Bordeaux Information

The red wines of Bordeaux are noted for their unique ability to age in bottle and improve over a period of many years. However this does not generally apply to the generic wines or small Chateaux which are usually ready to drink between 3 - 5 years after the vintage and will seldom improve much after that.

For the finest eighty to a hundred Chateau in the Medoc, Graves, St. Emilion and Pomerol, the ageing process can take 6 - 8 years in a good year, 10 - 12 years for a great year, and 15 - 20 years for an exceptional year, such as 1945, 1961, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989 and 1990. On reaching their peak, these wines can offer a depth of flavour, bouquet and a balanced richness of fruit that is unsurpassed in the world.

Recent Vintages:
Bordeaux 2006

It is never easy to follow an exceptional vintage and the initial response to 2006 has been mixed. The best vineyards from the finest terroir made good wines but with a difficult growing season and rain at harvest time, great care was needed with both wine growing and wine making. The wines will need time to allow the tannins and acidity to soften.

2005

This is one of the finest vintages of the last forty years and outstanding wines were produced on both the right bank and the left bank of the Gironde . Weather conditions were perfect and the grapes achieved exceptional levels of ripeness, giving wines that have great balance, rich ripe fruit and tannins. They are wines which taste lovely even when young but which can age beautifully.

2004

Falling between the exciting but small, drought effected 2003 vintage, and the excellent but expensive 2005s, this vintage has been initially overlooked by consumers. The latest reports suggest that this is a good or even very good vintage, producing excellent wines that have very classic Bordeaux style. They are refined with good fruit, balanced freshness and hopefully stable prices, as this was the largest vintage since 1996.

2003

Probably the hottest vintage in Bordeaux 's history produced wines of exceptional ripeness. Intense summer heat and warm dry conditions in September & October enabled many Chateaux to produce wines with opulent seductive fruit and soft tannins that are surprisingly balanced. Production was small, in some Chateaux close to half of normal, and the extreme heat and drought created problems in some properties. The best results were in the Northern Medoc , Pessac-Leognan & some parts of St. Emilion.

2002

This is a very acceptable quality vintage that followed a difficult growing season. June- August were cool and quite wet months but a warm dry September saved the crop and enabled many Chateaux to make good quality wine. These are medium bodied, with good fruit, fine tannins and the correct level of acidity to provide appealing freshness and balance. This was very much a Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage.

2001

In spite of a cool summer and a late harvest which took place in fine weather this vintage produced some excellent wines. Most should mature over the next 3-5 years and will be ready before the 2000s. At their best, these are classic clarets with good fruit soft tannins and an appealing bouquet.

2000

An exceptional vintage and certainly one of the very best of the last fifty years. Perfect growing conditions meant that this was a very even year, with outstanding results achieved in all the different regions of Bordeaux . The wines have great depth of fruit, richness, structure and ripe sweet tannins. Truly a millennium vintage!

1999

This was quite a difficult and uneven vintage with rain at harvest time and a lack of ripeness in some grapes.

It was also quite a large crop of relatively inexpensive wines. The most successful Chateau produced wines with good fruit and an easy charm, that means they will not need too much keeping, before becoming quite appealing to drink.

1998

This was a vintage of two parts which produced outstanding wines in Pomerol and St. Emilion, the best since 1990, and excellent wines in the Graves . The Medoc though was less fortunate and there was a lack of ripeness in the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes leading to high tannin. This has softened slightly with time, but being somewhat similar in style to the 1988s, the best wines will need several years to mature.

1997

Not considered a really top quality vintage, but it is a year that will produce very appealing, soft wines that will mature early and which can be enjoyed before the 1995s and 1996s reach full maturity.