Bordeaux 2023 at Two Years: Pessac-Léognan, White
Having reported on the reds of the Pessac-Léognan appellation, in this instalment of my review of the 2023 vintage in Bordeaux I take a look at the whites. Although there are an ever-growing number of challengers from outside the appellation – wines that have long proved their worth such as Pavillon Blanc from Château Margaux, alongside many newcomers including the new dry wines from Sauternes – the white wines of Pessac-Léognan remain at the top of the white league table in Bordeaux.
This report was generated in much the same way as my report on the reds, my visits starting in the suburbs of Bordeaux, before I headed south. The obvious exceptions are those châteaux which do not produce a white wine; principally, among the classified properties this means Château Haut-Bailly, and from the ranks of the unclassified properties Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion.
It was obvious when I made this same round of visits back in April 2024, during the primeurs, that this is a particularly strong vintage for the dry white wines of Bordeaux. For the past decade the overarching style in white in most vintages has tended towards extremes; just too rich and lacking in acidity, prime examples being 2015, 2018, 2020 and 2022. Or too far in the opposite direction, with leaner substances and overly sharp acidities. The latter vintages often show well when young (you know I am a sucker for acidity) but without the fruit or texture of a warmer and drier season the acidities turn shrill and mouth-puckering with time. I have seen this in 2013, and I suspect the wines of 2021 may go the same way.
