2023 Pauillac might not be at the level of the future, legendary 2022 vintage, but there are numerous very good wines with true Pauillac character. And the best news is that most of those wines will not require extensive aging before they offer pleasure. Yet, consumers seeking more tertiary character will be rewarded if they have patience, as the best 2023 Pauillac wines can age, and evolve for decades.
For a detailed overview and analysis of the vintage’s growing season, harvest, overall attributes and faults, producer quotes, as well as links to all of our 2023 Bordeaux appellation reports 2023 Bordeaux Vintage Report and Analysis
All of the following 2023 Pauillac wines were tasted in my home office in early 2026 in non-blind conditions. As you will note, at the time of this publication, I was not able to taste the First Growths. However, I will taste Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Mouton Rothschild, and Pontet Canet as well in April. All of those wine tasting notes will be published here as soon as possible.
2023 Pauillac Reviews and Ratings…
2023 Batailley – Pauillac – Cigar box, and blackberries blend together to create the perfume. The palate is ripe, creamy, vibrant, and packed with sweet, elegant red currants with a touch of tobacco on the mid-palate, and in the finish. The wine is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2028-2050. 94 Pts
2023 Clerc Milon – Pauillac – The nose pops with the essence of mint, flowers, cedar, currants and a background note of Indian spices in the perfume. On the palate, the wine is fresh, silky, and creamy, with ripe, sweet, currants, and blackberries that linger in the finish. While this will be delicious young, give it a bit of time in the bottle, as it will improve with age. The wine blends 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, 1.5% Petit Verdot, and 1.5% Carmenere. Drink from 2028-2050. 94 Pts
2023 DArmailhac – Pauillac – The aromatic profile opens with cassis, black cherries, and cigar box notes, which are the perfect introduction to the wine. The palate is packed with dark cherries, spice, herbs, and currants. Soft and inviting, with a spicy, minty edge to the fruit in the crisp, vibrant finish, give it a few years of aging, and it will reward your patience. The wine blends 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. This is the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon used in the blend in the history of the estate. Drink from 2028-2050. 93 Pts
2023 Duhart-Milon – Pauillac – Bright, fresh, and vibrant, as well as elegant are the hallmarks of this vintage. Opening with notes of currants, flowers, chocolate, cigar box, and cherries which fill the nose. Medium-bodied, fresh, forward, soft, and creamy, the wine finishes with spicy, black with red currants with a savory as well as minty fresh endnote. Please allow it a few years in the bottle before pulling a cork and it should age for up 2 decades after that. The wine is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Merlot. Drink from 2028-2050. 94 Pts
2023 Fonbadet – Pauillac – Mint, tobacco wrappers, cedar, and spicy currants with just a drop of espresso fill the aromatics. The palate is fresh, creamy, and packed with currants, blackberries, spearmint, and crushed stones from start to finish. Drink from 2028-2048. 93 Pts
2023 Grand Puy Ducasse – Pauillac – Flowers, currants, tobacco leaves, and a hint of espresso already pop in the nose. On the palate, the medium-bodied wine is fresh, fruity, exuberant, and creamy with good energy and lift in the mint-accented, refreshing finish. This should age for at least 2 decades with ease. The wine blends 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2030-2050. 94 Pts
2023 Grand Puy Lacoste – Pauillac – Full-bodied, juicy, fresh, and rich, the wine displays its blend of blackberries, tobacco leaf, cedar, cigar box and lead pencil in the nose. On the palate, the wine is Vibrant, lifted, and energetic, but not overly bright, making sure everything is in balance, with loads of chewy currants, and a savory, peppery-tinted finish that lingers. The wine is a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon with 23% Merlot. Drink from 2029 – 2060. 94 Pts
2023 Haut Batailley – Pauillac – Black raspberries, chocolate, mint, flowers, espresso, currants fill the aromatic profile. The palate is brisk, crisp, and crunchy, with a vivid display of currants and spice, and a chewy, lively, red-currant-filled finish. The wine was made from blending 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot. This is the first time Petit Verdot has been included in the blend. Drink from 2029-2055. 93 Pts
2023 Haut de la Becade – Pauillac – Tobacco, cedar, and black currants create the core of the character in this medium-bodied, forward, light, bright, crisp, and crunchy wine, with a strong minty edge in the chalky finish. Drink from 2027-2039. 86 Pts
2023 La Fon du Berger – Pauillac – A hint of espresso meshes with flowers, currants, cedar, and tobacco in the nose. Medium-bodied, fresh and crunchy, this pleasant Pauillac can be popped and enjoyed early in life, or aged for a few years. If you have been seeking a well-priced Pauillac, this should be on your list. Drink from 2027-2037. 88 Pts
2023 La Rose Pauillac – Pauillac – Simple, pleasant, early-drinking wine without complexity or fault. Drink this on the young side. Drink from 2026-2032. 84 Pts
2023 Les Sadons – Pauillac – Quite floral in the nose before you get to the tobacco, red currants, cedar, and spice. Medium-bodied, vibrant, but not overly bright, the fresh finish delivers its red currants, spice, and cherries with a refreshing touch of mint in the endnote easily. It will be easy to enjoy early in life, yet it has the possibility to age and develop as well. Drink from 2027-2038. 90 Pts
2023 Lynch Bages – Pauillac – Flowers, tobacco, spices, blackberries, currants, espresso, and herbs, with additional notes of mint, make up the aromatic profile. The palate is full, deep, long, and chewy, delivering the essence of Pauillac with every sniff, swirl, and sip. The long finish packs a spicy, peppery, currant, and savory-herb punch, with a strong beginning, middle, and end. The wine blends 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2030-2065. 96 Pts
2023 Lynch Bages Blanc de Lynch Bages – Bordeaux – Honeysuckle, orange rind, yellow citrus, and white peach with a hint of lemon curd blend together perfectly in the nose, and on the palate, leaving you with a citrusy, tropical note in the vibrant, creamy finish. The wine is produced from blending 81% Sauvignon Blanc, 11% Semillon, and 8% Muscadelle. Drink from 2025-2032. 92 Pts
2023 Lynch-Moussas – Pauillac – Cigar wrappers, cedar, espresso, mint and black currants express themselves in the nose. The medium-bodied palate is fresh, vibrant and lingering, though there is a note of greenery in the finish that distracts from the overall experience. Consumers that long for more classic-styled Bordeaux will like it more than I did. The wine blends 78% Cabernet Sauvignon with 22% Merlot. Drink from 2028-2050. 92 Pts
2023 Pauillac – Pauillac – Red currants, orange rind, chocolate, espresso, cigar box, spice box and cocoa fill the aromatic profile. The palate is supple, creamy, and fresh, there is a nice, vigorous quality to the sweet red fruits, with just the right amount of chocolate to add depth and roundness to the mid-palate and finish. Drink from 2028-2048. 94 Pts
2023 Pedesclaux – Pauillac – Cigar box, tobacco, cedar, flowers, and blackberries, with just a hint of espresso, create the nose. The medium-bodied, energetic palate delivers a vibrancy in its core of red fruits you can feel. There is a cool, refreshing touch of mint, with hints of peppery spice in the endnote that adds complexity. Give it a few years in the cellar, and enjoy it over the following 2 or more decades. The wine is blended using 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2029-2050. 94 Pts
2023 Pedesclaux Fleur de Pedesclaux – Pauillac – Spicy, and floral, with a vibrancy to its core of red fruits, you can enjoy this easily early in life while waiting for the Grand Vin to develop. In fact, you can enjoy this on release, and for a decade or so after that. Drink from 2026-2036. 89 Pts
2023 Pibran – Pauillac – Tobacco, smoke, flowers, currants, and cherries form the core of this wine. Crisp, fruity, vibrant, and chewy, there is more than ample layers of black with red currants, spice, and peppery herbs to make any Pauillac lover happy. The wine is made by blending 54% Cabernet Sauvignon with 46% Merlot. This is the highest percentage of Cabernet ever used in the blend at Pibran. Drink from 2028-2040. 91 Pts
2023 Pichon Baron – Pauillac – Aromatically, this is a tribute to a great Cuban cigar. From there, you find cedar, mint, currants, spice, cherries, and forest floor in the perfume. As good as the nose, the palate steals the show with its combination of lift, length, sweetness, spice, richness, and energy. There is a hint of herbs and a refreshing touch of mint in the finish that adds to its multiple layers of black, with red fruits and peppery Indian spices. This is the quintessential example of a classic, modern Bordeaux. The wine blends 80% Cabernet Sauvignon with 20% Merlot. Drink from 2030-2065. 97 Pts
2023 Pichon Baron Les Griffons de Pichon Baron – Pauillac – Opening with a blend of chocolate, flowers, currants, tobacco, and cherries, the perfume quickly moves to an elegant, soft, creamy, and vibrant palate. leaving you fresh, sweet, lifted, spicy red fruits that linger from start to finish. The wine was created from a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot. This is the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon ever used in the blend. Drink from 2028-2042. 93 Pts
2023 Pichon Baron Les Tourelles de Longueville – Pauillac – Flowers and mint paired with red currants, espresso, and tobacco create the core of the nose and the medium-bodied palate. There is elegance, refinement, and a crispness to the clean red fruits on the mid-palate and in the finish that I really like here. While you can enjoy this on release, it promises to be better with age. The wine blends 72% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2028-2040. 91 Pts
2023 Pichon Baron Les Griffons de Pichon Baron Blanc – Bordeaux – Almonds, white peaches, orange rind, spices, pineapples, and pear aromas are all over the place. The palate is creamy, with fruit sweetness and a touch of ginger and spice that come along for the ride. This is the perfect wine to place inside a blind tasting. The wine is produced from 100% Semillon, from less than 1 hectare of vines grafted onto Cabernet Sauvignon. The grafts came from massal selection of Suduiraut. Drink from 2026-2033. 93 Pts
2023 Pichon Lalande – Pauillac – It is the vibrancy, paired with the silky textured layers of fruit, that seals the deal. But before you get to that, the perfume, with its blend of tobacco, dark red, and black fruits, flowers, truffles, and smoke, initially grabs your attention. Silky, sensuous, polished, fresh, and lifted, the finish—with layers of sweet, plush, silky cherries, and currants—ably expresses their purity and finesse. They are pure. According to the château, the 2023 represents their version of ‘Back to the Future.’ I see their point. The wine will age effortlessly for decades, yet it will be fabulous to drink, even in its youth. The wine blends 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2028-2065. 97 Pts
Up next, we continue our look at 2023 Bordeaux with 2023 Saint Julien and in case you missed it, 2023 St. Estephe.
