Region · Gironde, France
Bordeaux
bor-DOH
The blend that trained the world
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and a little Petit Verdot or Malbec — assembled by bank, soil, and vintage on the Gironde estuary.
- cassis
- cedar
- plum
- graphite
- violet
Left Bank (Médoc, Graves) is gravel and Cabernet-led: Pauillac, Margaux, Saint-Julien, Saint-Estèphe, Pessac-Léognan. Right Bank (Saint-Émilion, Pomerol) is clay-limestone and Merlot-led. The 1855 classification still shapes prices; it is not a tasting note.
Dry whites from Pessac and Entre-Deux-Mers, and sweet wines from Sauternes and Barsac, are half the region's genius and often forgotten. A vintage chart is useful here — Atlantic weather swings hard.
Drink Cru Bourgeois and good second wines while first growths sleep. Decant young claret. Pair with lamb, beef, and mushroom. Bordeaux is not a cocktail; it is food wine.
Vintage
Calls are for a typical Médoc or Graves. Right Bank can run a year riper. Sauternes lives on a different calendar.
| Year | Call | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Hold | Small crop, sun without stew. Still in barrel — first reports are serious. |
| 2024 | Careful | Cool, wet, light. Buy to drink young, not to cellar. |
| 2023 | Hold | Uneven across the estuary. The good ones have crunch and line. |
| 2022 | Hold | Heat and tiny berries. Powerful, expensive, not ready. |
| 2021 | Careful | Classic and lean. Modest bottles: drink. Don’t blindly cellar. |
| 2020 | Hold | Concentrated and still clenched at the top. |
| 2019 | Hold | Complete and fresh — the one to keep from this stretch. |
| 2018 | Drink | Warm and opulent. Most crus are open. |
| 2017 | Drink | Frost cut the crop. Survivors are ready, not huge. |
| 2016 | Hold | The decade’s classic. Village wines drink; classified still climbing. |
| 2015 | Drink | Ripe and generous. Right Bank especially singing. |
| 2014 | Drink | Fresh Cabernet, classic line. Don’t wait. |
| 2013 | Careful | Wet and thin. Drink remaining bottles or skip. |
| 2012 | Drink | Medium-weight charm. Not a monument. |
| 2011 | Careful | Rain at harvest. Lean. Finish what’s left. |
At the table
Service
61–64 °F (16–18 °C). Decant 30–120 minutes depending on age and density.
