Primeurs 2023

2023 is a real source of satisfaction: at last, a generous harvest that is also excellent! In the end, this is the prerogative of great vintages. Saint-Estèphe was left relatively unscathed by the rather chaotic weather conditions. The strategy for fixing the picking date proved decisive this year. In early September, we thinned out the leaves on our late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon so that it could reach optimum phenolic ripeness. We didn’t start picking the Merlot until 18 September. We took a break after bringing in the Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, and waited to pick the last of the Cabernet Sauvignon in mid-October in glorious sunshine. 2023 was the longest-lasting harvest in the estate’s history. Since 2020, we have been using our indigenous yeasts of the year from each plot, allowing us to express our different terroirs as directly and purely as possible. The result is an extremely rich palette that has enabled us to create a blend that I consider to be a great contemporary classic for the estate.

What a delight to be back to a generous vintage and one of great quality!

We had to deal with chaotic conditions throughout the year, even though the weather was kinder to us in Saint-Estèphe. We had to make strategic decisions in this war of nerves to reach optimum ripeness: leaf removal on our great Cabernet Sauvignon vines and a late start to the harvest, which was the longest in the estate’s history. Fermentation with our indigenous yeasts of the year from each plot has given the purest, most direct expression of our terroirs. This immensely rich palette has produced a blend that I would describe as a « great contemporary classic ».

In this 2023 vintage, I find everything that drives my love for the great wines of the left bank: balance, the nobility of the ripe tannins of great Cabernet Sauvignon, freshness, refinement, and all this underpinned by remarkable energy!

Philippe Van de Vyvere

Read the highlights of the vintage

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