2023 Futures
In this category, we offer you the wines, renowned or not, which were not in our selection last year:
• either because they have been created recently;
• or because their price has become attractive again;
• or because they raised their quality standards;
• or because they produced very little or nothing the previous year.
In any case, they deserve your attention as they succeed to retain our attention. We bet that they will stay for a long time in our selection!
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Built on freshness and tension, Esprit de Chevalier distinguishes itself from the appellation's other second wines by its extra smoothness and remarkable aromatic richness (green mango, citrus fruit, white peach...). The development of a third wine is undoubtedly no stranger to this.
Martin : 95-97/100 « The 2023 L'Esprit de Chevalier Blanc offers crisp sea-spray scents on the nose, complemented by Granny Smiths and light kiwi notes. The palate is very well balanced with a keen line of acidity. Notably saline on the entry, it possesses impressive depth, turning quite spicy with touches of white pepper on the persistent finish. This is one of those Deuxième Vins where you think: "Cor blimey...what's the Grand Vin like?" »
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Blend:
- 65% Sauvignon blanc, 35% Sémillon
- Organic certification:
- 2023
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Alongside its famous Sauternes, Suduiraut has been producing for 20 years now a dry white wine for gourmets, made from 45-year-old vines and aged entirely in barrels.
Bettane & Desseauve : 94/100 « Très harmonieux dans ses équilibres, ses fines notes végétales, ses parfums d’agrumes frais et la manière dont s’intégre son acidité. Une vraie personnalité et une pleine réussite dans ce millésime. »
Quarin : 93/100 « Nez très aromatique, fruité, frais, subtil et légèrement vanillé. Juteux et soyeux dès l'entrée en bouche, aromatique et minutieux dans sa texture, le vin fond au palais. Il évolue lentement vers une finale profonde, bien difficile à cracher. C'est superbe. »
Galloni : 94-96/100 « The 2023 Grand Vin Blanc Sec Vieilles Vignes is superb. Lemon confit, marzipan, white flowers, sage, mint and dried flowers all run through this super-expressive, savory dry white. There's real phenolic intensity to the Vieilles Vignes-a rich, deep white for the dinner table. Pretty floral top notes and a kick of tropical fruit brighten the finish. »
Martin : 90-92/100 « The 2023 Suduiraut Vieilles Vignes has a lifted bouquet with scents of orange pith, lemon verbena and light patisserie scents-finely delineated. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity and lightly spiced with a tangy, austere but engaging finish. There's just a hint of stem ginger on the aftertaste. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Potential alcohol:
- 13,8%
- Blend:
- 57% Sémillon, 43% Sauvignon Blanc
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Like many Sauternes crus, Climens has been producing a confidential 100% Semillon cuvée since 2022. Thanks to precision work during pressing and ageing in glass globes, Lilium expresses with a great purity the aromatic richness of this emblematic Sauternes grape variety, in a great gourmet white wine with a silky texture.
Revue du Vin de France : 91-93/100 « La douceur du fruit est une caresse dans ce sec de sémillon gracieux, au corps aérien, à la saveur nuancée de verveine et de guimauve, abricotée au point qu’elle pourrait évoquer celle d’un condrieu. Une proposition très originale et séduisante, dont la liberté de ton peut surprendre. »
Galloni : 91-93/100 « Rich, creamy and beautifully textured, the 2023 offers up scents of apricot, passion fruit, pineapple and exotic white flowers. It's an especially tropical style of Sémillon, but bright acids provide a lovely counterpoint. »
Martin : 89-91/100 « The 2023 Lilium, the pure dry Sémillon from Climens, has a delightful, pretty, finely delineated bouquet with lemon rind and orange blossom scents. The palate is a little more honeyed on the entry compared to other dry Sauternes-a tad richer, with lemon curd and vanilla scents. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Potential alcohol:
- 12.5%
- Blend:
- 100% Sémillon
- Organic certification:
- 2022
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The only 1er cru classé in the commune of Sauternes with Yquem, Guiraud offers rich, voluminous, powerful wines with a formal classicism. Certified organic since the 2011 vintage.
Revue du Vin de France : 96-99/100 ♥ Coup de cœur « À l’aveugle, la finesse et la tension de ce cru emblématique de Sauternes nous transportent à Barsac ! L’incarnation semble cette année encore plus aboutie, grâce à ce que nous percevons comme un surcroît de profondeur. La distinction évidente du vin, ses détails précieux mais exprimés avec la plus élégante réserve affirment avec éclat la pertinence de cette évolution stylistique. »
Bettane & Desseauve : 96/100 ♥ Coup de cœur « Vin complet, riche en liqueur, équilibré en acidité et très long en bouche, avec cette rondeur qui lui donne un caractère très savoureux. »
Le Point : 16.5-17/20 « Réducteur, bouche vive, tendue, fraîche, élégante, bien équilibrée, calcaire, pure. »
Quarin : 96/100 « Nez intense, fin, fruité et subtil. Nuances de poire, d'épices et de menthe. Cristallin en entrée de bouche, fondant et aérien au milieu, le vin évolue profond dans la seconde partie du palais, avec les nuances complexes décrites au nez. Très longue persistance. Ensemble envoûtant. »
Martin : 92-94/100 « Guiraud 2023, now made by former Yquem winemaker Sandrine Garbay, has a rather reticent nose at first, opening up to aromas of orange marrow and pear. [...] It is a little spicier than its peers - jam and ginger on the stem, with more peach on the finish. Harmonious and balanced.»More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Potential alcohol:
- 13.8%
- Blend:
- 65% Sémillon, 35% Sauvignon blanc
- Organic certification:
- 2011
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L'Esprit de Chevalier follows the same path as a great wine: an increasingly fine structure, a remarkable qualitative evolution in recent vintages, and an ever-relevant quality-price ratio.
Martin : 91-93/100 « The 2023 L'Esprit de Chevalier has a refined yet focused bouquet with black cherries, wild strawberries, touches of camphor and Provençal herbs, all delivered with fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins on the entry, but it immediately segues into a surprisingly structured and grippy mid-palate. Quite bold for an Esprit, with a dash of white pepper on the finish. »
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Potential alcohol:
- 13%
- Blend:
- 65% Cabernet sauvignon, 30% Merlot 30 %, 5% Petit verdot
- Organic certification:
- 2024
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With a higher proportion of Merlot (60%), La Dame de Montrose offers a fruity, fleshy version of Saint-Estèphe, without losing the richness and power for which the Grand Vin is renowned. Another expression of terroir, in a seductive style all its own.
Quarin : 92/100 « Gras à l'attaque, moelleux en milieu de bouche, aromatique, le vin glisse vers une longue finale un brin vive, mais toujours fondante. C'est superbe ! »
Galloni : 92-94/100 « The 2023 La Dame de Montrose is a rich, heady wine. Succulent dark cherry, plum, new leather, spice, menthol, licorice and mocha are beautifully amplified. Explosive to the core, the 2023 possesses tons of aromatic intensity and pure volume. This showy, Merlot-based Dame is quite alluring. »
Martin : 89-91/100 « The 2023 La Dame de Montrose has a light and slightly tertiary nose, with touches of tea leaves infusing the black fruit. The palate is soft and supple on the entry, with licorice-tinged black fruit and a rounded, cracked-black-pepper-tinged finish. There’s good body for a Deuxième Vin. This will give a decade of drinking pleasure. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Blend:
- 61% Merlot, 32% Cabernet sauvignon, 5% Petit verdot, 2% Cabernet franc
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Created in 1985, Clos La Gaffelière is now independent, with its own winery and vat room. Made from the estate's clayey foothills, the blend is predominantly of Merlot and entirely aged without new wood, giving it a pure, delicate fruitiness (cherry, redcurrant).
Le Point : 16/20 « Expressif, feuillage, fruits rouges, cerise, juteux, tanins toniques, salivants, bien en place, finale relevée. »
Quarin : 90/100 « Couleur sombre, intense et pourpre. Joli nez très aromatique, au fruité mûr et subtil. Bouche débutant moelleuse, savoureuse, sur un gras majoré d'un zeste d'austérité dans la persistance finale. Profil très Saint-Emilionnais. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Potential alcohol:
- 14.10%
- Blend:
- 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet franc
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Historically owned by the Malet de Roquefort family (Ch. La Gaffelière) since 1819, but sold in 1959 as part of an estate, Château Puyblanquet was returned to its original owner in 2021. This 19-hectare single vineyard, situated on a clay-limestone ridge to the east of the appellation, now benefits from the same care as its big brother. It's no surprise, then, to find in its wines the charm and finesse of texture that have made Ch. La Gaffelière such a success. According to the Guide Bettane & Desseauve 2025, this is “the greatest revelation in Saint-Émilion in recent years”.
Quarin : 92/100 « Et voici que ce millésime fait mieux que le précédent, c'est dire si la reprise en main de cette propriété depuis 2020 fait bouger les lignes. Couleur sombre, intense et pourpre. Nez très aromatique, au fruité pur et profond. Bouche tout en minutie tactile, savoureuse et grasse, évoluant complexe entre le milieu et la finale; Très bonne longueur. C'est superbe. »
Galloni : 87-89/100 « The 2023 Puyblanquet is powerful, deep and resonant. A burly Saint-Émilion, the 2023 packs a pretty serious punch. Red/purplish fruit, rose petal, spice and menthol are all dialed up in this pretty wine. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Potential alcohol:
- 14.25%
- Blend:
- 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet franc
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Revue du Vin de France : 95-96/100 « Il illustre parfaitement un saint-émilion solaire, sombre, dominé par un merlot bien mûr, au bouquet baroque, virevoltant. Son ampleur en bouche lui confère un confort, une suavité, une envergure inimitables. Un panache souligné par une finale énergique. »
Le Point : 15/20 « Fruité pur, boisé fin, bonne tension, tanins denses, finale crayeuse, vive, poivrée. »
Quarin : 95/100 « Nez très aromatique, fin, fruité, subtil et noble. Il se développe très pur à l'agitation du verre avec un fond de framboises et de truffe. Minutieux en entrée de bouche, particulièrement savoureux au milieu, le vin se développe lentement dans un déroulé parfaitement équilibré et un toucher raffiné. Il s'achève long et ascendant dans ses saveurs. C'est superbe ! »
Galloni : 92-94/100 « The 2023 La Clotte is a very serious wine. La Clotte is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, but the Franc feels especially prominent at this stage. Saline notes run through core of plum, blood orange, white flowers, crushed rocks and white pepper. A shy, introspective wine, this will need a number of years to be at its best, but it is immensely promising. »
Martin : 93-95/100 « This has a little more precision and mineralité on the nose compared to the Moulin Saint-Georges, quite vibrant with shucked oyster shell in the background. The palate is medium-bodied, with svelte tannins that lend a satin-like texture. It’s very harmonious though not deep, and maybe it misses a bit of grip. That said, more extraction probably would have thrown off the balance here. Very seductive. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Organic certification:
- 2023