The Fresh Face of 2023 Bordeaux, and Finding Clarity in Oregon Pinot Noir

Pessac-Leognan and the 2023 vintage in Bordeaux set the pace in our weekly tastings, with the strongest wines in a 520-wine lineup showing a consistent mix of ripe fruit, measured density and finishes defined more by freshness than weight. The best examples, particularly in the Pessac-Loognan corridor, combine compact mid-palates with a firm, classic sense of length, offering a useful contrast to the more opulent, power-driven style of 2022.

James and the team continue to think about how the 2023 vintage was such a hot growing season, just like 2022, but the wines came out fresh and less robust mostly due to some rain in August and September and a significantly larger grape crop in 2023. More to come on this when James completes his report on Bordeaux’s most recent vintage in the bottle.

At the top of the list is the first growth Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2023 (99 points), a wine that delivers intensity through precision rather than mass. It’s followed by a tightly clustered set of 98-point wines that capture the breadth of what Pessac-Leognan did well in 2023. The Château Haut-Bailly Pessac-Léognan 2023 shows poise and structure with a calm, persistent finish, while the Château Les Carmes-Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2023  brings a slightly more savory profile, emphasizing tension and definition. The Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Léognan 2023 combines ripe character with shape and restraint, reinforcing the theme of controlled density rather than overt richness.

The whites are a major part of the story. The Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan Blanc 2023 and Château La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan Blanc 2023 (both 98 points) show the vintage’s strength in clarity and drive, delivering depth while remaining firmly structured and lifted.

The Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan Blanc 2023 (98) adds another reference point for the appellation, underlining how consistently the top estates handled ripeness without letting the wines drift into softness. The next tier remains strong, with the Château Malartic-Lagravière Pessac-Léognan Blanc 2023 (97) and Château Latour-Martillac Pessac-Léognan Blanc 2023 (96) showing that 2023 delivered quality beyond the headline names.

On the red side just below the leaders, the Château La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2023 and Château Pape Clément Pessac-Léognan 2023 (both 97 points) reinforce the vintage’s profile, ripe fruit framed by a firm core and finishes that stay fresh and controlled. The Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan 2023 and Le Clarence de Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2023 (both 96 points) round out the cluster with wines that favor structure and proportion over volume, keeping the emphasis on line and persistence.

Away from Bordeaux, Oregon offered a small but telling counterpoint through pinot noir, with the Domaine Roy Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Dundee Hills Incline 2024  and Domaine Roy Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Yamhill-Carlton Quartz Acorn Vineyard 2024 (both 96 points) showing a confident, site-driven approach. Both wines lean toward clarity and control, with savory detail and fine tannins rather than overt sweetness or extraction. The estate, which is now owned by Tuscany’s Frescobaldi family, is definitely on the rise in quality.

It was also encouraging to see high-performing wines from Hungary, particularly from St. Andrea in Eger. The St. Andrea Egri Bikavér Grand Superior Nagy-Eged Dülö 2022 and St. Andrea Egri Bikavér Grand Superior Nagy-Eged-Hegy Agapé 2021 (both 96 points) underscore the winery’s ability to deliver density with freshness, combining ripe character with structure and an underlying sense of balance that carried through the finish.

Italy appeared through northern Piedmont, where the Nervi Gattinara 2022 (96) shows the appellation’s hallmark firmness and drive in a polished, measured style. With Nervi under the ownership of Roberto Conterno, the wine reads as a focused expression of nebbiolo in Gattinara, built on structure and clarity rather than size.

Beyond these highlights, the full report includes additional wines from the United States, France, Portugal and other parts of the world worth exploring across styles and categories.

– Contributions from James Suckling, Zekun Shuai, Jacobo García Andrade, Aldo Fiordelli, Courtney Humiston and Andrii Stetsiuk.

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by the JamesSuckling.com tasting team. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

Note: You can sort the wines below by country, vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.