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, 95 points: (JS94-95 points) This is really amazing. Superb concentration of fruit and velvety tannins. Such polish and sexiness. Wow.
100 points: (JL98-100 points) Dark and inky colored, the hue is laced with purple accents. On perfume smells like you walked into a flower garden overgrown with wild anise and boysenberry brambles. Dense, rich, opulent and incredibly...
Wine Enthusiast, 97 points: (WE95-97 points) Structured, tight and firm this wine is focused around dominant tannins, yet shows the potential of black fruit flavors. Destined for long-term aging.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: (WA92-94 points) The 2015 Badette is a blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc that was picked between 10 October and 11 October (i.e. one day.) Matured in 100% new oak, it has a complex bouquet, powerful and you might...
jamessuckling.com, 93 points: (JS92-93 points) Pretty Bastor with dried lemon, orange and spice character. Dried mushrooms too. Full body, medium sweet and a phenolic tension.
jamessuckling.com, 99 points: (JS98-99 points) I don’t know what to say here other than it’s better than any BDL I drank since 1989 including the 1990. There’s a transparency and beauty like a rainbow. Full body, extremely long and bright. Super fine...
Antonio Galloni's Vinous, 96 points: (AG93-96 points) A spectacularly rich, hedonistic wine, the 2015 Beau-Séjour-Bécot exudes richness and intensity, with silky, polished tannins that wrap around a huge core of fruit. Dark cherry, plum, mocha, licorice and...
jamessuckling.com, 99 points: (JS98-99 points) Incredible depth of fruit to this wine with ultra-powerful tannins that remain agile and soft. So much intensity. It’s layered with ripe fruit and caressing mouthfeel. Neoclassical in style. Mostly merlot...
jamessuckling.com, 95 points: (JS94-95 points) The quality of tannin here is really exceptional with ultra-fine tannins and beautiful length. Blackberry and blueberry. Love it.
jamessuckling.com, 97 points: (JS96-97 points) A sexy and beautiful wine with incredible blackberry, dark chocolate and salt character. Full body, chewy and powerful. Great length. 100% merlot.
jamessuckling.com, 99 points: (JS98-99 points) This has a focus and intensity that I haven’t seen before. I goes wide in the palate and then compresses with great precision and beauty. Full and excellent. So great. Best I ever had from here.
jamessuckling.com, 97 points: (JS96-97 points) Here is a wine with great pedigree near Ausone. Full body, yet fast and agile. The finish lasts for minutes. You see the chalky soil in the wine.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: (WA92-94 points) The 2015 Beychevelle was picked between 22 September and 8 October, a blend of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot that will be matured in 50% new oak. It has quite a...
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: (WA92-94 points) The 2015 Beychevelle was picked between 22 September and 8 October, a blend of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot that will be matured in 50% new oak. It has quite...
Wine Enthusiast, 94 points: (WE92-94 points) Dense tannins mark this wine, partnered with black fruit flavors and woody tones. The palate exhibits a good balance between the excellent acidity and a ripe, full structure, finishing fresh.
Wine Enthusiast, 95 points: (WE93-95 points) Concentrated tannins meet seamless line of juicy black currant on the palate. The structure is firm and tight, finishing with a lift of acidity.
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 97 points: (JL95-97 points) Truffle, forest floor, cocoa and ripe, dark, red fruits enliven the perfume. On the palate, this wine is silky, subtle and focused on freshness and purity of ready fruit. Elegance and weight enhance a...
Wine Enthusiast, 96 points: (WE94-96 points) With 82% of Cabernet Sauvignon (more than usual), this is a classic juicy, black currant-flavored Bordeaux. It has great style, its juicy, crisp character shining through. The tannins are right there...
jamessuckling.com, 94 points: (JS93-94 points) A 2015 with ripe and beautiful fruit and velvety tannins. Full body. Juicy fruit. Goes on for minutes. Extremely impressive.
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 100 points: (JL98-100 points) The first vintage under the direction of Nicolas Audebert is a knock out! The color is dark and the nose complex. Its floral, stone, boysenberry and blackberry liqueur profile commands your attention. On...
Wine Spectator, 97 points: (WS94-97 points) Dark and winey, with currant paste and fig notes backed by slightly briary grip and an ample dose of toast. There's good energy here and nice vivacity, despite the darker profile today, and this should...
Wine Spectator, 97 points: (WS94-97 points) Dark and winey, with currant paste and fig notes backed by slightly briary grip and an ample dose of toast. There’s good energy here and nice vivacity, despite the darker profile today, and this should...
jamessuckling.com, 96 points: (JS95-96 points) Wow. Real Cantemerle with stupendous power and depth. Mineral, stone and violet character. Full and structure. It starts slowly and then goes on for minutes. Perhaps best ever?
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 96 points: (JL94-96 points) Deep, rich violet-ruby in color with a complex array of scents ranging from espresso, violets, truffle, boysenberry, cassis and black cherry, this wine is sensuous, concentrated, opulent and balanced with...
jamessuckling.com, 93 points: (JS92-93 points) Refined and very pretty with blue fruit and dried berry. Full and tight. Cool fruit.
jamessuckling.com, 94 points: (JS93-94 points) This is so cool. Very fine and hip with beautiful fruit and finesse. Full body, really refined. This is age all in 50 hectoliter casks. 90% merlot and rest cabernet franc. Purity. 18,000 bottle made.
Wine Enthusiast, 95 points: (WE93-95 points) There is a beautiful straight line of crispness in this wine. It cuts right through the wood and ripe yellow fruits to leave a wine with great clarity.
Wine Enthusiast, 94 points: (WE92-94 points) There is a dark side to this wine. It shows in the brooding black fruits that are surrounded by dense wood flavors. It has power and good concentration for the future.
jamessuckling.com, 96 points: (JS95-96 points) This is really intense and powerful with fantastic energy and character. So much dark berry and walnut character. Full and chewy. Yet polished. Second wine of Ausone.
jamessuckling.com, 95 points: (JS94-95 points) Very powerful and tannic yet salty and savory. Full body, dense and chewy yet polished and bright. Great second wine from La Mission. Only 30% merlot.
jamessuckling.com, 95 points: (JS94-95 points) This is a very solid 2015 with lots of tannin and fruit at the finish. Full body. Long finish. Impressive. One of the best ever from here.
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 93 points: (JL91-93 points) Licorice, black raspberries and earth create the perfume that leads to a finish laced with freshness, cherries and thyme. This medium-bodied, finesse-styled wine was produced from a blend of 60% Cabernet...
Wine Enthusiast, 93 points: (WE91-93 points) Here's a ripe and jammy wine, rich with red plum and black currant fruits. It has a fresher side from the crisp acidity that shines through the concentrated structure and which continues strongly at the end.
95 points: (JL93-95 points) With a nose packed with flowers, dark, red fruits, espresso, thyme and earth, this wine is sensuous, silky, ripe and lush, exuding freshness, polished tannins and a beautiful sense of purity and balance...
jamessuckling.com, 100 points: (JS99-100 points) A wine with incredible character and style with black ink and blueberry aromas and flavors. Full body, extremely fresh and structured with riffing tannins. It is muscular and powerful. White pepper, sea...
jamessuckling.com, 98 points: (JS97-98 points) A phenomenal white with dried fruits such as apricots and mangos. Masses of bortrytis spice. Full body yet agile and bright with incredible lightness and delicacy. So much cherry blossom too. Small white...
jamessuckling.com, 94 points: (JS93-94 points) A very minerally red with blueberry, chalk and berry aromas and flavors. Full body, salty, chalky and stony character. Impressive.
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 100 points: (JL98-100 points) The nose pops with spice, flowers, smoke, plums and cherries. Open your mind to beauty, desire and a bite-your-bottom-lip eroticism. This is what elegant hedonism is all about. This wine is sensuous...
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 97 points: (WA95-97 points) The 2015 Domaine de Chevalier is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot picked from 23 September until 15 October at just 35 hl/ha, matured in 35% new oak. It has a...
Wine Enthusiast, 95 points: (WE93-95 points) This is a velvety wine with its beautiful tannins and generous fruit. Its acidity shows through in its bright character that is both approachable and structured.
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 95 points: (JL93-95 points) Powerful, full-bodied, concentrated and filled with fresh plums and sweet, ripe, black cherries, thyme, crushed rocks and flowers, this wine is deep, fresh and long -- a grande dame who will age with...
jamessuckling.com, 96 points: (JS95-96 points) This is massive with so much ripe fruit and velvety tannins, yet it manages to remain fresh and balanced. Full body, round texture and a long finish. Best ever from here.
Wine Spectator, 94 points: (WS91-94 points) Gorgeous, with anise, plum, blackberry and sweet tobacco notes already melded together seamlessly. Fleshy and inviting through the finish, with long, velvety tannins that are the hallmark of 2015. This is...
jamessuckling.com, 93 points: (JS92-93 points) This shows finesse and depth with dark berry and dark chocolate character. Full body, integrated tannins. On it.
Wine Spectator, 94 points: (WS91-94 points) Very tangy and fresh, with lots of thyme and gooseberry notes followed by lemon pith and quinine accents. A rapier finish glistens with fleur de sel details. Shows ample cut and purity. Pitch-perfect...
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 98 points: (JL96-98 points) An arousing blend of silky, supple textures, opulent, sensuous fruits, rich, intense flavors, length and purity, this wine is like basking on the sands of St. Tropez with Scarlett Johansson by your side. ...
Wine Spectator, 96 points: (WS93-96 points) Intense, this features notes of peach, pear, apricot, quince and mango, layering them deftly while the creamy finish picks up light ginger and almond accents. A big wine. - JM
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 96 points: (JL94-96 points) A blanket of deep, dark, red punctuated with peppery aromatics and complicated by black cherry liqueur, flowers, caramel, truffle and licorice, this wine is rich, full-bodied and concentrated with silky...
Antonio Galloni's Vinous, 96 points: (AG93-96 points) A towering, magnificent wine, the 2015 Clos Saint Julien captures all of the richness of the year in stunning style. Rich, unctuous and deep, the 2015 possesses exceptional beauty to match its exotic...
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 97 points: (JL95-97 points) Lithe and limber florals and sweet, lusciously ripe berries seduce your tongue with a sensuous and velvety feel. Blending 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc produced a wine that reached 14.5% alcohol with...
Showing 120 of 419 wines
Dear Customer We are having problems processing your request. Please contact our sales office between 9 AM and 5 PM (PST) for further assistance at 1.888.859.4637.
When I ordered 2 bottles of wine for a family members birthday, Kevin Johnson was very professional, personable and helpful. Thank you!
-John S., June 2017