travel | Lewin on Wine

The 2023 vintage is widely described as ‘classic,’ which has become a euphemism in Bordeaux for ‘not overblown.’ This is really not a fair description. If classic means vintages of the era before global warming, say the 70s, then the mark of left bank Bordeaux would be herbaceous notes of Cabernet Sauvignon, and the mark of the right bank might be a slightly vegetal note if Merlot did not achieve full ripeness. Neither description would be at all fair to the wines as revealed by the annual UGBC tasting of the latest vintage upon release. Usually the UGCB tasting has around 120 chateaux, but this year was reduced to under 100, whether because of perceptions that the vintage will be a hard sell or because of other economic factors, so it’s not quite so representative.

After adjusting to the fruit-forward style of recent hot vintages, it can be difficult to recalibrate. The general style is restrained compared with the exuberance of some recent hot vintages. Alcohol levels have backed off from the excesses of some recent vintages. (Some people define a classic vintage in Bordeaux as having less than 13.5% alcohol on the left bank and less than 14.5% on the right bank: in that case, a ‘modern’ Bordeaux cannot have much resemblance to wines of the era before climate change, but that’s another story for another day.) The best wines in 2023 are smooth and elegant. Some are virtually ready to drink on release, some may need a year or so, but there are very few that will benefit from long aging. “Classic’ shows itself more as a lack of real concentration rather than any reversion to herbaceousness. It’s a very nice vintage to enjoy for lunch in restaurants.

Pessac-Léognan reds are quite consistent, showing a smooth elegance that’s been missing from some recent vintages. The best reds at the UGCB were Domaine de Chevalier (a slightly muted version of its usual crystalline brilliance), Larrivet Haut Brion (smooth elegance with a classic touch of cigar box), Smith Haut Lafitte (with the move to a more ‘international’ style toned down but showing slightly on its chocolaty finish) and Carbonnieux (getting away from the brutal extraction of some recent hot vintages). Tannins are really mastered in the top wines, but at a lower level, the wines show a more angular character that may come to the fore and restrict enjoyment to the mid term. The whites are lighter in style than usual, for drinking over the next 4 years or so, with Domaine de Chevalier maintaining its crystalline structure, Larrivet Haut Brion already ready but complex, and Smith Haut Lafitte showing a clean, pure style with a savory tang at the end.

Margaux is the least successful appellation in the Médoc. It’s relatively uniform, with most chateaux showing relatively light black fruits followed by a touch of tart acidity on the finish with hints of dryness from the structure. The wines are tight at the present, with a sense of asperity. It’s unclear if and when the fruits will come forward. Margaux certainly does not show a very generous style in 2023. Prieuré-Lichine stands out for a smoother, rounder balance than most. Rauzan-Ségla has beautifully delineated black fruits, giving a sense of precision, and is very approachable.

St. Julien shows a range from light and tight like Margaux to wines for which classic would be a fair description, in the sense that they show a more savory sense of balance. Beychevelle, Branaire Ducru, and St Pierre (which outclasses Gloria in this vintage) come over as virtually ready to start. This is not a vintage that shows off the forward international style, and both Lagrange and Léoville Poyferré have reverted to a more classic style with some overt evidence of structure. Talbot shows a clean, pure style that really speaks for St. Julien. Léoville Barton almost achieves its usual elegance, but still is a bit angular.

Pauillac is probably the most even and successful appellation in the Médoc, with a sense of smoothness, and is relatively full bodied for the vintage, if almost always stopping short of the usual plushness. There are few disappointments. D’Armailhac is one of the most refined (outshining Clerc Milon), and Duhart Milon shadows the style of Lafite, and is a standout for the vintage. Grand Puy Lacoste achieves its usual elegance, Lynch Bages achieves its usual smoothness, both in a lighter style. Pichon Baron and Pichon Lalande are both smooth and elegant.

Reduced numbers meant there weren’t really enough chateaux from St Estèphe to judge the appellation, but a certain hardness seems to come out in the wines.

St. Emilion is quite even, in spite of considerable problems with Merlot throughout the vintage, The wines are far from the caricature of forceful overblown forward fruits driven by high-alcohol Merlot. If there is not really a direct impression of Cabernet Franc, there is certainly an impression of greater restraint. The corollary is that the wines are (at least at this stage) a little monotonic in flavor spectrum. They should be nice restaurant wines over the next decade as they develop more flavor variety, although none is likely to achieve great longevity or complexity. The standout for its elegance is Valandraud, a far cry from its origins as a fruit-driven garage wine. Chateau Canon has made a very approachable wine. Canon La Gaffelière is very fine, with high Cabernet Franc making for a sense of precision, true to the usual sense of refinement of the chateau. Beauséjour-Bécot is smooth but nicely structured, and virtually ready now.

Reduced numbers made Pomerol hard to judge, but the wines are definitely much more restrained than has been usual in recent vintages. Some show a textured impression, perhaps because of lower fruit density, that seems a little rustic. On the limited showing at the UGCB, Pomerol was less successful than St. Emilion. One of the best is Chateau Beauregard, which shows a nicely restrained smooth style.

Sauternes and Barsac generally show mid-level botrytis, but two wines that stood out were Bastor-Lamontagne (unusually botrytic for the vintage) and Suduiraut (complex and varied on the palate with a relatively subtle impression).

2023 is an example of the progress made in viticulture and vinification. In the previous era, much of the crop, especially Merlot, would have been lost to mildew. Tannins would probably have been astringent. A relative success with Cabernet Franc explains why St. Emilion performed better than Pomerol. The left bank is less regular than the right bank.A lot depended on harvest date, as September started out rainy, and better wines were made by those who had the nerve to wait. At the end of the day, this may become a lovely vintage to drink in the relatively short term, but I view it as more in the modern style than ‘classic.’

Bordeaux was in terrible shape at the end of the Second World War. It had been occupied by the Germans, and cellars were destroyed or looted. Vineyards were in poor condition: the women had done their best to maintain them and harvest grapes during the war. But the summer of 1945 was glorious and harvest occurred in close to perfect conditions. A frost early in May had reduced yields and increased concentration. The wines proved to be the best vintage of the twentieth century. Its only rival might be 1961. It’s generally agreed that the Médoc was the star of both vintages. The rivals for the best wine of the century divide between Mouton Rothschild 1945 and Latour 1961.

At a retrospective in New York to celebrate the 80^th anniversary, the vibrancy of the wines was still evident. Opening with Trotanoy, the wine still seemed fresh with lively fruits, well rounded, and just a touch of the tertiary character of old Merlot. It did not fade at all in the glass, even over an hour. Its elegance might be viewed as a contrast with the sheer power of today’s Pomerols.

The Berry Bros bottling of Cheval Blanc followed. It’s well known that Cheval had problems with over-heating in the vats in 1945, with ice thrown in to cool some, and volatile acidity sometimes developing. There was no trace of either problem with this bottle. Indeed, this is one of the rare instances in which I have usually found the Berry Bros bottling to be superior to the chateau bottling. The flavor spectrum of Cabernet Franc was marked, with that dry sense of tobacco dominating the finish. The wine held up well immediately after opening, but faded a bit after half an hour as the dryness of the finish took over.

*The Berry Bros bottling of Cheval Blanc 1945*

The next two flights were comparisons. Lafite Rothschild has been ethereal, with fragrant fruits floating in the atmosphere, but has begun to fade in the past couple of years. Although usually sturdier in most vintages, its neighbor Cos d’Estournel has sometimes shown something of the same fragrant elegance. On this occasion, the Cos started out if anything more fragrant and elegant than the Lafite, but first growth character showed as the wines developed in the glass and Cos developed an edge while Lafite floated along.

A similar development ensued with a comparison of Palmer and Chateau Margaux. Chateau Palmer started out with a touch more generosity, with rounder fruits, while Margaux seemed a little tight. Then as Palmer lost its sense of forward fruits, the structure of the Margaux loosened up and it become more elegant than the Palmer. The difference was a brilliant demonstration of the characters of their blends, heavily Cabernet Sauvignon for Margaux, more Merlot in Palmer.

Even after eighty years, Chateau Latour showed the power of Pauillac. Fruits are still relatively dense. Black fruit character and the pulling power of Cabernet Sauvignon remain evident. Some people preferred the Latour to the Mouton Rothschild, but I thought the Mouton pulled ahead for slightly livelier fruits, greater aromatics, and sense of freshness. It really is a timeless wine, or at least as timeless as wine can get.

*The famous V for victory label of Mouton and a rather tattered label for Latour*

We finished with Chateau d’Yquem, so dark it seemed almost black. All Sauternes become darker with age, of course, but they say at Yquem that the 1945 is one of the darkest of the vintages of the century, having taken leaps into greater darkness every decade. It was even more intense than I remember it from my previous tasting, twenty years ago. The balance of sweetness to acidity is fantastic, with a palate that’s mature but not old, and a huge range of flavors.

I suppose it’s undeniable that these wines are no longer at their peak, which in most cases may have been several decades ago, but they are a living demonstration of the greatness of old Bordeaux.

Detailed Tasting Notes

Trotanoy

Pungent notes of old Merlot show through sweet ripe fruits, still in balance with acidity. Not at all tired although tannins are resolved. Keeps going in the glass and does not tire at all.

Cheval Blanc

Strongly dominated by mature Cabernet Franc with notes of tobacco and tea on the finish. Quite dry at the end. Feels more like the seventies than the forties in terms of age. Fading a little in the glass as fruits begin to dry out. A faint touch of tannin at the end becomes bitter as the fruits fade.

Cos d’Estournel

Just a little less weighty than the Lafite, but a very similar impression of elegance. Sweetens in the glass after opening, and then becomes a little bitter as it develops, losing elegance compared to the Lafite.

Lafite Rothschild

Not as fragrant or aromatically uplifted as previous bottles. A little sturdier than Cos when it opened, with a touch of bitterness at the end. But lightens up in the glass, developing that infinitely fragrant elegance.

Margaux

Very refined, greater sense of precision in its black fruits than Palmer, very much Cabernet Sauvignon in fine structure and texture. Great finesse Fruits begin to dry out very slowly in the glass.

Palmer

At first the Merlot carries this forward with a sense of generosity. A little fleshier than Chateau Margaux to begin with, but becomes a touch bitter as fruits fade in the glass.

Latour

Ripe and generous and quite nutty on the finish. A touch of bitterness as wine develops in glass. Certainly full bodied, you can definitely see the power of Pauillac and Latour, but it’s lost the sheer gloss, the plushness, that it showed when younger.

Mouton Rothschild

A little nutty, a little more elegant than Latour. Something of the same sense of those fragrant layers of flavor, that ethereal character, of the Lafite, but weightier. There is now a little bitterness on the finish.

Chateau d’Yquem

Rich, unctuous, figgy, very intense, very viscous. Notes of caramel. Sweet but not overwhelming. Very much its own wine, its own style. Vastly more complex than a modern Sauternes.

Lewin on Wine

Wine, Food, and Experiences

Tag Archives: travel

Bordeaux 2023 Is Not Really a Classic Vintage

A Retrospective of 1945 Bordeaux