With more than 7,000 chateaux, France’s Bordeaux region is the most important wine producing region in the world. As well as being the basis for Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot-based wines everywhere, Bordeaux wines are acknowledged to be among the world’s best reds—according to experts and amateurs alike.
The wine region of Bordeaux is comprised of many smaller areas and encompasses both banks of the Gironde estuary in southwest France, as well as the land bordering the Garonne and Dordogne Rivers, which split off from the Gironde in the southern Medoc area. Generally, Bordeaux's best red wines are from seven major (and well-known) appellations: Pauillac, Saint-Estephe, Saint-Julien, and Margaux in the greater Medoc region, Graves to the south of the city of Bordeaux—in the region’s center, and Saint-Emilion and Pomerol toward the east. The large Graves region, as well as being the birthplace of claret, is home to many of the best dry whites. Premium sweet wines are made in Sauternes and Barsac, which are also within the Graves appellation but toward the south.
In understanding the multitude of Bordeaux wines, experts tend to talk about the right and left banks of the Gironde River. Generally, red wines from the river’s left bank, especially from Bordeaux’s Medoc region, are based on Cabernet Sauvignon, mixed with varying amounts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc and, occasionally, a spot of Petit Verdot and Malbec. These reds are known to be firm and dry, with a substantial tannic spine, and are frequently austere in their youth. They are also among the world’s longest-lived. The Graves’ gravel and sand soil content contribute to more texture early and roasted accents of hot stones, smoke and tobacco.
The softer Merlot grape is the foundation for right bank wines, mostly to the town of Libourne’s eastern side. These wines are fleshier in general than wines from the left bank and are more pliant. They are also accessible at an earlier age—though the best of them can improve in bottle for decades.
Wine Spectator, 98 points: Gorgeous aromas of honey, passion fruit, mango and candied lemon rind. Full-bodied and ultraconcentrated, yet balanced and refined. It lasts for minutes on the palate. This has just about everything in the right place...
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Wine Spectator, 92 points: Exotically perfumed violet and rose petals burst on your palate accompanied by dried apricot lemon and honey flavors. Gorgeous and subtle glowing on the finish.
Decanter, 96 points: On clay over limestone soils, relatively cool compared to Sauternes, this has a purity and freshness that is striking and moreish. Full of the quince, candied orange, truffle, apricot and lemon curd that you hope for in a...
jamessuckling.com, 97 points: What a wine for the vintage, with spices and furniture wax undertones, then dried citrus fruit. Great intensity in this, powerful stuff. Perhaps the best 2005.
Neal Martin's Wine Journal, 90 points: The de Fargues ’95 has a ripe, generous, quintessential de Fargues nose with tangy marmalade, Seville orange and quince jus, though it does not quite have the razor-sharp delineation of a top-flight wine from the estate...
jamessuckling.com, 94 points: Multi-facetted nose of fresh citrus, stone fruits and some candied pineapple. Rich and succulent but with lively acidity and a long, seriously complex finish. Better from 2020 and has a couple of decades of ageing in the...
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 98 points: 98+ Pale to medium gold colored, the 2007 d'Yquem delivers powerful scents of tropical fruits—dried mangoes and pineapple paste—accented by acacia honey, toasted almonds and woodsmoke with hints of chalk dust, kettle...
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 96 points: It take little effort to find the ripe, sweet, tropical fruits, apricot, candied orange peel, pineapple, vanilla, floral and honey notes in the nose. The wine is sweet, with luscious textures, freshness but not as much...
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 99 points: Crisp notes of vanilla, marzipan, pineapple, mango, orange rind, flowers, and candied apricot are right there, as soon as wine the moves from the bottle to your glass. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, fresh, sweet...
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: The pale lemon colored 2016 de Malle rocks up with flamboyant musk melon, pear tart, peach cobbler and ginger ale scents plus a touch of white pepper. The palate is packed with stone fruit and spice layers with a creamy...
Decanter, 92 points: Restrained nose; just a hint of guava and mango. Full and rich palate with bright acidity to balance fleshy stone fruit. Creamy toffee notes combine with a refreshing hint of reduction. Drinking well now. Organic. (Drink...
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 97 points: Spicy, lush, tropical, fresh, sweet, butter fruit, with a beautiful blend of honey, vanilla, apricots, pineapple, white peach and tangerine. The freshness here, really allows the wine to pop, while letting your palate...
Wine Enthusiast, 97 points: (95–97) Barrel Sample. This wine's ripeness is intense, just hinting at an impressive future. The dry core of botrytis balances the honey and the spice, along with fresh lemon curd. This is likely to be a very fine wine.
Wine Spectator, 96 points: Beautiful apple vanilla and honey aromas with just the right amount of new wood. Full-bodied medium sweet with lots of pretty pineapple honey and new wood. Long and refined. A beautifully silky and balanced Sauternes...
Wine Enthusiast, 98 points: (WE96-98 points) The beautifully aromatic, honeyed scent leads into flavors of bitter orange and honey, along with extreme freshness. Notes of white peach and Rocha pear give richness to a wine that is not huge, but...
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 98 points: The 2018 d'Yquem is all lime cordial, grapefruit oil and mandarin peel to begin. With a little coaxing, the fireworks really begin, letting off a whole array of honeysuckle, candied ginger, dried pineapple, lemon...
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: 96+ Pale lemon-gold colored, the 2016 Climens is a little youthfully mute, revealing notions of ripe peaches, mango and musk melon with touches of cedar chest, orange blossoms, candied ginger and baking bread. Bursting...
Decanter, 97 points: Poised and focussed, this gentle golden wine is easily one of the most successful of the vintage here. It has the beautiful pull between sweetness and acidity that not everyone has achieved in this late-harvest year. The...
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 90 points: The Rayne Vigneau has a lifted bouquet with honeycomb, dried pineapple and dried quince that gains intensity with aeration. The palate is ripe and spicy on the entry with mandarin and Seville orange marmalade. There is...
jamessuckling.com, 97 points: So much botrytis on the nose with spice, dried mushrooms and nutmeg. Dried lemons and mangoes. Full-bodied and medium sweet with density and, at the same time, lightness. I like that it is full of botrytis on the palate...
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 90 points: Looking and tasting much older than its true age, the wine has taken on more of a copper coloring. Losing some of its sweetness, you find more creme brulee, orange and caramel, than sweet, tropical, honeyed fruits. This...
Wine Enthusiast, 97 points: Powered by dry botrytis, this is a wine with immense potential. It has weight, complexity and richness, all under the cloak of botrytis. To leaven the power, there is acidity, but this is certainly for aging. ROGER VOSS
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