Challenges and triumphs: the 2023 vintage in Bordeaux

The Bordeaux wine region has long been revered for its exceptional wines, shaped by a delicate dance between nature and human skill. However, the 2023 vintage was proof of the resilience and adaptability of winegrowers in the face of difficult weather conditions. From the relentless weather conditions to the current activity in the vineyards in November, this year has been a rollercoaster ride for Bordeaux winemakers.

One of the most important events that shaped the 2023 vintage was the unpredictable weather. Unpredictability prevailed: early warmth was followed by atypical cold spells, accompanied by sporadic and often intense rainfall. There were several periods of frost during the budding period, a danger that sent shivers down the spines of the winegrowers. Spring frosts, especially after the first budding, can be devastating for the sensitive vines and affect the yield and possibly also the quality of the grapes.

The summer months brought with them a number of challenges. Unusual heat waves and prolonged drought put the vineyards under additional stress. A lack of water can affect the quality and yield of the grapes, which can lead to smaller berries and an imbalance between sugar and acid content. But the winegrowers in Bordeaux have always been resilient and have used their expertise to adapt to these adversities.

There has been much speculation and hope about the quality of the 2023 harvest in the Bordeaux region. Despite the stormy weather conditions, we are cautiously optimistic about the overall quality of our harvest. Initial tastings and assessments suggest that the grapes that have weathered the storms, while yielding less, show promising complexity, concentration and a balance of sugar and acidity – a possible testament to the craftsmanship and expertise  - a vintage that could surprise with its quality and character.

Suckling, the first major critic to publish his views on Bordeaux 2023 vintage, is ebullient about the quality of the vintage. "In many ways, I like them better than many of the highly touted 2022s", he begins, "because they are so Bordeaux in their nature with their tensioned mouthfeels and energetic finishes. Many 2022s are very powerful and rich, highlighting the extremely hot and dry grape-growing conditions of the vintage. Some are almost international in their essence."

According to Suckling several senior chateau prefer 2023 to the widely celebrated 2022s, including L'Eglise Clinet's Noemie Durantou Reilhac, whilst Pierre-Oliver Clouet sees 2023 as "much more Cheval Blanc".

Like Jane Anson, he also notes that this is a heterogeneous vintage that favours "top terroirs and top winemakers", where you can find "terrific-quality wines, but they are different than 2022. I would compare these 2023s to 2019 or 2001 – even 1990 – for their freshness and balance of ripe fruit."

Suckling's top scoring wines include Canon (99-100), Le Pin (99-100) & Pavie (99-100), whilst value picks include Haut-Brisson (95-96) and de Ferrand (94-95).

The Bourgogne 2023 vintage: Surpassing all expectations! 

It's been some time since Bourgogne enjoyed two consecutive years with above-average volumes. 2023, coming hot on the heels of 2022, has put a smile on the faces of winegrowers and wine merchants: the cellars are (almost) full again, and the quality is there every time.
That's the other great thing about this vintage - despite unstable weather conditions over the summer, the end result is stunning. The Chardonnay, Aligoté and Sauvignon grapes reached full maturity in perfect condition, while retaining enough freshness to live up to the reputation of Bourgogne white wines. And Pinot Noir proved, once again, that it is king of the grape varieties. After a rigorous sorting process, facilitated by high yields, some very fine juices were extracted, with a great variety of aromas.

The result is expressive, fruity wines with beautiful aromatic profiles, for both white and red. There's something for all tastes, as this vintage offers a range of profiles linked to the choice of harvest dates. We look forward to exploring the 2023 vintage!

White wines
Everyone in Bourgogne is unanimous: it's "a great year for white wine!"
The ripe, healthy, well-balanced grapes have produced wines that stand out for their richness and wonderful opulence, without excess.
The wines are aromatic, evoking gorgeous ripe white fruits such as pear and peach. Despite the very hot weather at the start of the harvest, beautiful balances have been maintained.

Red wines
The red wines are expressive and open up quickly. They have delicious flavours, in some cases reminiscent of fresh red fruits, such as raspberries, or with aromas of dark fruits, such as blackberries, and even spices for some wine profiles.
On the palate, they have a lovely density, with a silky tannic structure. During vinification, conditions were just right for good colour extraction. The deep, intense colours of the wine are superb.

Crémant de Bourgogne
The basic wines are fruity, balanced and elegant. The Chardonnay has an aromatic profile featuring citrus and floral notes, or even exotic fruit. The Pinot Noir hints at red berries such as raspberry and cherry. The Aligoté maintains its vivacity with lemony notes. Finally, the expressive Gamay has flavours reminiscent of strawberry.

In Italy, mildew dominated the wine landscape in 2023. May and June brought plenty of rain, which was ideal for the spread of Peronospora in southern and central Italy. Many winegrowers reacted too late, which meant that large areas were affected. In the north, powdery mildew caused problems. A hot September with temperatures above 30 degrees led to further losses. Across the country, losses were well over 20% compared to the previous year. Tuscany and Apulia (minus 30 percent each), Abruzzo (minus 60 percent) and Sicily (minus 45 percent) were particularly hard hit. Despite losses in quantity, the quality of the 2023 vintage promises some outstanding wines, especially from cooler sites. Expect excellent Sangiovese from Tuscany (Chianti Classico, Brunello) as well as Barolo and Barbaresco from Piedmont. The low harvest volume could also have a positive impact on trade prices, as sales faltered over the course of the year and many producers' warehouses were overfilled. The lower volume should now ease the price pressure on winegrowers by Falstaff

In Portugal, 2023 was characterised by weather challenges, but these did not lead to significant crop losses. Originally, a harvest increase of eight percent was expected, due to a mild summerthat favoured earlier ripening. However, weather instability and rain during the harvest led to lower yields than expected, with early harvesting preventing major losses in some regions.

In the Douro region, where previous years were characterised by heatwaves and droughts, 2023 was more pleasing thanks to sufficient rainfall and moderate temperatures in summer. Heavy rainfall towards the end of the harvest posed challenges, but producers are satisfied with the quality of the wine, especially from the Cima Corgo sub-region.

In the Alentejo, frost in spring led to losses, but optimal conditions for grape ripening followed, despite a heatwave in August. High-quality wines were produced, especially from grape varieties with a longer ripening period. In the Vinho Verde region, high humidity posed a problem and increased fungal pressure, but good quality wines are still expected.

Spain was very up and down, with more drought and high temperatures. Rainfall at veraison also caused some issues. Whilst most regions coped with less than average yields, the Cava producers across the Mediterranean coast from Catalunya down to Valencia were exposed and have reported one of the worst vintages in history. Following two years of inflation, this makes it one of the most highly affected regions in the 2024 vintage.

Italy Vintage Report 2023 by Gaja.

The 2023 vintage has been showing common characteristics throughout all of our wine-growing areas in both Piedmont and Tuscany: initial growth production was abundant, then we experienced losses due to downy mildew and sunburn. We had a late harvest everywhere, and was completed without rush since we had summer-like days throughout October. Climactic conditions allowed us to leave the grapes on the vines until complete phenolic maturation. Fermentation was normal and quick for all varieties due to the lower presence of potassium and of higher nitrogen. The alcohol levels are low and the acidity is high, the ripe and thick skins require longer maceration times and promise good final complexity in the wines.

2023 is an outstanding vintage for Bolgheri with a very high quality average. We are also satisfied with the final production, 15% more abundant than in 2022, not because of a higher grape bunch per plant but due to larger grape bunch sizes. It’s not a vintage in the opulent classic style of Bolgheri, but it very much reflects our taste and style. The wines have a marked elegance and a positive, higher than expected acidity. The aromas are floral rather than fruity or spicy and there is excellent structure, low alcohol and sweet tannins, all of which maintain a very elegant profile of the wines. The frequent rains required a lot of work in the vineyards to protect the vines from fungal diseases but the results were excellent. The rains also caused a delay in ripening, but good weather in September and the late harvest brought each variety to a slow and excellent maturation.

The winter, mild and rainy from October to January, favored good soil vigor and softness. From mid-January to mid-February the temperatures dropped, reaching night lows of 2°C below zero, useful for slowing down both the grassing and the re-awakening of the vines. In March the temperatures rose back to the seasonal averages (lows of 6-7°C and highs of 22-23°C) and in the first ten days of April budding began, very homogeneous across all varieties, with the development of good quantities of grape bunches.

May 2nd it began raining with incredible diligence for 34 out of 40 days between May and June. The constantly moist soil and vine leaves were an ideal environment for the development of downy mildew, and managing the fungus was very difficult. Timeliness and team availability to operate at any given time and day was crucial. Despite the pressure of fungal diseases, we have not suffered any production losses, except for some leaf damage in the vineyards closest to the forest or in the lower valleys.
Yet thanks to the rains, the vines did not suffer any water stress and the canopies remained lush and green throughout the season.

July was dry and hot, August began with average temperatures with good diurnal ranges between day and night. Four extremely hot days at mid-month, with temperatures reaching 42°C degrees, inevitably caused sunburn on the exposed grapes that weren’t protected by the leaves. The damage was minimal and was removed by cleaning the grape bunches. Luckily, the heat ended with a storm that dropped 90 mm of water drastically lowering the temperatures to 22°C.
September was hot, with significant diurnal variations from 13°C at night to 27°C during the day. The sun continued to be very strong and temperatures remained high throughout the month.

The harvest of white grapes began on August 20th, first with Viognier and ended on September 10th with Fiano. For the red grapes, the first Merlot vineyard was harvested on September 6th, and on September 20th we started with Cabernet Franc. We waited until the beginning of October for the phenolic maturation to complete for Cabernet Sauvignon, and concluded the harvest within 10 days. It was a calm harvest, managed with good timing and without the usual concern of excess sugar accumulation or storms. The grapes had optimal ripeness levels and the quality of the fruit was excellent.

A first look at this year’s vintage in the Langhe

Between the initial drought and the assiduous rains from May to July, episodes of hail and sunburn, managing the vineyards was incredibly complex, long and tiring – but very satisfying.

​It was a late harvest with medium/abundant yields. The grapes showed high levels of malic acid and moderate sugar levels. In general, fermentation was normal and occurred quickly. The whites have exceptional freshness and aromas, the reds have delicate tannins, an elegant structure and a complexity developed over time because of prolonged macerations which were very important this year due to ripe and thick skins.

GERMANY VINTAGE 2023: 

The year 2023 was challenging for winegrowers: an excessively wet spring led to mildew infections, then came a very dry and warm, long summer - even at the beginning of September, temperatures were still in the 30s. This weather, combined with rain, caused rapid rotting in early-ripening varieties such as Burgundy and problems caused by the cherry vinegar fly, especially in dark-skinned berries. A quick harvest was necessary, which significantly reduced the yields (which were still classified as plentiful at the beginning of September). The latest harvest forecast is 8.8 million hectolitres, an average vintage.

Despite the adversity, there were winners: late-ripening varieties such as Riesling benefited from dry, cool and sunny conditions in late fall. The Rieslings of this vintage are light to medium-bodied, well-structured and show fresh, complex aromas. It was a particularly good year for fruity and noble sweet Rieslings with fresh acidity and balanced fruit. Where careful selection was carried out, excellent Beerenauslese and even Trockenbeerenauslese wines were produced. The Silvaner also showed its best side, emphasising its mineral characteristics in Franconia with a moderate alcohol content and good aromatic freshness: by Falstaff

ARGENTINA: Argentina's winegrowers experienced a rollercoaster of emotions with the very strange wine year of 2023. At the end of October and beginning of November, icy air masses from the Arctic hit most of the wine regions, where the vines had already sprouted. And the year had even more misfortune in store. The result was the smallest wine harvest since records began in around 1960. On the other hand, the Janus-faced vintage also produced spectacular results in terms of quality. Because the cold coming from the south did not reach the highest steep slopes in the Uco Valley, the best Malbec grapes from Gualtallary and Los Chacayes produced rare top wines in 2023. The late frosts were followed by a prolonged dry period, accompanied by high temperatures. Even if the lack of quantity hurts, the leading oenologists and winegrowers report outstanding quality. And this applies to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot as well as Malbec. Word has already got around and consignments are already being secured.ARGENTINA VINTAGE REPORT 2023: