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| | "With 2023, we returned to Bordeaux." Alexandre Thienpont of Le Pin & Vieux Château Certan |
| | | ▪ "Generally, the 2023s are relatively more tannic than we’ve become accustomed to, more linear and vertical, though endowed with greater fruit concentration than the 2021s. That appeals to my predilection. The best wines embrace these traits while maintaining sufficient fruit and grip, occasionally harking back to the kind of barrel samples encountered in the early days of my career, and I mean that in a good sense. One virtue that underlies the best wines is a brightness or what the French term éclat. It’s a kind of nascent energy that, in my experience, augurs a sample that will evolve into a great wine. This brightness derives from the fruit, acidity, fineness of tannins, and the more intangible concept of their personality, a combination of all .... The pinnacles of 2023 possess all these factors."
Neal Martin, Vinous
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| ▪ "The young wines, tasted from cask, reflect [a] paradox, possessing — at their best — the depth, density, and ripe tannin of a sunny vintage but also the vibrant, expressive aromas and flavors of a more traditionally 'Atlantic' season. The best 2023s are just as exciting as the best 2022s ... [and] the 2023s may be released at prices as interesting as any we have seen since 2019."
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
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| ▪ "So far, I have tasted more than 900 barrel samples of 2023 Bordeaux with my team over the last 10 days in the region, and the best reds show balance and freshness with deep center palates of ripe fruit and a complement of polished tannins. In many ways, I like them better than many of the highly touted 2022s because they are so Bordeaux in their nature with their tensioned mouthfeels and energetic finishes."
James Suckling
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| | ▪ "A breathtaking wine, the 2023 Palmer is sensational. Inky, rich and explosive, the 2023 is a real head-turner. Readers will find an extroverted, dense Palmer that is immediately captivating. Here, too, the balance is mind-blowing. Ample and resonant, the 2023 is striking in its beauty. Waves of layered fruit rush out first, building through to the back end with stunning aromatic intensity. There is no other wine like Palmer in Bordeaux. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of a great Pomerol, as heretical as that might sound.
If I could pick only one wine to own from the 2023 vintage, Palmer might very well be it."
98-100
Antonio Galloni, Vinous |
| | | | ▪ "This is dense and velvety with a creamy texture. Blackberry, blueberry and stone aromas and flavors. Layered. Very primary and focused. 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot."
95-96
James Suckling
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| ▪ "The 2023 Alter Ego is plump, juicy and super-expressive. Soft, silky tannins enshroud a core of plum, red cherry, spice, menthol and mocha. All the elements are so nicely balanced. A burst of red-toned fruit and spice lingers on a finish lifted by bright acids. This is such a sensual Alter Ego."
93-95
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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| | | | ▪ "Wow. This is really excellent, with superb finesse and focus. It has tight density that is almost diamond-like in its brilliance. Medium to full body, with a quality of tannin that is incredibly seamless. Like silk in texture. A top Pichon Lalande. From organic and biodynamically grown grapes. 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. May be better than 2022."
98-99
James Suckling
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| ▪ "The 2023 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a brilliant wine that will be worth a special effort to track down. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of wild berries and cassis mingled with licorice, lilac, iris root, violet, burning embers and pencil shavings, it's medium to full-bodied, seamless and complete, with a deep, layered core of cool fruit that largely conceals it's ultra-refined structuring tannins. At a very measured 13% alcohol and 3.67 pH, it unites all Pichon Comtesse's sensuality with unimpeachable Pauillac classicism."
97-99
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
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| | | | ▪ "This has so much lead pencil, stone and blackcurrant character, as well as blackberry. It’s medium-bodied with a solid core of fruit and a polished finish. Very classy and structured."
95-96
James Suckling
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| ▪ "Really fragrant on the nose; graphite and liquorice, dark blackcurrant and bramble fruit elements with highly-charged floral aromatics. Smells rich and ripe but clean also. Precise and finessed, this has a lovely energy straight away, great movement and motion from start to finish. Juicy and supple, crunchy, really lovely acidity, not too sharp or too tart with fine tannins that give such a lovely frame. Not dense at all - this is streamlined but is given some weight by the ripe fruit and some texture by the soft stoniness. Pretty and stylish and still packing some power - has a tiny air of opulence about it probably because they’ve used all four grapes with Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc adding complexity. It has a bit more warmth, and a touch of sweetness, than some others which are more straight. I like this a lot, still with freshness and cool undertones. Hints of cedar and spiced mint on the finish with some graphite and wet stone too."
95
Georgie Hindle, Decanter Magazine
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| | | | ▪ "The polish and intensity of this wine is beautiful for the vintage, with blackcurrant, lead pencil and light chocolate character. It’s medium- to full-bodied with well-integrated fruit and tannins, and a long finish. Velvet texture. Excellent potential. Fermented from selected yeast from the various parcels. 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 1.5% Petit Verdot, and 1.5% Cabernet Franc."
96-97
James Suckling
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| ▪ "Standout quality, delivering squid ink, cocoa bean, espresso, fresh cut herbs, sculpted and impressively confident, with frame and architecture while remaining succulent, and appealing. Will be ready to drink within four or five years of bottling but go for decades. Harvest began here on September 18, with the Cabernets coming in early October, finishing on the 11th (longest harvest on record, 18 days picking over one month). Native yeasts for fermentation after an extensive programme combining many wild yeasts from their vineyard, under the direction of the team Luc Peyronnet and Stéphane Rougé. An exciting estate right now, Philippe Van de Vyvere owner, Veronique Dausse director. Really one to look out for. If you follow my notes I hate saying this, but truly believe this is the best Phélan Ségur that I have tasted En Primeur. 55% new oak for ageing."
95
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
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| | | | | | ★ Please Note:
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▪ Certain quantities may prove limited
▪ All allocations are secured with longstanding négociants in Bordeaux
▪ Pre-arrival futures: ETA 2027
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▪ All wines are shipped to, and will be fulfilled from, our Orange County, California warehouse
▪ The purchaser is responsible for paying any applicable taxes or tariffs
▪ See Retail Terms & Conditions and Shipping FAQs |
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