First Impressions of 2023

We are now into May, and this means that the accumulation of 2023 vintage impressions has begun.

I got a jump on the vintage last November, when Cecile Tremblay showed me her 2023s in connection with tasting the ’22s. I was thoroughly impressed by them on that occasion, and while it was early, this promised well for future tastings.

I have now tasted odds and ends of the 2023 vintage at several domaines; just testers really. This week and last I tasted the ’23s at Domaine Pierre-Olivier Garcia, Domaine Amiot-Servelle, Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, and Le Puy de l’Ours. Add to these Cecile Tremblay and some early samples from Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé, and the profile of the red wines starts to emerge.

The style of the red 2023s

In general, the ripeness is less than the quite vivid – but ripe – 2022s. Ripeness in ’23 is not as uniform as the previous year, and there are signs of ripeness variability within the same area.

The harvest was spread over a long time span, so expect some variation in alcohol and phenolic ripeness from different domaines, and even among wines from the same producer. There are surprises, it seems, within the different line-ups.