2023 Château d'Issan, Cru Classé Margaux

The 2023 d’Issan is a powerful, dense wine, especially for a property where the wines tend to be more understated. A rich, muscular Margaux, the 2023 d'Issan exudes intensity in all of its dimensions. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2023 is going to need a number of years to shed some of its considerable baby fat. Dried herbs, tobacco, incense and bold, dark-toned fruit flow into the deep, resonant finish.

The 2023 d’Issan was picked from September 18 to October 2. It was cropped at 30hL/ha, lower than usual due to mildew pressure and less rain in August, causing hydric stress during the summer heat wave, especially in the Merlot vines. It was harvested a little later than the other cuvées to benefit from the Indian summer, September 20, and matured in 50% new oak. It has a very pure bouquet with black cherries, cassis and blueberry fruit, though I feel that other recent vintages have shown a touch more complexity. The palate is well balanced and cohesive with fine and quite edgy tannins. There is an impressive symmetry to this d'Issan with a very poised and quite persistent finish. It improves with aeration and all the time, the aromatics seem to muster more energy (hence, I raised my score). One to watch.

The purity of the fruit is really wonderful here, with blackcurrants, orange peel and raspberries. Aromatic. Full body, chewy tannins and a juicy finish. But it remains linear and vivid. The quality of the tannins and the powdery texture are really alluring. Silky. And so precise. 70% cabernet sauvignon, 25% merlot, 2.5% cabernet franc and 2.5% petit verdot. 13.83% alcohol. 3.66 pH.

The 2023 D'Issan shows excellent potential, unfurling in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cassis, pen ink and white flowers, followed by a medium to full-bodied, velvety and enveloping palate that's rich, fleshy and charming, with lively acids, good depth at the core and a long, sapid finish. It's a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.