THE BORDEAUX 2023 FIVE CLARET PARCEL
“2023 is a reminder that what Bordeaux does best is effortless construction and producing well balanced, structured wines that are made to delight over the long term” Jane Anson
“Spots of astounding quality are scattered from Bordeaux’s head to toe. One virtue that underlies the best wines is the brightness or what the French term “éclat”. It’s a kind of nascent energy that, in my experience, augurs a sample that will evolve into a great wine” Neal Martin
As you can see from the critical opinions above, 2023 is a cracking vintage in Bordeaux, helped by lots of sun throughout the year. In such years, as the saying goes, “a rising tides lifts all boats”, making it one of those occasions when the value on offer from estates at much more affordable price points demand your attention.
I was in France for a week in April tasting hundreds of wines, often several times over, and I have picked five of the best which I believe offer extraordinary vinous pleasure for their affordable prices. Each of the fine wines I have picked on the opposite page score exceedingly highly with the leading Bordeaux critics whose scores (often well into the nineties) glisten next to similarly-scored estates which cost ten times as much this year!
You can read about each of the famous five on the next page, all of which are available in cases of twelve bottles, or six magnificent magnums which are perfect for dinner parties, in my experience.
Highly recommended is the five case parcel, featuring a case of each wine, totalling either 60 bottles or 30 magnums with a 5% saving. This is a wonderful cellar-building (or restocking!) opportunity, with highly rated wines that don’t cost the earth from a magnificent vintage: I recommend the parcel to you heartily. At an average price of just £16.50 a bottle in bond for wines scoring in the mid-nineties, don’t miss out on this wonderful vinous offer.
With my best wishes,
Clos Fine Wine
CHÂTEAU ALCÉE
Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux
£144 12x75 | £154 6x150
CHÂTEAU LA DAUPHINE
Fronsac
£174 12x75 | £184 6x150
92 O 9294
Another fantastic offering from famed winemaker Nicholas Thienpont, in an excellent vintage. Neal Martin, the leading Bordeaux critic gave this wine an impressive 90-92 points, impressive for a wine that is just £12 a bottle, writing “it opens in the glass with black cherries, boysenberry and light floral scents, violets & iris”. Jane Anson awarded this wine 92 points, effusive in her praise, writing “As ever with the Nicolas Thienpont wines, you feel the ambition and the skill. A ton of ageing capability, savoury, black cherry, redcurrant, pomegranate. This is sappy and tasty, feel the texture and the tension, majoring on red fruits.”. Simply put, this is a total vinous bargain and a Clos Fine Wine favourite each year.
For a wine that is just £14.50 a bottle, in bond, Neal Martin and Jane Anson scored La Dauphine spectacularly highly, a certain gem of the vintage. Martin awarded 92-94 points (a similar score given to wines ten times as expensive!), writing, “It has a well-defined bouquet with blackberry, wild strawberry, cedar and light floral scents – one of the classiest that you will find from Fronsac this year. There is a sense of poise to this Fronsac that I really admire, and it feels persistent on the finish. This is an excellent La Dauphine that should age well in bottle”. Anson awarded it 93 points, noting “an estate to bookmark for sure”. This is absolutely one of the picks of the vintage and for the price is one to stock up on with a few cases!
CHÂTEAU POTENSAC
Médoc
£180 12x75 | £190 6x150
A property widely regarded as “one of the star names of AOC Médoc, and with a large & loyal following of claret lovers in the UK”, Potensac has made another excellent claret in 2023. Neal Martin praised this offering, awarding 90-92 points and noting its “well-defined nose: predominantly black fruit, with touches of seaweed in the background. Silky-smooth in texture, you can tell that there is some quality new oak on the finish, which is simpatico with the fruit. It’s a good, solid Potensac”. Jane Anson awarded it 92 points, admiring a “well balanced & enjoyable wine”. I awarded it 92-94+ points, loving its blueberry, blackberry, crushed limestone, and violet flecked nose and its ‘delicious, mouth-watering finish’. A total steal at £15!
CHÂTEAU CHASSE SPLEEN
Moulis en Médoc
£246 12x75 | £256 6x150
CHÂTEAU SIRAN
Margaux
£252 12x75 | £262 6x150
O 92 O 9193 O 94
Chasse Spleen is one of the best-loved clarets from Bordeaux in the UK, and Jane Anson notes in her seminal book, Inside Bordeaux, that “one of the star estates of Moulis (and also its biggest), Chasse Spleen is one of only two that I can think of that would have a fair chance of being recognised if the 1855 ranking were to be carried out today”. I must confess a bias in that I am yet to uncork a bottle of Chasse Spleen that hasn’t delighted me: as perfect with a Sunday roast as it is in summer with a barbecue. Neal Martin awarded it 91-93 points noting, remarkably, its “almost Pauillac-like in style. This is quite a stylish if almost “old school” Chasse Spleen that should develop well in bottle”. A tremendous claret, the perfect cellar stocker!
Margaux made silken, sensuous wines in 2023 and our five claret parcel wouldn’t be complete without a regal offering from one of the world’s most famous appellations. Siran consistently offers wine lovers genuine value, and in 2023 at just £21 a bottle in bond for a wine scored 92 points by Jane Anson and 92-94 by Neal Martin, it is a genuine ‘must buy’ claret. Anson was effusive in her praise, noting “an enjoyably sculpted Siran, plenty of depth to the tannins, balanced, juicy and inky, with crushed pure liqourice root, bluebuerry and cassis pastille, rose petals and mint. This is delicious, with tension and a mouth-watering finish, great stuff. A buy”. Martin wrote that the 2023 Siran “constitutes a very gracious Margaux”. My tip for 2023? Buy a case each of Siran in bottles and magnums: you won’t regret it!
Save 5% by buying a parcel of one case of each of the above, at £945 for 60 bottles or £995 for 30 magnums of the best claret Bordeaux 2023 has to offer www.closfinewine.com