Vinous – Antonio Galloni – 94-97/100
The 2023 Pontet-Canet is a powerful, impressively constituted wine. Dark, vibrant and sensual in the glass, the 2023 is somber and mysterious in bearing. Black plum, gravel, lavender, graphite and licorice all meld together in the glass. More than anything else, the 2023 is incredibly well put together. In this vintage, the wine was blended at the beginning of élevage rather than at the end, as was the custom in the past. This is a gorgeous and hugely promising Pontet-Canet. I especially admire its finely cut precision and soaring aromatics.

Vinous – Neil Martin – 91-93/100
The 2023 Olivier shows a little reduction on the nose, but just beyond that is decent fruit concentration—blackberry and blueberry fruit, with light violet scents that come through with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with sorbet-fresh black fruit laced with licorice. There is more body on the finish than expected. This is quite an intense Pessac-Léognan that deserves three to five years in bottle. Very promising.

Vinous – Neil Martin – 93-95/100
The 2023 Pape Clément is the first vintage fully employing crème de levures, using native yeasts in the vineyard to start the fermentation and improve balance, together with two native yeasts regularly employed since 2012 (to maintain some consistency). It was picked from September 5 to October 3 and matured in 60% new oak, including foudres. The 2023 is cut from a very different cloth compared to recent vintages. It’s much more classic in style, almost reserved, with tightly wound black fruit mixed with briar and light gravelly scents. The palate is medium-bodied with a light entry, just a pinch of spice and moderate depth. The silky, peppery, finish is more tertiary than you would expect to find on what was once quite a bombastic Pessac-Léognan. One sample had a soupçon of herbaceousness, whilst another at the château had none at all. Very fine. I like this new direction. though I would not regard this as a benchmark for future vintages. This will be interesting to revisit after bottling.

Vinous – Antonio Galloni – 95-97/100
The 2023 Pape Clément is one of the most exciting wines I have tasted here in a long time, maybe ever. Intensely aromatic and layered, the 2023 is simply stunning. Dried flowers, mint, licorice, mocha, cedar and tobacco soar out of the glass. The purity of the flavors is simply mind-blowing. Plum, pomegranate, blood orange and spice build in the glass, adding notable textural richness and resonance. This is the first vintage vinified with indigenous yeasts. Aging takes place in a combination of concrete tanks, ceramic eggs, Clayvers, 400-liter barrels and 225-liter barriques. For readers who want to taste the “new” Bordeaux, this is it. What a wine! Tasted four times.

Vinous – Antonio Galloni – 91-94/100
The 2023 Couhins is an elegant, silky wine. Crushed flowers, blood orange, spice and raspberry all are very nicely delineated. Couhins is racy and polished, but also a bit less expressive than other recent vintages. I admire its energy, but even so, the 2023 is clearly still coming together.

Vinous – Antonio Galloni – 91-93/100
The 2023 Carbonnieux is a very pretty, promising wine. The open-knit, floral bouquet is immediately alluring, Medium in body and gracious, but with plenty of depth, Carbonnieux is beautifully refined in 2023. I admire its balance and poise. Hints of spice, crushed flowers and tobacco lift a core of dark blue- and black-toned fruits.

Vinous – Neil Martin – 91-93/100
The 2023 L’Esprit de Chevalier is a really lovely second wine from Olivier Bernard and his team. Picked September 7 to 30, it has a refined yet focused bouquet with black cherries, wild strawberries, touches of camphor and Provençal herbs, all delivered with fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins on the entry, but it immediately segues into a surprisingly structured and grippy mid-palate. Quite bold for an Esprit, with a dash of white pepper on the finish, don’t be afraid to afford this a few months in the cellar.

Vinous – Neil Martin – 94-96/100
The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier was picked from September 7 to 30 and contains 13% alcohol. This is quintessential “DdC” on the nose: black fruit, sous-bois and hints of black olive at first, subtle marine notes emerging with time in the glass. There’s wonderful focus and delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with pencil-shaving-tinged black fruit on the entry. Perhaps a bit grippier with more spine than one would expect (especially following the more sensual 2022), this is very traditional in style, with a tremendously long and satisfying saline finish. Superb.

Vinous – Antonio Galloni – 93-95/100
Its vertical energy is compelling right out of the gate. Dark red-toned fruit, gravel, incense, licorice, spice, rose petal and tobacco build effortlessly in a deep, layered Pessac-Léognan that hits all the right notes. The blend is 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc and 7% Merlot, done with a touch of stem inclusion and aged in 92% French oak and 8% amphora. Superb. Tasted three times.

James Suckling – 98-99/100
This is a fantastic wine and very, very exciting, with purity and brightness to the floral, spicy and blackberry notes. It’s full and deep with agility and weightless. You feel the greatness in this. The winemaker says this is more
concentrated and structured than the 2022. Lightly salty. 60% whole-berry fermentation. 50% cabernet franc, 30% cabernet sauvignon and 20% merlot. From organically
grown grapes.

Vinous – Antonio Galloni – 94-96/100
The 2023 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is increasingly a wine of seamlessness. Whereas the various components were once easily discernible, today Carmes is most often a wine of total beauty. The 2023 is a bit shy, especially in its aromatics. In other words, a pretty big departure from so many other recent vintages that have been far showier at this stage. Technical Director Guillaume Pouthier explains that he plans to give the 2023 longer aging, around 24-26 months, so he approached vinification and the early part of aging in a more reductive style than in the past. As always, Les Carmes is marked by its strong presence of Cabernet Franc and use of whole clusters, but as mentioned above, those signatures are less immediately evident than they once were. Les Carmes has been one of Bordeaux’s stars over the last few years. I can’t wait to see how the 2023 turns out.

Vinous – Neil Martin – 94-96/100
The 2023 Les Carmes Haut-Brion was picked September 11 to 25 with 60% whole bunch and more Cabernet Franc than usual. Aging was 70% in new barrels, 20% in 18-hectoliter foudres and 10% in amphorae. This offers plenty of dark berry fruit mixed with cedar and pinecones on the nose, very well defined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, and the acidity is very well-judged. Just a soupçon of white pepper appears toward the finish. This is a much more succinct Les Carmes than the 2022, but it’s extremely harmonious and characterful.

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Vinous – Antonio Galloni – 90-92/100
The 2023 La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion is a potent yet accessible second wine. Soft contours add to its considerable appeal. Crushed flowers, spice and sweet pipe tobacco lift a core of red-toned fruit in this racy, sensual Chapelle. Attractive floral and cinnamon notes linger. The 2023 is all charm—I expect it will drink well with minimal cellaring.

Vinous – Antonio Galloni – 92-95/100
The 2023 La Mission Haut-Brion is a dense, powerful wine. Firm tannins give the 2023 a feeling of sternness—a sense of classical austerity that is beguiling. This is the second-most tannic vintage for La Mission, only surpassed by 2010, so readers should plan on being patient. It will be interesting to see what élevage brings. At this stage, the 2023 is quite the bruiser. Hints of mocha, spice, new leather, crushed flowers and red-toned fruit linger.

Vinous – Neil Martin – 93-95/100
The 2023 La Mission Haut-Brion was picked between September 5 until October 5, a relatively long picking, at 50hL/ha. It has a wonderful bouquet with brightness and verve: very well-defined red and black fruit, a little floral in style, maybe not as rambunctious as recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins. A perfect line of acidity counterbalances the creamy texture, turning quite plush toward the finish, but it is amazingly well-focused. This is a generous La Mission Haut-Brion that will probably drink earlier than say, the 2022, as winemaker Jean-Philippe Delmas agreed. It’s very fine and very delicious, but I would not place it within the canon of top vintages.

James Suckling – 98-99/100
This is tight, yet so upright and proper, with a vertical line of fine tannin that runs true and deep. It’s medium- to fullbodied with an exquisite texture and a long, structured finish. 52.3% merlot, 38.6% cabernet sauvignon and 9.1%
cabernet franc.

Vinous – Antonio Galloni – 95-97/100
The 2023 Haut-Brion is superb. Silky, soft tannins enshroud a core of black fruit, gravel, chocolate, cloves and licorice, building into a potent, sumptuous, dazzling wine. Exotic and racy, with remarkable polish, this has a ton of potential. It’s an especially sensual, seamless Haut-Brion. All the 2023 needs is time—probably quite a bit of it, especially for readers who want a full-on Haut-Brion experience.

Vinous – Neil Martin – 96-98/100
The 2023 Haut-Brion was picked at the same time as the La Mission Haut-Brion, albeit the secateurs sheathed one day later, on October 6. The nose is less immediate than the La Mission and the fruit is a little darker: blackcurrant, juniper, hints of black olive and a light cedar scent. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grip and tension. This has superb energy, presenting a crescendo of flavors toward a complex and persistent finish that lingers in the mouth. There is real pedigree to this First Growth, and it will certainly give 30 to 40 years of drinking pleasure.

Vinous – Antonio Galloni – 91-93/100
The 2023 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion is a heady wine. Here, the tannins are especially polished, almost uncharacteristically so, even through they are very much present. Black cherry, plum, chocolate, spice, new leather and gravel build effortlessly in the glass. Bright acids punctuate the finish. The 2023 is a showy Clarence with tons of character.

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – 91-93+/100
The 2022 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion, the second wine of Château Haut-Brion, is elaborated from a blend of 61.2% Merlot, 21.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% Cabernet Franc and 1.5% Petit Verdot. It reveals a bright, fruity bouquet with aromas of dark berries, plums, tobacco, graphite and spices. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, layered and seamless, textural and fleshy with structuring tannins and a fresh, tense finish. It is a very nice way to introduce the great wine of Haut-Brion.

Vinous – Antonio Galloni – 92-95/100
The 2023 Le Petit Smith Haut Lafitte is another stellar wine from the
team at Smith Haut Lafitte. It screams with Cabernet Sauvignon
character. Inky dark fruit, blackberry, gravel, pencil shavings, crushed
rocks, lavender and sage saturate the palate. The tannins will need
time to soften. Small berries and thick skins yielded an especially
serious Petit Smith Haut Lafitte that is quite impressive.

Vinous – Neil Martin – 91-93/100
The 2023 Le Petit Smith Haut Lafitte has a more floral bouquet than
the Les Hauts de Smith: violet-tinged black fruit, cedar and light
crushed stone aromas. The palate is medium-bodied and the 30% new
oak is neatly integrated. There’s fine grip with just the right amount of
bitterness on the finish to lend edge. Recommended.

Vinous – Antonio Galloni – 95-97/100
The 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte is a powerhouse. In recent years, the
Grand Vin has shifted toward a bit more nuance than in the past, but in
2023, small yields and thick skins yielded a somber, explosive Grand
Vin. It will need many years to be at its most expressive. Blackberry,
gravel, licorice, spice, plum and chocolate are some of the many notes
that emerge from the glass. Readers will find a wine of real substance
and textural intensity, framed by vibrant acids. A touch of air works
wonders here.

Vinous – Neil Martin – 94-96/100
The 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte comes with a label celebrating the visit of
King Charles III that year, though I presume it was not his advice to
include more Cabernet Sauvignon (70%). It was cropped at 26hL/ha.
Matured in 60% new oak, it has a lovely bouquet with blackberry, wild
strawberry, crushed violet and light oyster shell scents. The palate is
medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, gentle grip, fine depth and a
sapid, classically lined finish. One of the more structured Smith Haut
Lafittes in recent years, it deserves four or five years in bottle.
Excellent.