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.
jamessuckling.com, 98 points: So much floral and dark-fruit character with almonds and walnut shell. Full body and ultra-fine tannins. Powerful. Classic style with a harmony and energy. Goes on for minutes. A superb wine with great fruit. Real...
jamessuckling.com, 95 points: Impressive richness and clarity of red and dark berries. Lightly spiced-pastry aromas, too. The palate has a very crisp, polished and groomed tannin texture, as well as super fresh flavors that carry long. Great wine. Try...
Wine Enthusiast, 98 points: This is one of the great successes of this vintage. It is generous and rich while also solid and structured. The combination of the essence of black currant and the elegant tannic structure are superb. This is a wine for...
jebdunnuck.com, 100 points: Pure perfection in a glass and unquestionably one of the great vintages for this cuvée, the 2015 Pavie is a blend of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon that was brought up in 80% new French...
Wine Enthusiast, 97 points: From its privileged position on the sweep of vines leading up to the medieveal city of Saint-Émilion, this estate has made an impressive wine in this vintage. It is rich and concentrated both in its structure and its...
Wine Enthusiast, 95 points: Solid tannins mark this still very young wine. At the same time, the fruit is rich and well proportioned. Black currants dominate the fruity spectrum, giving the wine richness as well as great potential. Drink from 2025...
Decanter, 96 points: Displaying the more highly-charged, well ripened character that you would expect from a 2015, this is rich and silky, showing incredible texture. It combines plump black fruits with the most gorgeous liquorice and dark...
jebdunnuck.com, 97 points: This 17-hectare estate has been rejuvenated by owner Jean-Louis Triaud and is certainly producing some of the top wines from the appellation today. I tasted the deep, inky-colored 2015 Château Saint-Pierre twice and it’s...
Wine Enthusiast, 96 points: This is a powerful wine, with wood aging that adds richness to the dense tannins. Some tough extraction has not detracted from the ripe fruit or structure and will go as the wine matures. It should be ready to drink from...
jamessuckling.com, 92 points: Aromas of blueberries, tar and blackberries. Hints of cassis bush. Full body, firm and dusty tannins and a flavorful finish. Savory and fruity at the same time. Give it a year or two to soften. Try in 2020.
Wine Enthusiast, 97 points: This firm wine shows the tannic side of the vintage. Those tannins are dusty, enriched with black-currant fruits and a dense backdrop. The wine is concentrated and elegant, very ageworthy and not likely to be ready before...
Decanter, 94 points: As it was recently bottled the nose is a little closed right now, but with a minute in the glass this starts to drum roll, building up flavour and layers of texture. This is going to age beautifully. Just 38hl/ha were...
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: The 2015 Marquis d'Alesme Becker is composed of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. It has a deep garnet-purple color and a broody, earthy/meaty nose over a core of crushed black...
jamessuckling.com, 96 points: This is sensational, characterized by such purity and beauty and with aromas of blackberries, dark chocolate, walnuts, cedar and lavender. Full-bodied, tight and focused — in part thanks to sensational tannin tension that...
Wine Spectator, 92 points: Toasty, with flashes of vanilla and mocha, but there’s fleshy plum sauce and currant preserve flavors at the core, along with lingering notes of anise and violet. Best from 2019 through 2025. — J.M.
jamessuckling.com, 94 points: A big, rich wine for St. Julien with plenty of power and concentration, which enables it to carry plenty of spicy and toasty oak. The tannins need some time to soften, but the elegant finish says that from 2020 this...
Decanter, 93 points: This wine is definitely softening and taking on shape in the bottle. The juiciness is starting to appear and you can see why this is the most easily approachable of the Mouton stable when young. Really enjoyable...
jamessuckling.com, 93 points: A dense and rich red with dried-berry and plum character. Full body, round and chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Lots of intensity. Drink in 2020.
jebdunnuck.com, 98 points: I underrated the 2015 Rauzan-Ségla on release. It’s a big, rich, incredibly sexy wine that’s certainly in the same ballpark as the 2016 (and 2018). Full-bodied, ripe, and concentrated, it has a wonderfully expansive...
jamessuckling.com, 96 points: Very suave and impressive sweet, earthy notes as well as mocha-scented oak, violets and blueberries. The palate has a swathe of supple tannins with a seamless texture. Really smooth. Good drive and depth, not to mention...
jamessuckling.com, 93 points: Attractive red berries and light licorice notes with a lick of iodine lead to a palate that has plenty of red-fruit and -licorice flavors. Smoothly groomed tannins and a fresh cherry-pip finish. Try from 2020.
Wine Enthusiast, 93 points: This wine comes from a 50-acre crus bourgeois estate in the middle of some of the greatest crus classés estates. The terroir is impressive and produces a rich, structured wine with good concentration, ripe tannins and a...
jamessuckling.com, 96 points: This is very tight and compacted with a condensed palate of currant and dark-berry character. A salty and mineral undertone to the wine. Full body and firm and linear tannins. Focused and intense. Long and precise on the...
jamessuckling.com, 97 points: Classic Pomerol character of black olives, wet earth, violets and dark fruit. Full-bodied, tight and silky-textured with fabulous texture. Stones and dark berries. So serious and real. The depth is like looking down a...
jamessuckling.com, 98 points: So much violet and lilac aromas to this with blackberry and blueberry character, too. Full-bodied and delivering limestone, chalk and lavender on the palate. Great structure, too. Needs four or five years to soften...
Wine Enthusiast, 90 points: Under the same ownership as Château Rauzan-Gassies in Margaux, this estate is in the north of Haut-Médoc region. It is dense with solid tannins and black fruit. A touch of black coffee hints at toasty wood as well as some...
jebdunnuck.com, 99 points: A wine I was able to taste on multiple occasions, the 2015 Troplong Mondot is a tour de force that readers need to snatch up. This cuvee comes from the cool, clay and limestone soils on the upper plateau (it’s the highest...
jamessuckling.com, 92 points: A clarity and transparency to this pretty red with currant, lemon-peel and lemon-grass character. Full body, very fine tannins and a pretty texture. Precise wine. Drink or hold.
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