The wines included on our list of exceptional wines are divided equally among Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominance and Left Bank and Right Bank production. We would recommend reading through all the tasting notes available to you on the 2023 vintage and make any decisions based on that research. Quality, as well as inferiority, were spread evenly throughout the vineyards of Bordeaux in 2023.
We tasted almost the same number of wines that we tasted last year, and the average score is approximately the same. So, neither of the variables, quantity of wines tasted and average score, impacted the results from the 2023 vintage. The reason there are so many more Exceptional Wines is that the 2023 vintage is significantly better than the 2022. The best wines in 2023 are better, achieved higher scores, than the wines in 2022, and there are more wines that achieved an exceptional level of quality.
Terre de Vins Bordeaux Tasting has been one of my favorite annual events during the last decade. Every December, as a Maitre de Cave blogger, I reserve the weekend to make certain I can experience Bordeaux during the holiday season and two days of exciting wine and spirit tasting.
Following is a list of my favorite wines at the Tasting and their Ratings:
Maître de Cave presents our list of Exceptional Wines from the April 2023 Primeur Tastings in Bordeaux during the last week of April. The list of Exceptional Wines from the 2022 vintage is significantly larger than the 2021 vintage. The reason there are more Exceptional Wines, and generally higher, overall ratings, is because the vintage is significantly better.
Our overall impression of the 2020 vintage during Primeurs was that the 2020 vintage was a good vintage with many exceptional wines among both the finest Châteaux and among those less-well-known Châteaux in the less well-known Bordeaux Appellations.