspberries mingled with spices, rose petals, licorice and violets, the 2023 Canon is another brilliant wine from a property whose excellence can almost be taken for granted. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's seamless and concentrated, its vibrant core of fruit framed by sweet, powdery tannins and girdled by lively acids, concluding with a long, mineral finish.

Score: 96 - 98 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The 2023 Canon was picked from around 6 September to 6 October at 45hL/ha and matured in 50% new oak. It has a perfumed bouquet with pure black cherries and touches of cassis and violet. The oak is beautifully integrated. Perhaps if I have to quibble, it is not quite as complex as the very best recent vintages, but that's a high bar nowadays. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black cherry fruit laced with iodine, and veins of blue fruit. There is a sorbet-like freshness embroidered throughout this Canon, and it delivers a lovely cracked black pepper note on the finish. Excellent. Again.

Score: 94 - 96 Neal Martin, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2029-2060

The 2023 Canon La Gaffelière is a powerful, dense wine. In recent years Canon La Gaffelière has been on the more perfumed side, but the 2023 moves in a direction of textural intensity. On the other hand, its balance is compelling. Dark red-toned fruit, pomegranate, spice, blood orange, mint and dried herbs open, but only with great reluctance. Tannins are present but also buried by the fruit.

Score: 94 - 97 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2030-2048

The 2023 Canon la Gaffelière offers up aromas of minty berries, plums, pencil shavings, dried herbs and bay leaf, followed by a medium to full-bodied, bright and crunchy palate underpinned by tangy acids and chalky tannins. It's a blend of 35% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Franc and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Score: 90 - 92 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The 2023 Canon La Gaffelière saw harvest between September 20 and 29, cropped at 35hL/ha with slightly more Cabernet Franc (45%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) than usual. Matured in 40% new oak, this sports an unashamedly floral bouquet with pressed iris and violet flowers that are integrated with the black fruit—incredibly precise. The palate is very well balanced with slightly chalky tannins (a leitmotif of von Neipperg's 2023s). It fans out gently on the finish, yet it maintains a sense of verticality that you don't usually see in this Saint-Émilion. This is excellent, but a bit more Left Bank in style this year.

Score: 92 - 94 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2029-2055

The 2023 Cheval Blanc is silky, elegant and exceptionally polished. Cabernet Franc is rarely as expressive as it is here. Everything in the 2023 is about detail. All the elements are so well balanced—so integrated. Red/purplish berry fruit, mint, cinnamon, rose petal and blood orange meld together, while seamless tannins wrap it all up in grand style. What a wine.

Score: 95 - 98 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2033-2063

One of the most profound wines of the vintage is the 2023 Cheval Blanc, a striking wine that stands out for its strong sense of identity and seamless integration at such an early stage in its life. Wafting from the glass with notes of mulberries, lilac, dark fruits, iris root and violets, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and seamless, with a gourmand core of cool, vibrant fruit that entirely conceals its sweet structuring tannins, concluding with a long, perfumed finish. It's a blend of 52% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, drawing on fully 46 of the blocks that make up Cheval Blanc, and it attained 13.8% alcohol.

Score: 98 - 100 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The Grand Vin 2023 Château Cheval Blanc is based on 52% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon and, as always, is resting in 100% new French oak. It's deep ruby/plum-hued and offers a gorgeous array of ripe black cherries, currants, leafy herbs, spring flowers, and spicy oak. This carries to a medium to full-bodied Cheval with gorgeous mid-palate depth, ripe, building, yet polished tannins, and a certainly salty, mineral character on the finish. This is a classic, regal, aristocratic Cheval Blanc that will need bottle age, but it’s absolutely gorgeous. It's the finest wine I tasted on the Right Bank.

Score: 96 - 98 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com