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, 90 points: A firm and silky red with currant, plum and berry character. Medium body, fresh finish. Stone and dark fruit. Drink now.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: (RP92-94 points) Full-bodied and atypically rich and concentrated for a 2013, it boasts beautiful blueberry and creme de cassis fruit as well as underlying chalky minerality, and good richness and concentration. It is a...
Wine Enthusiast, 95 points: Cellar Selection. This wine is rich, with generous black plum and berry fruits. It has a structure that is full, ripe and that will sustain the fruitiness of the wine over many years. The sensation is of velvet, with some...
Antonio Galloni's Vinous, 92 points: (AG89-92 points) The 2013 Fleur Cardinale is a huge wine. Blood orange, pomegranate, white pepper and bright red cherries all explode from the glass. Unapologetically rich and intense, the 2013 is beautifully layered and...
Wine Spectator, 97 points: Top 100: 2016, Rank: 4. There's loads here, with apricot, nectarine and clementine flavors stitched with a racy orange zest note to give energy, while tropical papaya and mango flavors add a sublimely creamy edge. The...
jamessuckling.com, 92 points: Lots of gunpowder, dried apple and pear aromas and flavors. Full body, dried apple and peach. Searing acidity. Yet bright and delicious. A white with great contrast and panache. Drink or hold.
Wine Enthusiast, 94 points: Cellar Selection. With ripe, spicy fruit, this is a concentrated, dense wine. It has young, firm tannins that are beginning to integrate with the juicy black fruits and fine, perfumed acidity. This is a serious wine...
jamessuckling.com, 99 points: (JS98-99 points) Incredible aromas of botrytis, including freshly ground nutmeg and dried mushroom powder. Dried fruits. Full body with incredible clarity and balance. Very dense and gorgeous. Very sweet. It goes on for...
Wine Enthusiast, 94 points: Very well balanced, this is already a beautiful wine that could almost be drunk now. Smooth tannins and oak are layered with red and black-currant fruits that are perfumed and fresh. The structure is all there, just...
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: (WA92-94 points) The wine is opaque purple, shows notes of blueberries, incense, camphor and black berry fruit, with licorice and charcoal notes. Complex aromatics are followed by a medium to full-bodied surprisingly...
jamessuckling.com, 98 points: This is a very special Haut-Brion blanc with a very exotic aromas and flavors of apricots, peaches and mangos. Full body, dense and agile. Wonderful acidity. Loads of dried fruits on the finish. The high percentage of...
Wine Enthusiast, 96 points: This is finely structured, a tense wine with great fruits and an intense texture. It’s tight while bursting with fruit. The structure is complex, dense and very mineral in character. It is a wine that will need many...
Wine Spectator, 95 points: This packs some power, with ginger, dried peach and matchstick hints leading the way, but as this moves along, it slowly shows creamier quince, mango and papaya notes, and an alluring chamomile gilding. Still rather...
Antonio Galloni's Vinous, 93 points: (90-93 points) The 2013 Latour a Pomerol is one of the fleshier wines of the vintage. Smoke, tobacco, incense and dark red/black stone fruits all meld together in a wine of distinction and personality. I won't at all be...
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