About the Bordeaux wine region
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.
An improved version of the 2016 (as well as the 2010), the 2020 Château Bélair-Monange is deep purple-hued with an utterly sensational perfume of crème de cassis, smoky tobacco, crushed stone, and sappy flowers, with an...
The 2023 Suduiraut is a model of modern Sauternes. Orange peel, burnt sugar, crème-brûlée, tangerine peel, and wild flowers inform a Sauternes of total finesse and silkiness. Yields were a measly 12 hectoliters per...
One of the best Sauvignon Blancs in the world, the 2023 Château Couhins Blanc is based on 90% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Sauvignon Gris and was aged eight months in 25% new French oak with the balance in neutral barrels and...
Underlines just how exciting this estate has become in recent years. So much flavour, juice and texture, layers of pleasure, campfire, gunsmoke, steel, raspberry, umami texture with contrast between the creamy ripe fruit...
Immediate depths straight off the aromatics, this is standout in a very strong lineup. Enticing and confident, full of estate signature, juicy and elongated tannins, spiced black fruits, baking spice, crème de cassis...
One of the standouts in 2019. Red fruit aromatics are so clear on the nose, strawberries and sweet red cherries with some bramble floral notes - delicate and liffed. Gorgeous expression on the palate, so finely framed...
The black olives and dark fruit come through on the nose with violets and wet earth. Full and very chunky and powerful. Yet it’s lively and vivid with excellent energy. Fantastic. Pure merlot. Leave it until 2030.
I loved the 2022 Château Latour A Pomerol. This deep ruby/purple-hued beauty is all Merlot, harvested from the 1st to the 8th of September, that's pulled from eight hectares of deep gravelly and clay soils. Red and black...
I loved this from the barrel, and I am even happier to report that it is even better, now that it is bottled! The perfume is ethereal, with its bouquet of flowers, red, black, and blue fruits, licorice, and spice. On the...
A beautifully layered red with blackcurrant, hazelnut and lead-pencil character and fine, velvety tannins. Full-bodied and reserved. It’s like a tightly knit ball of polished tannins that are cashmere in texture. So very...
Classic Pauillac darker currants, smoky tobacco, spicy wood, damp earth, and graphite all define the 2019 Château Latour, a ripe and approachable Latour that has more accessibility than many vintages while still...
Flowers, truffle, cedar, black currants, and cherries are already at work in the nose. The palate is vibrant, medium-bodied, fresh, and focused on its cassis, and plummy core of fruits that display tension, chalky...
The 2018 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a rock star of a wine and is based on a unique blend of 37% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 29% Merlot that was brought up in 80% new French oak. Offering a deep...
This is very fresh and fine with some almonds, walnuts, chocolate and dark berries. Medium to full body, silky tannins and a fresh and focused finish.
A blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon, Le Petit Cheval Blanc 2023 glides out of the glass with a gorgeous perfume of lime blossoms, fresh grapefruit, and lemongrass, followed by nuances of jasmine tea, candied...
With 153 grams per liter of residual sugar—placing it among the 10 most concentrated vintages in the château’s history—the 2023 d'Yquem ranks among the finest wines bottled here under Lorenzo Pasquini’s direction. It...
The best 2020s seem to be confident without showing off or shouting too loudly and this Carmes does just that. Focused and precise, this is complex and characterful, rich yet vibrant with a texture and taste that makes an...
Very fresh and intense with fantastic dark fruit and wet earth. Mushrooms, too. Full-bodied, powerful and extremely long. Such depth and freshness. A great wine. I remember this wine when it was young; it showed so much...
The 2009 Branaire-Ducru is another killer wine from this vintage that’s drinking spectacularly well at age 10. Based on 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it’s still...
This is a mouthful, with loads of fruit and truffle character. Exotic and wild, but starting to close. Give this five years.
Deep garnet purple in color, the 2019 Pavie is a tad restrained to start, needing some patient swirling to coax out notes of fresh blueberries and boysenberries plus underlying scents of kirsch, violets, star anise, and...
The 2023 Beau-Séjour Bécot has turned out beautifully in bottle, revealing a perfumed, fresh and finely detailed bouquet of rose petals, dark cherries, wisteria, lilac and dark berries. Medium- to full-bodied, it is...
A stunning wine for this vintage although it’s still a bit shy on the nose (more spice than fruit showing than now). There’s wet earth, too, but on the palate it’s bursting with ripe yet subtle flavors. Very long and...
Wonderful nose with loads of dark chocolate, plums and some coffee. Opens up with orange peel, leather and vanilla. Full and round on palate with beautiful fruit and sweet polished tannins. Long and gorgeous with a really...
Powerful carmine-red colour, at the beginning of its drinking window but with decades ahead. Love the grain of the tannins that sets off and deepens the dark berry fruits, cocoa bean, slate, crayon, campfire smoke...
The 2019 La Lagune offers exquisite transparency on the nose - one of the most terroir-expressive Pessac-Léognan wines this vintage. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, taut and fresh, quite saline with a...
This great estate in southern Pauillac, facing the Latour vineyard, is at the top of its game. In this release, the tannins are as impressive and dense as the black fruits. Together they form a harmonious ensemble, richly...
Showing results from page 1 of 18 pages total.
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