Best Pauillac 2023 wines tasted en primeur

All Bordeaux 2023 coverage:

Verdict & top-scoring wines | How the weather conditions shaped the vintage | Decoding the yields | Wine styles: what to expect

Appellation analysis

St-Estèphe | St-Julien | Margaux | Pessac-Léognan | St-Emilion | Pomerol | Haut-Médoc | Dry whites | Top value | Sauternes & Barsac

Pauillac: The best wines showed an extra level of rare opulence

Average yield: 47.1hl/ha

Variance from 2022: +36%

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Pauillac en primeur 2023 wines

Vintage overview

The very first tasting we did for the en primeurs this year was at Château Duhart Milon with Saskia Rothschild, CEO of Domaines Barons de Rothschild and winemaking director Eric Kohler, where we also tasted the Château Lafite Rothschild stable of wines.

In addition to recounting the challenges of mildew in June, Kohler explained that the heat waves in late August and early September proved beneficial to concentrating the grapes, without which the wines ‘would have been too light’.

This proves a fascinating contrast with Château Margaux, further south, where the heat waves led to some sunburnt grapes that needed to be sorted out from the harvest.

Another key factor for Pauillac proved to be harvest times regarding rainfall on 21 September. Estates that picked their Cabernets before the rain risked having somewhat harder tannins, but the rule was not hard and fast as Lafite Rothschild picked ripe Cabernets between 18-20 September and crafted one of the very best wines of the vintage.

But Château Mouton Rothschild had an even stronger showing. Only one-third of the harvest had been picked by 23 September, and the barrel sample exhibited a more sumptuous profile for the vintage, despite a blend with one of the highest ever percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon at 93% Cabernet Sauvignon.

There wasn’t so much of a missing ‘Merlot richness’ as at other estates, given a rather gentle tannic frame, but the wine exhibited concentration and tannin – the IPT being about 75 – with cool blueberry, graphite, ripe cassis and much depth.

Overall, Pauillac has a wide variety of styles, including a forebodingly powerful Château Lynch Bages, which showcased a whopping 95 IPT of tannin. One finds more balanced, linear efforts in a precision-focused Château Latour and a structured yet suave Château Pichon Baron.

The best estates however had an extra level of opulence that was rather rare in 2023, and they include Mouton Rothschild but also a wonderful Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, blending 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc.

Even though one almost wants a bit more Merlot richness, the wine exhibits classy lead pencil and crushed mint with subtle dark chocolate, long on the finish, elegant and with mid-palate grip and juiciness. The good news is that mid-range classified brands succeeded too, including fine performances from Château Batailley, Château Clerc-Milon, Château Duhart Milon, Château Haut-Bages Libéral and Château Pedesclaux, for example.

As in other parts of Bordeaux, sorting and more sorting proved essential. Helène Genin, technical director at Château Latour, explained how the estate used a triple-row sorting table for the first time ever to remove lesser grapes with the utmost care, whether mildew affected, sunburnt or underripe.

See the top-scoring Pauillac en primeur 2023 wines

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