Bordeaux En Primeur 2023 Round Up
Chelsea Vintners
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In this special May bank holiday bonus edition of The Vintner newsletter, our Buying Director Giles Cooper shares his thoughts - and top picks - on the Bordeaux En Primeur 2023 campaign so far.
As we look forward to the second May Bank Holiday in the UK, we also reach another natural break in the Bordeaux 2023 EP campaign as the great and good of Bordeaux decamp to Hong Kong for the annual Vinexpo Asia show. As such, we expect there to be very few releases week commencing 27th?May (although you can never be completely sure, as some chateaux do have previous for releasing their wines with great fanfare during the show) so it’s a good time to reflect on the wines thus far. We don’t make a point of being negative about the wines we don’t like, or releases that don’t make sense; you can read that into any omissions below. Our list focuses on what we enjoyed, what we’ve offered, and what has gained a bit of traction with collectors in the campaign so far. We’ll also highlight our key picks which we haven’t yet seen – there is plenty still to be excited about.?
CV Picks (Released So Far)
Leoville Las Cases
Firing the starting pistol for the 2023 campaign was Leoville Las Cases, released early and at a huge 40% reduction in the release price versus the 2022. At ￡831 this was cheaper than the 2019 on release, below its' market price right now, and indeed was the cheapest release for almost a decade. Not only is it a seriously good price; it’s a seriously good wine. Yes, the reduction in price reflects how bad the pricing has been for the past three vintages, but this is a step in the right direction and we loved the wine. Worth a look.
Cheval Blanc
So far we’ve only had a couple of Right Bank wines which really caught our attention. Cheval Blanc was released at ￡2340/6, nearly 19% down on the 2022 sell price, and 8% below the benchmark 2019 price. With a potential 100pt score from William Kelley, and 96-98 from Neal Martin, this is a serious Cheval and unquestionably one of our wines of the vintage. It’s a fascinating foil to the overt, opulent 2022 and definitely a buy from?the?CV?camp.
Clos du Marquis
One of our key value picks in 2023 was released at a very healthy discount – 36% below the release of the 2022 and broadly in line with the 2019 release. We loved this wine and given it has such a proven track record of ageability, feel it represents a fabulous opportunity for an ‘entry point’ into this vintage – or indeed, En Primeur as a whole, if you are new to it. The quality of the Cabernet is far closer to its big brother Leoville Las Cases than one might expect, deep and penetrating with great finesse and purity. It also has serious longevity; a bottle of the 1985 enjoyed only a year or two back shows exactly what this wine has in the locker when well kept!
Other Recommended Releases
?Ausone
This is a tricky one by our own value metrics. It was released at ￡2640/6, 22% down on the 2022 release, flat on the 2019 release, but above the current market price for 2019, meaning it doesn’t tick all of our boxes.?However we did offer this, because the wine is just so, so good - it's one of a handful that we honestly think belongs to the 'top' vintages. The Cabernet Franc on limestone is the essence of 2023 in the Right Bank, although there are others to come which push the limestone buttons and will be notably cheaper. This won’t be the most astute financial decision of all time, but nobody who owns it will ever regret having it?in?the?cellar.
领英推荐
?Beychevelle
Also very much ‘getting the memo’, the 2023 is comfortably the cheapest Beychevelle on the market, with the 2021 next at ￡400/6, and that scored 91-93 from barrel (from Neal Martin) vs. 92-94 for the 2023. It also receives 93-94 from The Wine Advocate’s William Kelley and an impressive 94-96 from Neal’s stablemate Antonio Galloni. This is a wine with fairly linear price tracking, being particularly popular with the Asia market, so it tends to just go up with time – the 2013 is north of ￡550/6 and scores 86 from NM … this is an increasingly impressive wine which actually makes sense to buy En Primeur.
Ducru Beaucaillou
Another big-name release with a massive reduction; 34% down on the ‘22 release, putting it below the current ‘19 price. It’s the essence of salty, savoury Cabernet which characterises the vintage, with a little of that silkiness that has come to define the Bruno Borie era. For those who already own the 2019 and 2016, this is a must-have vintage - but let’s be clear, the 2019 is currently THE buy. If you don’t own that, then you should ... but if you do, you should give the 2023 serious thought.
?Léoville-Poyferre
A serious, top class Léoville-Poyferre was released at just ￡337 per 6. The 2023 achieves some equally serious ratings, with 95-97 from both Neal Martin and Antonio Galloni, and a massive 98 points from Jane Anson. With the release price coming under the 2019, and some 33% down on the 2022 price, with only notably lower-scoring vintages available for less, we really like this release. The 2014 is an outlier here (scores big and is very cheap in the market) but it’s from a slightly ‘post-modern’ era for Poyferre, and the wine is a little thick and polished in our view; the 2023 is more pure and nimble.
?Lynch Bages
At ￡420/6, this was released 34% down on the 2022 release and nicely below the 2019 vintage which trades closer to ￡460. In fact, it's essentially the cheapest case of Lynch Bages you can buy today - which, with solid 93-95pt scores from NM, WK and LPB, makes it a decent buy. Given the volume produced we wouldn't say it's a 'shoo-in' for EP purchase, but wouldn't argue with anyone who wanted to buy it now and own it from new - especially if magnums or larger?are?important to you.
Mouton Rothschild
In a proper ‘Cabernet on gravel’ vintage, you would expect Mouton to perform ... and it does. At ￡2034/6, a 35% reduction from the 2022, and below the current price of the 2019, this is the cheapest Mouton on the UK market – which after all is the target for En Primeur. With 98-100 from Jane Anson (who calls it “One of my clear wines of the vintage. Of any vintage.”), 96-99 from AG and 96-98 from NM, this is clearly an exceptional wine. There’s not much left, but if you can get it, you should.
CV Picks Awaiting Release
To enquire about any of our favourite en primeur picks so far, simply email [email protected] with a list of your choices, or contact your Private Client Specialist directly.