Clos du Marquis 2023

Slightly restrained, with depth and dark fruit, smoky notes, cedar, and tobacco; densely built, with structure and grip, fine-grained tannins, very good acidity; fresh, lively, with tension and a mineral-driven finish. Will age beautifully.

Red cherries and black cherries, fragranced and expressive. Smooth and succulent, sappy and mouthwatering straight away. Juicy and clean. Some salinity, giving wet stone, slate, graphite with a citrus bite to the acidity. A touch of austerity but there’s a sense of finesse and elegance. I love the soft chew to the tannins, a dark Cabernet side, filling but not overwhelming. You can feel the precision.

The 2023 Clos du Marquis, raised in 50% new oak for 16 months, takes a few moments to really open in the glass, but it reveals satisfying fruit concentration, with blackberry, cedar and light cigar box scents unfurling in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, with quite a feisty opening, bright and sharp, with a keen line of acidity that counters that ripe red fruit. Gentle grip but quite persistent on the finish, this is a very fine, perhaps more approachable Clos du Marquis.

56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 13.5% vol., pH 3.69, 44 hl/ha. Densely interwoven blueberry bouquet, noble cassis spice, dark graphite, and beguiling violet perfume. On the taut palate, very straight-lined, with black-berry contours, deep terroir spice, and a well-toned body. In the concentrated, long finish, wild cherry paired with peppery extract – a complex and complete Clos du Marquis this year.

Squid ink, cassis, bilberry, roses; love the intensity and gorgeous salinity of this wine. It captures the sense of energy and florality in the best Cabernets of 2023, while retaining the austerity you expect from this site in its early years. First vintage in the new cellars, moving from 40 vats to 80 vats, with 30 microvinification vats. Harvest from September 6 to October 5, 50% new oak for ageing, yields of 44 hl/ha.

Score: 92–94. A decadent nose that evokes the opulence and grandeur of a Louis XIV salon, with velvet chaise longues, overflowing fruit baskets, and extravagant floral arrangements. Dense and caressing on the palate, it reveals notes of fruit, smoke, rose petals, and tobacco leaf, leading to a complex, generous finish.

Spicy, fruity nuances pave the way for an inviting, seductive, joyful bouquet with aromas of blueberries, blackberries and cinnamon, followed by a touch of menthol. Dense on the attack, the wine is carried by silky tannins that come through from mid-palate, while the acidity works to keep it on track, ensuring it retains a certain straightness. Clos du Marquis emerges balanced, linear, fresh and still charming! A long-distance runner who has mastered the shot put.

Espresso, cigar box, blackberries, dark red pit fruits, and flowers fill the perfume. The wine is medium-bodied, refreshing, chewy, and vivid, with a crispness and energy to the salt-edged, currant finish. The wine was made from a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2027-2042.

From a single walled vineyard, the wine moves easily between density and juicy black fruits. It has both power and great fruitiness. The wine is full of promise with its dark chocolate aroma. Drink from 2030.

This is solid, with cassis and boysenberry puree flavors stitched together with lightly singed apple wood, dried anise and black tea notes. A strong graphite edge drives the finish. There’s no bombast at all, though, just focus and definition. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2027 through 2039.

Logo on the cork: an inverted T (Trescases) Dark, intense, purplish colour. Highly aromatic nose with ripe fruit notes. A touch of Merlot. Precise on the attack, aromatic through the mid-palate with a hint of freshness; the wine melts on the palate, long, fragrant and sinewy. On reflection, I should have asked to open a second bottle (because of the lively edge). To taste again.

The 2023 Clos du Marquis is an attractive classic, offering up notes of cassis and licorice mingled with hints of mint, rose petal and pencil lead. Medium- to full-bodied, velvety and layered, it's pure and lively, with sweet tannins and succulent acids to frame its fleshy, layered core of fruit.