Region · Gironde, France
Bordeaux
bor-DOH
The blend that trained the world
What should I drink from here?
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.
Places
Go see Bordeaux.
Left Bank Cabernet, Right Bank Merlot, and tasting rooms that are not California. You write ahead. You do not drop in on Lafite.
Tasting rooms and itinerary
