Bordeaux : Welcome 2023

Initial reflections on Bordeaux 2023 – from Zürich to Bellefont-Belcier

By Panos Kakaviatos for Wine Chronicles

30 November 2025

After a comprehensive tasting organised by the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) of the recently bottled 2023 vintage in Zürich earlier this month, I left less impressed than expected. One often hears winemakers praise 2023 as a “return to classicism” – fresher, more terroir-centered, a welcome alternative to the sometimes (over) voluminous 2022s. I arrived in Zürich expecting that clarity to shine. Instead, while the wines were certainly good, but few struck me as ground-breaking. You will read about those wines in a later post, when I revamp my website to a subscriber format. In any case, the narrative of vibrant, terroir-driven purity did not consistently play out in the glass.

This stood in contrast to the anticipation I had built earlier this autumn. Having tasted about 250 bottles of 2022 from bottle, I had already noted that many of the en primeur highs were proving somewhat moChâtnolithic, reflecting more the sun than the soils. And that 2023 might well be the safer haven for readers who prize cooler balance and energy. Several winemakers privately express a preference for the 2023s for these reasons — and I share that view. To some extent, as Zürich did not fully confirm it.

But then came last night at Château Bellefont-Belcier in Saint-Emilion.

Tasting the full Vignobles K lineup with co-owner Howard Kwok and winemaking director Jean-Christophe Meyrou – photo above – restored my confidence in the best that 2023 can offer. Meyrou reminded us that 2023 was challenging: intense mildew pressure from April to Véraison (the summer phase when grapes begin to soften and change colour) required speed and vigilance.

“We had the team ready to go,” Meyrou said. Yields ended just around 40 hl/ha — correct for their objectives — and they continue to reduce sulfite use, reserving additions mainly for bottling to help integrate oak. Crucially, Meyrou believes that 2022 sometimes dominates terroir, whereas 2023 expresses it. I agree. Bellefont-Belcier illustrates this particularly well.

Since 2017–18, the style at Bellefont-Belcier has changed dramatically for the better: precision over weight, finesse over flash. The 2023 confirms this trajectory. It shows a classy aromatic profile and a wonderfully tactile palate — that rare sensation of “feeling the skin of the grape” without any heaviness. The texture is superbly refined, the balance effortless, despite 14.5% alcohol. It was my favorite of the entire lineup.

Other highlights included the sculpted and delicate Enclos de Viaud (Lalande de Pomerol, at a bargain of around $20), the structured and appealing Château La Patache, in Pomerol, and the powerful, ageworthy Tourmaline also in Pomerol. In Saint-Émilion, Tour Saint Christophe impressed yet again with its combination of power and polish, reminding us of the still recent, well-deserved promotion to Grand Cru Classé, while Haut Brisson showed nuance and energy, if a touch austere.

This tasting reminded me of something important: while broad UGCB tastings give us a map, focused visits like this offer altitude and topography. At Bellefont-Belcier, the classical virtues of 2023 — clarity, balance, terroir — were not theoretical; they were palpable.

And the story is far from over.
This coming week, I’ll be back in Bordeaux to taste hundreds of additional 2023s. It will be a crucial opportunity to see the full landscape of the vintage, to confirm whether Zürich was an outlier — and whether estates like Bellefont-Belcier point toward a broader truth about 2023’s balance, freshness, and potential. Stay tuned: the picture may sharpen considerably in the days ahead. Also, please stay tuned for a revamped subscriber based website, where you will get over 25 years of experience in my tasting wines, particularly the wines of Bordeaux.