bordeaux 2023
Credit: Luke Carver
(Image credit: Luke Carver)

St-Émilion’s Château Beau-Séjour Bécot and Margaux-based Château Lascombes released their 2023 wines this morning (7 June) after achieving high scores relative to previous vintages.

Pomerol-based Clinet 2023 was also released this morning, and all three estates continued this year’s theme of dropping prices versus last year’s campaign for the 2022 vintage (see more analysis below).

Friday’s releases follow the launch of first growth Château Margaux yesterday (6 June). Before that, the market saw the release of châteaux Canon, Rauzan-Ségla and Les Carmes Haut-Brion yesterday, Pavie, Pichon Baron and L’Eglise Clinet on Tuesday, and Pichon Comtesse and Palmer at the beginning of the week.

See Decanter’s full verdict on the Bordeaux 2023 vintage, ratings and tasting notes for all the top-scoring wines

Beau-Séjour Bécot 2023

‘A brilliant wine from this estate in 2023,’ wrote Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent, Georgie Hindle, after tasting it en primeur. She gave Beau-Séjour Bécot 2023 a rating of 97-points, putting it among the higher-ranked wines of the vintage.

‘This has a touch of tension, with mouthwatering acidity, as well as some subtle fleshiness that really expands towards the finish,’ she said. ‘This will grow into a beauty. Tannins are flawless, there’s density but no heaviness.’

UK merchant Farr Vintners said a UK offer price of £516 (12x75cl IB) seemed fair given the strong critical praise for the wine.

Liv-ex said the UK release price was down 27% versus the launch of Beau-Séjour Bécot 2022, which was rated 96-points en primeur by Hindle.  

However, Liv-ex data also suggested the 2023 wine was one of the most expensive recent vintages available on the market. It said the well-regarded 2019 vintage was around 7% cheaper. 

The new release, though, is the first wine made in Beau-Séjour Bécot’s new cellar, as analyst and consultancy group Wine Lister noted.

UK merchant Lay & Wheeler said in a note to customers that the new release has ‘arguably one of the best points to price ratios in the campaign’. 

It said the estate has ‘dramatically changed direction’ since third-generation Juliette Bécot and Julien Barthe took charge in 2014, adding highly regarded consultant Thomas Duclos also works with the property.

Lascombes 2023 

Château Lascombes is a Margaux-appellation second growth to watch after it was acquired in 2022 by Lawrence Wine Estates, owner of several prestigious wineries in Napa Valley. 

Last year saw the arrival of Axel Heinz as CEO. He was previously the long-standing director at prominent Super Tuscans Ornellaia and Masseto.

’An impressive debut vintage,’ wrote Hindle, in reference to Heinz’s new role, and giving Lascombes 2023 94-points – slightly higher than her 2022-vintage en primeur rating of 93pts.

‘Very finessed and characterful, I love the elegance but this isn’t lacking in fruit, acidity, tannins or Margaux polish,’ she said of the new vintage. ‘Clearly youthful but this has so much potential.’

UK merchants offered Lascombes 2023 at £595 (12x75cl IB).

Liv-ex said: ‘Given the impressive critical response, today’s release may be of interest to buyers. The 2023 remains, however, one of the more expensive vintages currently available on the market.’ 

Wine Lister added: ‘The 2023 enters the market above [prices of] all recent vintages apart from the 2022 and 2015. In the light of its repositioning under Lawrence Wine Estates and Axel Heinz, as the highest-scoring Lascombes ever made, this is arguably justifiable.’

Clinet 2023

Panos Kakaviatos tasted Pomerol-based Clinet 2023 for Decanter this year and gave it a score of 93-points. ‘[A] conservative score, as we await the final result after the barrel ageing,’ he wrote. He said he enjoyed the freshness, tension and long finish, although the wine ‘shows rather firm tannins with some drying extraction’.

Clinet 2023 was offered in the UK at around £690 (12x75cl IB).

Liv-ex said that appeared to represent ‘fair value’ versus back-vintages on the market, but it added the 2020 vintage – available at a slight premium – was an option for buyers unable to secure an allocation of the new release. Decanter rated Clinet 2020 at 95-points in-bottle.

Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.