Now these are recommendations based on an overview of the Bordeaux region, there are always a few stunning wines in ‘bad’ vintages, and a few not so good wines in ‘great’ vintages. Yet as a general rule of thumb, based upon the climate and the actions taken by winemakers in each vintage, we can provide a summary of the vintages that produced top quality wines.
2023 Vintage - GOOD QUALITY
Château Grand Village red 2023
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2023
Les Pensees - Pomerol 2023
Les Perrieres Red 2023
The 2023s, the most recent vintage on the market. Another modern classic with slightly lower alcohol but full of ripe fruit flavours. It sits in a nice pocket of good quality wines ready for drinking now but also invites you to age it for a few years.
2022 Vintage - TOP QUALITY
Les Pensées - Pomerol 2022
Les Perriéres Red 2022
Château Certan de May - Pomerol 2022
Château Cru Godard 2022
Château Haut-Brion - Pessac-Leognan 2022
Château Hosanna - Pomerol 2022
Château Mission Haut-Brion - Pessac-Leognan 2022
Château Rauzan-Segla - Margaux 2022
Château Trotanoy - Pomerol 2022
L'Heritage de Chasse-Spleen - Haut Medoc 2022
La Perle d'Arche - Sauternes 2022
Troplong-Mondot - Saint-Emilion 2022
Claimed to be one of the top vintages in history, there are concentrated and sensuous cuvees all round in 2022. While there was a little heat and drought, the fruits came through pleasantly to form top wines across the region. These will age very well, yet decanting a bottle now can also provide great pleasure!
2021 Vintage - OKAY QUALITY
Château Grand Village Red 2021
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2021
Les Pensees - Pomerol 2021
Les Perrieres Red 2021
Château Belair-Monange - St Emilion GC 2021
Château Certan de May - Pomerol 2021
It was like the weather was holding back all the power the last few years and chose to unleash it all in 2021. With frost, hail, rot, minimal rain, there were devastating effects across the entire region. Not all is lost though, there were some beautiful wines that came out of this vintage, just often compared to the years before and after, reducing its quality in the comparison. Don’t skip this vintage, simply find best value for quality where it can be found.
2020 Vintage - TOP QUALITY
Château Grand Village Red 2020
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2020
Les Perrieres Red 2020
Brio de Cantenac - Margaux 2020
Château La Fleur des Graves 2020
Château la Grave Figeac - St Emilion GC 2020
Château Le Coteau - Margaux 2020
Esperance de Trotanoy 2020
Le Pagus de Lagrange - Haut Medoc 2020
Troplong-Mondot - Saint-Emilion 2020
Coming into the more recent years now, the 2020 was of course beautiful (thanks to the rule of 5s). Think of it as a modern version of the classic Bordeaux wines, there is richness and purity but the tannins are slightly softer than the older and bolder Bordeaux wines of years past.
2019 Vintage - TOP QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2019
Les Perrieres Red 2019
Annonce de Belair-Monange - Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2019
Château Baron de Brane - Margaux 2019
Croix de Certan - Pomerol 2019
Duluc de Branaire Ducru - St Julien 2019
Espérance de Trotanoy 2019
Lacoste-Borie - Pauillac 2019
Louis Rapin - Montagne-St-Emilion 2019
Maison Blanche - Montagne Saint Émilion 2019
Mondot - St Emilion Grand Cru 2019
Troplong-Mondot - Saint-Emilion 2019
A nice, simple vintage that pleased all those working among the vines. The outcome was a consistent set of wines across the board that offer balance and freshness. Good for ageing past 10 years. Don’t be dismayed by how many 2019s are still on the market, unfortunately the en primeur campaign for this year coincided with the global pandemic, stunting its impact.
2018 Vintage - TOP QUALITY
Château Baron de Brane - Margaux 2018
Château Magnan la Gaffeliere - Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2018
Frank Phelan - St Estephe 2018
Troplong-Mondot - Saint-Emilion 2018
A wild, wet, windy, hailing year turning into a hot and dry season, this yoyo weather was diabolical for the thermometer but resulted in some truly impressive wines. Consider St Estephe, Pauillac, St Julien, Pomerol and Saint-Emilion for your pleasure. Age it well and you can start drinking in the next few years but the true beauties lies with those who are patient.
2017 Vintage - GOOD QUALITY
Les Pensées - Pomerol 2017
Annonce de Belair-Monange - St Emilion Grand Cru 2017
Troplong-Mondot - Saint-Emilion 2017
A short breather between shining vintages, there was sadly devastating frosts that washed through Bordeaux this year. Of course there are a select few bottles that prevail due to the commitment from the winemakers to pick only the best fruit, research is best conducted here.
2016 Vintage - TOP QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2016
Les Pensees - Pomerol 2016
Château Barrail du Blanc - St Emilion Grand Cru 2016
Château Belair-Monange - St Emilion Grand Cru 2016
Château d'Arche Lafaurie - Sauternes 2016
Château La Grave - Pomerol 2016
Château St Georges Cote Pavie - St Emilion GC 2016
Troplong-Mondot - Saint-Emilion 2016
If you thought 2015 was great, 2016 is next level. The Left Bank tends to hold court over this year but don’t let the dissuade you from the Right Bank with some reports claiming top estates made their best wines in history. Allow these lovely wines to age for a few years to experience the complex developments, but opening a bottle a little earlier with a decanter is also a fantastic solution!
2015 Vintage - TOP QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2015
Château de Bel-Air - Lalande de Pomerol 2015
Château Tronquoy-Lalande - Saint-Estèphe 2015
Haut Roc Blanquant - St Emilion Grand Cru 2015
Troplong-Mondot -Saint-Emilion 2015
Now comes the start of a great run of vintages. A pattern emerges here with every 5 vintages there is a stunner, with 2000, 2005 and 2010 all lining up with beautiful wines, there is no doubt about the 2015 (spoiler alert, 2020 is also brilliant)! Merlot shines brightly this year with Cabernet Franc close behind. Across the region you will find powerful wines to both age and enjoy early, look out for Pomerol and Saint-Emilion to get some true beauties.
2014 Vintage - GOOD QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2014
Les Pensees - Pomerol 2014
Château Belair-Monange - Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2014
Bringing the region back on track, 2014 was the year for Cabernet Sauvignon and allowed the Medoc to shine. A cooler and damp growing season elongated the ripening period but as it warmed for harvest the concentration came into the fruit wonderfully. Another vintage often overshadowed by the subsequent years, this is great for enjoying now and after a few more years.
2013 Vintage - OKAY QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2013
Les Pensees - Pomerol 2013
Château Suduiraut - Sauternes 2013
Saint-Julien and Pomerol are the name of the game this year, yet do not forget Sauternes truly shined through in 2013. There is a scattering of fine wines among the poor vintage, all best to be drunk early to enjoy the peak of the fruit flavours shining through.
2012 Vintage - OKAY QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2012
Les Pensées - Pomerol 2012
Clos du Marquis - Saint-Julien 2012
Troplong-Mondot - Saint-Emilion 2012
Another classic vintage, with a tricky growing season and late, wet harvest. Merlot came out well but Cabernet Sauvignon took the brunt of the bad October weathers. Therefore the Right Bank tended to fair slightly better with their Merlot dominant cuvees, best in their younger years so get them out of the cellar and pop the cork now.
2011 Vintage - OKAY QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2011
Château Belair-Monange - St Emilion GC 2011
Château d'Arche - Sauternes 2011
Château La Grave - Pomerol 2011
Château Trotanoy - Pomerol 2011
Classics from Pomerol and Saint-Emilion can be found with the 2011 vintage. A very variable year but likely due to being in the shadow of the 2009 and 2010 vintages. Great value can be found in these bottles for a nice easy drinking experience with slightly lower alcohol content than previous vintages.
2010 Vintage - TOP QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2010
Think 2009 but more powerful and tannic, the structure in the 2010s are incredible and please all the classic Bordeaux drinkers. Seek out Margaux, Pessac Leognan, Saint-Emilion and Pauillac for some true wonders.
2009 Vintage - TOP QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2009
The growing season was magical in 2009! Warm summer days with cool nights led to all of Bordeaux shining this vintage. Keep an eye out for Pomerol, Pauillac, Pessac-Leognan and Saint-Esteph to enjoy the peak of the vintage.
2008 Vintage - GOOD QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2008
Clos du Marquis - Saint-Julien 2008
This is another vintage for Pomerol and Pauillac to shine, a heated summer led into some slightly better weather towards harvest allowing for great winemakers to make the best of the vintage. Grand vins were the name of the game this year.
2007 Vintage - OKAY QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2007
A great wine to drink now, not too much more cellaring here as it was a tough year in the vines and the wines remain attractive in youth.
2006 Vintage - GOOD QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2006
Clos du Marquis - Saint-Julien 2006
Quite an up and down season with drought, followed by a cold and wet harvest. Pomerol and Pauillac came out on top this year but overall a good selection of wines can be found from 2006.
2005 Vintage - TOP QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2005
Château Trotanoy - Pomerol 2005
This year was a perfect balance of weather across the seasons, allowing for concentration during ripening. Tannins can be quite powerful here so allow for a good ageing period before opening.
2004 Vintage - GOOD QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2004
Great wines but always eclipsed by the following vintage of 2005. Great value for the quality and nice young, a bit of age can bode well for the bigger wines.
2003 Vintage - GOOD QUALITY
Potentially great for Pauillac and Saint Estephe, as well as select Saint-Emilion wines. There is just a slight lack of consistency with quality so research is key here!
2002 Vintage - OKAY QUALITY
Smaller crop year with uneven ripeness across the board, good value to purchase but not for long ageing.
2001 Vintage - GOOD QUALITY
Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2001
Les Pensées - Pomerol 2001
Great wines came out of the chateaux that knew how to carefully select their fruits and keep yields low but concentrated. Top wines were produced across Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, with a few eclipsing their 2000 counterparts at times! (Sauternes was also producing some great wines this vintage!)
2000 Vintage - TOP QUALITY
Château Latour a Pomerol 2000
Powerful results out of every appellation in Bordeaux in 2000, with great depth to the wines with purity and freshness. These would have aged well and will continue to do so for a few more years.