James met Edouard Moueix of Chateau Belair-Monange to taste his family’s wines and discuss the 2023 vintage. What makes Belair-Monange’s latest offerings so special? “Unlike vintages where the weather takes over the style of the wine, in ’23 you really have a pure expression of the terroir, and I think that’s really what the consumers will enjoy,” Moueix said. “The limestone here at Belair-Monange gives an elegance, a minerality and a freshness which is quite unusual, and overall there is a balance among the elements, and I think that’s a great plus.” To read the second part of our 2023 Borde ..read more

James met Edouard Moueix of Chateau Belair-Monange to taste his family’s wines and discuss the 2023 vintage. Check out what he said about Bordeaux’s newest vintage here. To read the second part of our 2023 Bordeaux en primeur report, click here. WATCH MORE POPULAR VIDEOS FROM JAMESSUCKLING.COM: JEAN-CHARLES CAZES OF LYNCH-BAGES ON 2023 VS 2022 IN BORDEAUX OPUS ONE’S MICHAEL SILACCI ON THE ‘BEAUTIFULLY BALANCED’ 2021 VINTAGE JAMESSUCKLING.COM’S 2024 WINE FORECASTS: SENIOR EDITOR ZEKUN SHUAI Subscribe to our newsletter for tasting reports, videos, interviews, ratings ..read more

Left: James and Associate Editor Andrii Stetsiuk (left) tasting at Leoville Las Cases with Jean-Hubert Delon. | Right: The lineup of Cos d’Estournel’s 2023s. Three weeks in Bordeaux tasting nearly 1,100 barrel samples of the 2023 vintage and meeting more than 100 wine producers face to face gives you a broad view of a young vintage whose wines are now lying in cellars. I still remember the smile on my face the first time I tasted a red 2023 on April 4 during a meeting with Olivier and Adrian Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier, the respected wine estate in the Pessac-Leognan appellation. “This ..read more

James tasted the 2023 vintage of Les Carmes Haut-Brion with Guillaume Pouthier, estate manager of Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion. He found the 2023 to be better than the 2022, and found it to be “a terrific wine, with so much energy and purity.” In this video, Guillaume tells James how they managed to pull it off. To read the first part of our 2023 Bordeaux en primeur report, click here. WATCH MORE POPULAR VIDEOS FROM JAMESSUCKLING.COM: JEAN-CHARLES CAZES OF LYNCH-BAGES ON 2023 VS 2022 IN BORDEAUX OPUS ONE’S MICHAEL SILACCI ON THE ‘BEAUTIFULLY BALANCED’ 2021 VINTAGE JAMES ..read more

James tasted the 2023 offerings from Chateau Troplong Mondot and found them to have “balance and finesse” and noted the taste of the limestone soil in the wine. In this video, he talks with Troplong Mondot’s Aymeric de Gironde about how terroir came into play in 2023 and why their wines have such a “strong sense of place.” To read the first part of our 2023 Bordeaux en primeur report, click here. WATCH MORE POPULAR VIDEOS FROM JAMESSUCKLING.COM: WINEMAKER GUILLAUME THIENPONT ON THE 2023 LE PIN VIK’S CRISTIAN VALLEJO ON THEIR FOREST-AGED, NATURAL WINES JAMESSUCKLING.COM’S ..read more

For the last four years, I have been closely following the work of the ingenious Argentine winemakers Alejandro Sejanovich and Jeff Mausbach, who now run Bodega Mil Suelos in Mendoza, where they make most of their exciting array of wines. Their best wines amid their 80 or so labels come from recent vintages sourced throughout Argentina – Mendoza, Patagonia, Salta and even Jujuy. They range from affordable yet excellent offerings for daily sips to unique selections that express a deep sense of place. Among their most terroir-expressive wines, the Buscado Vivo o Muerto Chardonnay Gualtalla ..read more

James talks with Chateau Lynch-Bages co-owner Jean-Charles Cazes about the 2023 vintage in Bordeaux and Lynch-Bages’ latest offerings. James said the Lynch-Bages wines he tasted with Cazes showed “beautiful fruits, with nice layered tannins with the reds and sort of a powdery texture that I really like… The whites in bottle – fresh, good fruit, liking that a lot.” How does Bordeaux’s 2023 vintage compare with ’22? Watch the video and find out what Cazes has to say on the matter. WATCH MORE POPULAR VIDEOS FROM JAMESSUCKLING.COM: DOMAINE DE CHEVALIER’S OLIVIER BERNARD ON BORDEAUX’S ..read more

James visited Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot and tasted their 2023 Beau-Sejour Becot, which he said has fantastic limestone character with bright acidity and lots of energy. In this video, owner Julien Barthe tells James more about the wine and why he thinks this vintage represents a new evolution for Bordeaux. To read part I of our 2023 Bordeaux en primeur report, click here. WATCH MORE POPULAR VIDEOS FROM JAMESSUCKLING.COM: CHATEAU FIGEAC’S FREDERIC FAYE ON THEIR ‘FRESH AND FABULOUS’ 2020 JAMES SUCKLING WINE CENTRAL: A WORD ON DECANTING JAMESSUCKLING.COM – CHAMPAGNE – THE STYLE ..read more

James tasted the flagship Chateau Canon 2023 and noted the “intensity and energy” in the wine. It showed how limestone soils made some of the most exciting wines of the vintage. Nicolas Audebert, the head of the estate, says he is pleased with the result. “It’s in this type of vintage where you go and find [a way] to express yourself and the terroir … and the result is fantastic.” WATCH MORE POPULAR VIDEOS FROM JAMESSUCKLING.COM: GREAT WINES WORLD MIAMI 2024 HIGHLIGHTS TASTING CHATEAU L’EGLISE-CLINET POMEROL 2019 WITH NOEMIE DURANTOU REILHAC TASTING CHATEAU CHEVAL BLANC ST-EM ..read more

James (left) tasting barrel samples at Le Pin on Saturday. They made a terrific 2023. I might buy some 2023 Bordeaux en primeur if the price is right but it’s difficult to know what others will do, particularly the wine trade. So far, I have tasted more than 900 barrel samples of 2023 Bordeaux with my team over the last 10 days in the region, and the best reds show balance and freshness with deep center palates of ripe fruit and a complement of polished tannins. In many ways, I like them better than many of the highly touted 2022s because they are so Bordeaux in their nature with their ten ..read more