Agree to disagree? Bordeaux’s divisive 2023 vintage

The diversity of Bordeaux’s 2023 vintage is illustrated by the varied scores given to the wines by the major critics. db investigates.

The influx of scores marking the start of Bordeaux en primeur can be dizzying. Who to trust, if anyone at all? While Liv-ex summarised individual reviewers’ scores in their own articles, below is a more general look at the 2023 vintage, as seen by the critics.

First, it’s worth noting that few wines are contenders for perfect scores, and perhaps most tellingly, fewer still are the subject of broad consensus amongst critics.

Château Margaux is one wine that James Suckling, Peter Moser and Antonio Galloni all see the potential for perfection in, awarding it 99100 points, 100 points and 97-100 points respectively. It was also rated as the favourite 2023 wine by the trade. Le Pin was another favourite of Peter Moser’s and James Suckling’s, and William Kelley and James Suckling recognised Château Montrose as a contender for 100 points.

Neal Martin only ventured to grant a potential 100-point score to Château L’Eglise-Clinet, while Jane Anson chose Château Haut-Brion, Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Pontet-Canet. William Kelley has four potential 100-pointers in Château Cheval Blanc, Château La Conseillante, Château Lafleur and Montrose, while Antonio Galloni picked out Margaux and a Sauternes, Château Suduiraut.

Interestingly, when surveyed by Liv-ex, the trade rated Château Margaux as its favourite. This was followed by Château Cheval Blanc and Château Lafite Rothschild. This echoes the critics – with Margaux receiving three potential 100point scores, and the others gaining one each. As critics struggled to align on their vintage favourites, which wines proved to be the most divisive? The table (facing page, top) shows the wines with the biggest variance in their median scores*.

Partner Content

Champagne Tsarine to launch first zero dosage cuvée to mark 30th year

Christie’s reveals standout bottles in Iconic Wines from Joseph Lau Part IV

Monastrell: the ancient Spanish grape that was built to last

Masterclass proves the UK should look out for Lisboa

Château Cantemerle’s median scores were separated by 9.5 points, having received 93-94 points from James Suckling, but only 83-85 points from Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW.

It seems that 2023 whites were particularly divisive. Château Filhot was the wine that divided opinion the most: Neal Martin scored the wine in a range of 82-85 points, while Jane Anson gave it a high score of 94 points. Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux received 88-90 points from Neal Martin, but 96-97 points from James Suckling. Yohan Castaing awarded Château Cos d’Estournel Blanc 90-92 points, while James Suckling gave it 97-98 points.

Domaine de Chevalier Blanc was awarded 9798 points by James Suckling, compared to only 90 points from Rod Smith. Its red counterpart was also scored 97-98 points by James Suckling – and only 91 points by Rod Smith.

This is clearly not a homogenous vintage, and one in which even the “snow-capped peaks” (to borrow Neal Martin’s metaphor) were unable to unite the critics.

*This was calculated by taking the median point in every score collected from Vinous, Inside Bordeaux, The Wine Independent, The Wine Advocate, Falstaff, James Suckling, Tim Atkin, Jean-Marc Quarin and The Drinks Business. For each wine, the variation was then considered between its highest and lowest median scores.