2023 Château Mauvesin Barton, Moulis-en-Médoc, Bordeaux

The 2023 Mauvesin Barton shows a dark, somber character with aromas of licorice, smoke and spices. Medium-bodied, rich and firm, it's tannic and somewhat austere.

Drink 2025 - 2030

The 2023 Mauvesin Barton is a potent, dark wine. A blast of dark cherry, plum, chocolate and gravel gives the 2023 its exuberant profile. I find the tannins a bit imposing and large in scale. It will be interesting to see if this softens with time. Today, it is quite the bruiser. Yields were 30 hectoliters per hectare—in other words, on the lower side.

Drink 2026 - 2038

The 2023 Mauvesin Barton is deep garnet-purple in color. Notes of black cherries, strawberry preserves, and cranberries spill from the glass, followed by hints of mint tea, dried Provence herbs, and lavender. The medium-bodied palate is refreshing and well-sustained, with bright red berry flavors and textured grainy tannins, finishing with a floral lift. The blend is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc.

Drink 2027 - 2037

Coming from a vintage where the estate experienced mildew, frost, and a touch of hail, the 2023 Château Mauvesin Barton is deep purple-hued and reveals solid aromatics of pretty red berries, raspberries, sappy flowers, and subtle tobacco and herbal notes. A pretty, medium-bodied, elegant Moulis with bright acidity and fine yet building tannins, the blend is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc, hitting 13.4 alcohol, raised in one-third new oak. Harvest here stretched from the 14th to the 26th of September.

The 2023 Mauvesin Barton has an attractive bouquet with black plum, cassis and light floral scents. This is nicely defined. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and modest weight, but the oak is a little conspicuous toward the finish. It doesn't quite have the ambition or complexity of the 2022, though it represents a fine, perhaps earlier-drinking Moulis-en-Médoc.

Drink 2027 - 2037

Inky ruby colour, another vintage that underlines how impressively Mauvesin Barton has been doing over the past few years. Delivers brambled blackberry fruit and balanced but clear toasted spices, austere on the finish, this heads towards closing in, but keeps the fruit on the savory side, and you feel that the Barton family's experience means they can clearly identify what claret lovers expect from Moulis and zeroed in on it. Harvest September 14 to 26, 33% new oak, 30hl/h yields. Tasted twice.

Drink 2027 - 2040

This is firm and chewy with a medium to full body, yet it shows succulent fruit underneath. Outstanding depth as well as a crunchy sense to this, with blackberry and graphite. Profound limestone character is giving this real depth and solidity.