2023 Futures
In the category « Long keeping », we gather all the wines of the vintage 2017 that will have, according to us, an ageing potential of at least 20 years (even if they will reach their peak before). This category is thus intended for the (very) patient ones with a great cellar, or for those who will have something to celebrate in 20 years (or more).
The ability to age well is the preserve of the finest wines, but more affordable wines can also have a great ageing potential due to their excellent vineyards, the grapes varieties used or to the winemaker’s will. The ageing varies as well depending on the temperature of the cellar (the colder the cellar is, the slower the wine will age) and the bottle’s size (wines in large containers like magnums will age slower and longer than wines in bottles).
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An oenologist by training, Ms. Papon-Nouvel owns two tiny properties at the bottom of Saint-Émilion near Canon-La Gaffelière: Petit Gravet Aîné (2.4 ha) and Clos Saint-Julien (1.3 ha), where the vines are mainly old cabernets francs. From the vine to the cellar, she manages all the stages in the production of her wines on her own and, whatever the vintage, her talent as an instinctive winemaker gives wines of natural elegance and exemplary sweetness.
Bettane & Desseauve : 90-91/100 « Nez poivré et floral marqué par ses cabernets francs. On retrouve cette aromatique dans une bouche énergique bien tramée. Grande réussite. »
Quarin : 88/100 « Nez très aromatique, fin, fruité, sentant bon la mûre. Délicat en entrée de bouche et de suite élancé, le vin caresse le palais. Il évolue longiforme et séveux, avec un brin d'austérité en finale. Longueur normale. »
Galloni : 94-96/100 « The 2023 Petit Gravet Aîné is a stunner. Inky, silky and exceptionally polished, the 2023 dazzles from start to finish. Raspberry jam, blood orange, spice, mint and violet caress the palate. More than anything else, I am so impressed with the wine's soft texture and refined personality. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Organic certification:
- 2011
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Mrs Papon-Nouvel's other grand cru (with Petit Gravet Aîné). Same organic culture, same sensitivity, same style, with extra flesh and depth. Great wine! Great wine, logically promoted to grand cru classé in 2022.
Bettane & Desseauve : 91-92/100 « Tannin élégant, soyeux et dynamique. Dans ce millésime, c’est une belle réussite pour la propriété. »
Le Point : 15.5/20 « Baies sauvages, feuillage, fruits noirs, gelée de mûre, bouche fraîche, tanins denses, bien en place, finale épicée. »
Quarin : 92/100 « Nez très aromatique, fin, pur, fruité et subtil. Nuances truffées. Délicat en entrée de bouche, savoureux au milieu, raffiné au toucher, le vin caresse le palais avant de gagner de la saveur entre le milieu et la finale. Longueur normale. »
Galloni : 95-97/100 « The 2023 Clos Saint-Julien is an exciting, visceral Saint-Émilion. Deep, plush and beautifully layered, the 2023 saturates the palate with inky dark fruit. Hints of lavender, mocha, licorice and spice develop with some air, adding layers of dimension. What a beautifully complete and riveting wine this is. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Organic certification:
- 2011
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An ultra-refined great wine, with a mineral tension that is out of the ordinary in Bordeaux, the fruit of the great terroir of the Côte Pavie, but also of the complicity of Mr Nicolas Thienpont and Mr Stéphane Derenoncourt since 1994.
Revue de France : 94-96/100 ♥ Coup de cœur « La restructuration permanente de cette propriété contribue à affiner les détails chaque année pour gagner en délié, en finesse de style dès la jeunesse. Sombre, retenu, avec des tonalités de menthe, de framboise, de mûre, plus frais que son aîné 2022, c’est un vin racé. »
Bettane & Desseauve : 96-97/100 ♥ Coup de cœur « C’est une réussite majeure. La densité de l’argile du terroir est exprimée par la profondeur en bouche avec un fruit frais et ciselé. Le style s’affine de millésime en millésime. »
Le Point : 18.5/20 ♥ Coup de cœur « Nez frais, fruits rouges, notes florales, poivre, délicat, tanins denses, bonne structure, amer fin, finale tonique, persistante. »
Quarin : 95/100 « Délicat en entrée de bouche, savoureux au milieu, avec de la classe dans le toucher et un gras fin, le vin évolue long, juteux, distingué, avec beaucoup de goût. C'est très bon. »
Galloni : 95-97/100 « The 2023 Pavie Macquin is one of the stars of the vintage. An exceptional, vibrant wine, Pavie Macquin dazzles from start to finish. [...] In a word: Brilliant! »
Martin : 94-96/100 « The Cabernet Franc (17% of the blend) imparts loamy aromas. The palate is very svelte and creamy on the entry, but there is real depth and freshness here. Harmonious and poised, it fans out beautifully on the finish. This is more elegant and complex than the 2022, and my score reflects this. Superb. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Blend:
- 82% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon
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Advised by Mr. Derenoncourt, Clos Fourtet regularly and unobtrusively demonstrates that the upper part of the Saint-Émilion plateau can produce wines as great as the Ausone or Pavie hillsides. Sobriety, depth, finesse and intensity are exemplary.
Revue de France : 95-97/100 ♥ Coup de cœur « Comme ses aînés, ce millésime entretient un lien très nuancé avec son fruit. Des subtilités aromatiques, une approche en douceur de bout en bout. Une magnifique allonge : gracieuse, sans à-coup, portée par une acidité, une sensation crayeuse. Une grande sensualité se dégage déjà de ce vin paré pour évolution sereine. »
Bettane & Desseauve : 94-95/100 ♥ Coup de cœur « Libre et épanoui dans sa palette aromatique sur un fruité plein de peps, dimension minérale en bouche, finale saline encore un peu compact. Il faudra l’attendre mais la promesse sera au rendez-vous. »
Le Point : 18/20 « Nez complexe, fruité pur, cerise, bouche en finesse, tanins fins, très élégants. Très calcaire, pivoine, ronce, déjà bien en place. »
Quarin : 96/100 « En bouche, la minutie tactile de Clos Fourtet est à l'oeuvre, avec beaucoup de goût et un corps élancé. Tout fond entre le milieu et la finale, avant de s'étirer sans angle tannique, tramé et crémeux à la fois. Belle longueur. »
Galloni : 94-96/100 « The 2023 Clos Fourtet is pure class. Elegant and soaring, the 2023 offers up an exciting mélange of dark-toned fruit, leather, incense, dried herbs, pencil shavings and crushed rocks. [...] The long, enduring finish is a thing of beauty. Clos Fourtet remains a benchmark example of wines from Saint-Émilion's famed limestone plateau. »
Martin : 92-94/100 « The nose is very attractive and quite sensual in style with red cherries, crushed strawberries and incense. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, fresh, focused, pure and quite linear on the finish. [...] Superb. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Potential alcohol:
- 14.5%
- Blend:
- 87% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon
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Bought out in 2017 by the reinsurer SCOR, a page is turned in Troplong-Mondot, a formidable terroir in Saint-Emilion. Up to and including 2016, these are the richest in extract and most generous wines of the appellation, made by Christine Valette and her husband, under the aegis of Michel Rolland.
Radical break in style from the 2017 vintage, with less dense but oh so precise, elegant and racy wines, confirmed in 2018 by Mr. Galloni (vinous) "The 2018 is regal, refined and absolutely exquisite", rated 97/100.
Revue du Vin de France : 95-96/100 « Grande fraîcheur que nous retrouvons dans une bouche à la puissance diffuse, formant un octogone. Une finale extrêmement fraîche provoquant une salivation dynamique. »
Bettane & Desseauve : 95-96/100 ♥ Coup de cœur « Dense, pulpeux avec une touche d’épices. La matière présente une charpente très sûre, puissante qui portera dans le temps cette chair ferme et soyeuse. »
Le Point : 18.5/20 « Ronces, baies sauvages, bouche veloutée, amer fin, tanins denses et toniques. Pas lourd, appétant, riche, finale saline, persistante. »
Galloni : 95-98/100 « The 2023 Troplong Mondot is simply stunning. It's one of the best wines yet made under the direction of Aymeric de Gironde. Towering and statuesque, the 2023 explodes out of the glass with tons of vertical energy. Dark red-toned fruit, licorice, spice, lavender, mocha and pencil shavings are some of the many notes that infuse the 2023 with character. The combination of soaring aromatics, chiseled fruit and a limestone-infused finish is nothing less than captivating. What a wine. »
Martin : 95-97/100 « The 2023 has a very well-defined and focused bouquet with pure blackberry, raspberry, ground chalk and light sea cave scents. The palate is medium-bodied with a very crisp and mineral-driven entry. It's chalky in texture and quite tensile in the mouth, with a dash of black pepper on the finish. This is an individualistic Saint-Émilion that will fill out during its élevage. Very long. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
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Second wine of Ausone, rare (1 ha in production out of the 7 ha of the Ausone vineyard), slightly less powerful but just as racy and energetic as the Grand Vin. And like it, it has a remarkable capacity for ageing.
Like all Vauthier vineyards (Ausone, La Clotte, Moulin Saint-Georges, Haut-Simard...), Chapelle d'Ausone began its conversion to organic farming in 2020.
Le Point : 16/20 « Nez aérien, frais, fruits rouges, note floral, pivoine, bouche bien vive, tanins serrés, délicats, note mentholée. Très pur. »
Bettane & Desseauve : 92-93/100 « Tout en verticalité crayeuse, avec un fruité tonique et une belle impression de fraîcheur. »
Quarin : 96/100 « Nez intense, fin, fruité et subtil. Touches complexe d'encre et de framboises. Minutieux en entrée de bouche et de suite velouté, avec un corps fondant, à la suavité rare pour un tel taux de cabernet franc, le vin caresse le palais avant de resplendir d'éclats aromatiques nobles dans la persistance. C'est magnifique ! Le meilleur "second vin" de Bordeaux. Le frère d'Ausone. »
Galloni : 92-94/100 « The 2023 Chapelle d'Ausone is fabulous, as it often is. Succulent, ripe tannins give the 2023 tons of pure charm. Dark red/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, menthol, licorice and mocha all run through this sumptuous yet structured Saint-Émilion. This will be stellar in another few years time. »
Martin : 90-92/100 « The 2023 Chapelle d'Ausone has a well-defined bouquet with dark berry fruit, bell pepper and light gravel scents, nicely focused with a subtle marine influence. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, though it is not as fleshy as previous vintages with quite a strict and linear finish. I suspect it will fill out during barrel-maturation. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Blend:
- 60% Cabernet franc, 35% Merlot, 5% Cabernet sauvignon
- Organic certification:
- 2023
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Impossible to resist the unspeakable complexity of its bouquet, floral and fruity, spicy and liquorice, as well as the incredible depth of its fresh and sumptuous finish. Great art, all the glory of Cabernet Franc on a limestone hillside. Alain Vauthier and his children, Pauline and Édouard, manage the 7 hectares of Ausone like a (very) great Burgundy wine. Magistral!
Revue du Vin de France : 96-98/100 « Là où de nombreux vins se livrent avec une certaine évidence et facilité dans ce millésime, Ausone conserve son âme impénétrable. Une fraîcheur mentholée éblouissante, signature des cabernets francs (60 %). Un moelleux de texture inimitable conjugué à une fraîcheur éblouissante. Une densité que nous ne retrouvons nulle part ailleurs. Un vin plein, nourrissant, baroque, empli de saveurs. [...] Intemporel. »
Bettane & Desseauve : 96-97/100 ♥ Coup de cœur « Toucher de tannin brillant, bouche complexe, dense, racée et élancée sur fond de fleurs poivrées qui se mêlent à un fruit d’une grande pureté. On le jugera sur le temps long mais cet ausone s’est montré plus expressif que ses pairs lors des dégustations primeurs. »
Le Point : 18/20 « Fruits noirs, poivre, cassis, bouche élégante, tanins veloutés, beaucoup de délicatesse, finale relevée. »
Quarin : 98/100 « C'est superbe ! Ultra minutieux en entrée de bouche, avec tout à la fois un toucher cristallin et une suavité jamais vue jusqu'alors avec un tel pourcentage de cabernet franc, le vin fond sur le palais. Délicatement gras et puissant, élancé et pour autant charnu, il s'étire long, profond et complexe. »
Galloni : 96-98/100 « The 2023 Ausone is a powerful, heady wine. Dark, layered and explosive, the 2023 possesses tremendous depth and tons of sheer resonance, something that becomes increasingly apparent with time in the glass. [...] The savory, mineral-drenched finish is eternal. All the 2023 needs is time. Readers lucky enough to own it should be thrilled. »
Martin : 96-98/100 « It has a wonderful bouquet that is very floral in style and perfectly controlled, perhaps more refined than the 2022. The palate is medium-bodied with a silky smooth entry, finely tuned with impressive mineralité. It just gently "rolls out" on the languorous finish. This is a more understated Ausone compared to recent vintages, but it exudes sophistication and could easily surpass the Vauthiers' 2022. »More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Blend:
- 60% Cabernet franc, 40% Merlot
- Organic certification:
- 2023
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Since 1994, Michel Tardieu has been selecting and growing wines from very old vines and from the best terroirs of each appellation. Associated until 2007 with Dominique Laurent, known for the concentration of his Burgundy wines, Michel Tardieu has, because of the innate richness of the Rhone Valley wines, always sought to favour elegance and aromatic complexity in his selections.
Promoted two stars in the 2022 Revue du Vin de France guide.The rare Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is uncompromising, with Syrahs aged from 80 to over 100 years on two plots of land on the hillside, vinified 75% in whole clusters. Expect at least 15 years of cellar ageing.
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Potential alcohol:
- 13.5%
- Blend:
- 100% Serine/Syrah
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Since 1994, Michel Tardieu has been selecting and growing wines from very old vines and from the best terroirs of each appellation. Associated until 2007 with Dominique Laurent, known for the concentration of his Burgundy wines, Michel Tardieu has, because of the innate richness of the Rhone Valley wines, always sought to favour elegance and aromatic complexity in his selections.
Promoted two stars in the 2021 Revue du Vin de France guide.A new cuvée created in 2017, a Côte-Rôtie Vieilles Vignes from the heart of the hillside on the major terroirs of the Côte Brune. Phenomenal concentration, energetic tannin, a compact but refined wine, to wait at least 10 years before considering tasting.
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
- Potential alcohol:
- 13%
- Blend:
- 100% Serine
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Amazing story as that of Dominio de Pingus. Created in 1995 by Peter Sisseck, a Danish (!), this estate a few kilometres from Vega Sicilia has become a cult in less than 15 years.
Pingus is the great wine, made from the 4 ha of the estate, 100% tempranillo aged 70 years, biodynamic since 2000. 450 cases per year (an average yield of 10hl/ha, not counting small vintages, such as the 2002, totally downgraded in Flor de Pingus).
More- To keep or to drink:
- Available early 2026
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