Winemaker Notes
At Durfort-Vivens, 2023 unquestionably joins the list of high-quality vintages produced in recent years. Despite unpredictable weather, the vineyard displays remarkable resilience. A rainy winter and a chilly early spring delay bud break, but a tropical spring and a dry late summer make up for it. Young vines and the most well-drained terroirs experience stress, but established vines adapt easily, resulting in a tasting experience with complex aromatic purity and perfect balance on the palate, revealing a wine that is both powerful and smooth.
Blend: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of blueberries, blackberries, black currants, lead pencil and flint, with some tar. Medium-bodied, showing round, fine tannins that deliver a creamy texture and a long, succulent finish. Great purity of fruit. Lightly chewy at the end. A blend of 92% cabernet sauvignon and 8% merlot. Needs three or four years to come around. Drink or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Cassis, ripe tobacco, cedar pencil, chocolate, and smoky nuances all shine in the 2023 Château Durfort-Vivens, a gorgeously textured, medium to full-bodied, ripe, textured, straight-up velvety Margaux offering integrated tannins, plenty of classy background oak (it's resting in 70% new barrels), and a great finish. It's another brilliant Margaux in the vintage with tons to love.
Barrel Sample: 94-96 -
Wine Enthusiast
Château Durfort-Vivens 2023 (Margaux). The tannins show strongly in this dense wine. It has power while also having charm, giving balance and texture. Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, it is firm with a tobacco and spice aroma and the ability to age.
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Decanter
Deep dark nose, vibrant and rich, gorgeous floral scents with dark chocolate, plum, black cherry and blackcurrant. Good vibrancy and energy to this. A little sharp at first, then settles and straightens. Tannins are well worked, nothing harsh or austere just bright and on the high acidity style. I like this a lot, has finesse and elegance, gorgeous texture to the tannins, fine but ripe, giving a soft chew. Excellent movement and overall charm. Lots to like here and I just love the vibrancy, the sense of weight, precision and purity. Great stuff. 15% press wine.
Barrel Sample: 95 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Durfort Vivens is once again dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, which represents 92% of the blend. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of minty cassis, plums and berries mingled with hints of pencil shavings and violets, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with good concentration, sweet tannins and a long, penetrating finish. With a pH of 3.66 and 13.7% alcohol, it's a resounding success.
Barrel Sample: 94-95 -
Vinous
The 2023 Durfort-Vivens is a very pretty, understated wine. In 2023, Durfort is marked by a brighter profile than usual: red fruit, blood orange and flowers. Medium in body and persistent, with good energy and very fine balance, the 2023 is promising. Even though it’s showing a touch of oak at this stage, this layered and sumptuous offering is showing well. –Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 92-95
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Silky, seductive and polished are the words that characterize the best wines from Margaux, the most inland appellation of the Médoc on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
Margaux’s gravel soils are the thinnest of the Médoc, making them most penetrable by vine roots—some reaching down over 23 feet for water. The best sites are said to be on gentle outcrops, or croupes, where more gravel facilitates good drainage.
The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification but it is nonetheless important in regards to history of the area. In 1855 the finest chateaux were deemed on the basis of reputation and trading price—at that time. In 1855, Chateau Margaux achieved first growth status, yet it has been Chateau Palmer (officially third growth from the 1855 classification) that has consistently outperformed others throughout the 20th century.
Chateau Margaux in top vintages is capable of producing red Cabernet Sauvignon based wines described as pure, intense, spell-binding, refined and profound with flavors and aromas of black currant, violets, roses, orange peel, black tea and incense.
Other top producers worthy of noting include Chateau Rauzan-Ségla, Lascombes, Brane-Cantenac, and d’Issan, among others.
The best wines of Margaux combine a deep ruby color with a polished structure, concentration and an unrivaled elegance.