En Primeur 2023

The 2023 La Clarté de Haut-Brion is the second white wine from La Mission and Haut-Brion. It offers terrific cut and focus. Citrus peel, white flowers, mint, crushed rocks, white pepper and a touch of reduction lend notable energy to this airy, sculpted dry white. Time in the glass reveals its lovely mid-palate texture, rounding things out. The 2023 is a fine Clarté.

Score: 90 - 92 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2025-2033

Effortless, well balanced, white peach, juicy pear, delicious, sculpted and extremely easy to love. 3.2ph, 40% new oak. A test with shade cloths to provide cover for the berries on a small part of the white vineyard is underway, as the team under Jean-Philippe Delmas reacts to the changing conditions.

Score: 93 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2025-2035

The 2023 Clerc Milon is a packed with blackberry, grilled herbs, leather, incense, gravel and cloves. A dark, brooding powerhouse, the 2023 will need a few years to settle down. Today, its imposing, tannic personality is very much front and center.

Score: 91 - 93 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2028-2043

Revealing aromas of red berries, cherries and blackcurrants mingled with hints of pencil shavings and new oak, the 2023 Clerc Milon is medium to full-bodied, deep and fleshy, with a layered core of fruit, sweet velvety tannins and a seamless, succulent profile. It's a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6.5% Cabernet Franc and the balance Carmenère and Petit Verdot.

Score: 92 - 94 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The 2023 Clerc Milon was picked from September 7 to 29 and is matured in 55% new oak. It has much more fruit concentration on the nose than the Pastorelle—quite precocious, with blackberry and cassis fruit. It's floral and more flamboyant than the d'Armailhac. The palate is very well balanced with a slightly creamy texture and a lovely mouthfeel. Its concentration is neatly counterbalanced by the acidity, and it feels very harmonious and long on the finish. Superb. If Mouton-Rothschild is beyond your budget—yes, I am familiar with that feeling—then this is where you should look.

Score: 92 - 94 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2028-2050

The 2023 Clinet is powerful and racy right out of the gate. Crushed flowers, spice, mocha and a kiss of French oak meld into a core of dark red- and black-toned fruit. This modern, stylish Pomerol is so expressive. Hints of graphite, lavender, crushed rocks and pencil shavings linger on the substantial finish. Tasted two times.

Score: 94 - 96 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2030-2048

Rich and layered, the 2023 Clinet wafts from the glass with aromas of dark berries, spices and licorice, framed by creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and complete, with a rich chassis of powdery tannin underpinning its sweet core of fruit, it concludes with a broad, vanillin-inflected finish. As is routinely the case at this address, it's a successfully rendered Pomerol in a more modern style.

Score: 94 - 95 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The 2023 Clinet was picked from September 13 to 26 at 42hL/ha and aged in 80% new oak. It has a very appealing bouquet, quite pure with vivacious red cherries, crushed strawberry and violet scents. The oak is neatly integrated. This is almost Saint-Émilion in style. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins and a fine bead of acidity, lightly spiced with a crisp and linear finish. This is a delightful, composed Clinet that should drink well after four to five years.

Score: 93 - 95 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2027-2047

The 2023 Clos du Marquis might very well be the best Clos du Marquis I have ever tasted. A wine of freshness and verve, the 2023 is all nuance. Sweet red plum, blood orange, spice, flowers, mint and white pepper are all finely cut. The 2023 shows more vibrancy, less oak extraction and more refined tannins than in the past. It’s a glorious wine in every way. This early tasting is hugely promising. Clos du Marquis could turn out to be one of the real surprises of 2023.

Score: 93 - 95 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2028-2043

The 2023 Clos du Marquis is a rather serious, structured wine, evocative of cherries, dark berries and kirsch, framed by a touch of creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied and fleshy but structured, it's a taut, concentrated wine that will reward some patience.

Score: 91 - 93 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The 2023 Clos du Marquis was picked from September 6 to October 5 at 44hL/ha and matured in 50% new oak. It has a complex bouquet, comprising a mélange of red and black fruit, cedar and subtle touches of violet—very charming. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grip. It’s a little creamy in texture on the entry, but there is solid backbone and a saline finish. This is very promising.

Score: 91 - 93 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2029-2050

The 2023 Clos Fourtet is pure class. Elegant and soaring, the 2023 offers up an exciting mélange of dark-toned fruit, leather, incense, dried herbs, pencil shavings and crushed rocks. Beams of supporting limestone-infused tannin and acid give Clos Fourtet is super-distinctive feel. The long, enduring finish is a thing of beauty. Clos Fourtet remains a benchmark example of wines from Saint-Émilion's famed limestone plateau. Tasted two times.

Score: 94 - 96 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2030-2063

The 2023 Clos Fourtet is especially suave and refined this year, wafting from the glass with deep aromas of red berries, licorice, violets and pencil shavings, framed by a nicely integrated patina of new oak. Medium to full-bodied, supple and layered, with a velvety attack that segues into a bright, precise mid-palate, it's pure and lively, concluding with a mineral finish.

Score: 94 - 96 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The 2023 Clos Fourtet was picked from September 14 to October 3 and aged in 40% new oak. The nose is very attractive and quite sensual in style with red cherries, crushed strawberries and incense. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, fresh, focused, pure and quite linear on the finish. This is much more classically styled than the 2022, and it conveys tenderness and persistence. Superb.

Score: 92 - 94 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2027-2047