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, 100 points: I am a little bit speechless about this one. I have not seen such earthy and totally deep character of the soil in a young Mouton in my career. Of course, I didn’t taste 1945 or 1959 when they were young, but I have been...
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 100 points: (98-100) Pitch black in color with purple accents, my glass seemed like it was packed with an orchard of berries! The fruit pops from the get go. Blackberry, smoke, licorice, flowers and earthy black plums are impossible...
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 100 points: (98-100) When you taste a barrel sample and the first thought that comes to mind is 'I want this in my cellar' you know you're tasting a rock star! The color of a pitch black night, this beauty is completely opaque. The...
Vinous, 100 points: (97-100) The 2018 Lafleur is a stratospherically beautiful, deeply moving wine. A Pomerol of stunning aromatic intensity and depth, Lafleur simply has everything. All the elements come together in a wine that is both rich...
jamessuckling.com, 100 points: (99-100) This is a significant VCC with masses of fruit and juicy tannins. It’s fresh, but impresses you with the rich and powerful fruit. A tower of a wine. Incredible depth and density. Thick and muscular. It is 30 per...
jebdunnuck.com, 100 points: (98-100) A candidate for the wine of the vintage is the 2018 Léoville Las Cases. My notes on this incredible wine are laced with expletives that I, unfortunately, can’t repeat here. Safe to say, however, it’s one of the...
Wine Spectator, 100 points: ( 97-100 points) This is pretty gorgeous, with velvety texture that lets nearly exotic cassis, plum and blackberry fruit reduction flavors roll through. Has a beautiful bass line of warm earth and smoldering tobacco notes...
jamessuckling.com, 98 points: (97-98) This is a very driven Pape Clément with fantastic density and finesse at the same time. Linear and driven, the finish goes on for minutes with incredible tension and focus. More cabernet. Refinement with power.
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 100 points: ( 98-100) Full-bodied, rich, powerful, dense, opulent and frankly, incredibly sexy, as well as structured, stylistically it feels like a blend of 2009 and 2016 with the best attributes of each vintage. This wine is...
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