bordeaux wines, Médoc, Saint-ÉMilion, Pessac-Léognan, which vintage to choose?
Since 200, the Bordeaux region has produced some great vintages. Ou vintage guide below helps you to see clearly and to choose the right vintage. To keep, ready to drink, 12Bouteilles accompanies you to fill your cellar or prepare a dinner with friends.
vintage guide — BORDEAUX red 2000-2020 - our advice to choose
— 2020 Vintage —
TO KEEP
Magic vintage, the last born perfect trilogy from 2018 to 2020 Bordeaux produced wines of legends
— 2019 Vintage —
TO KEEP
The most "Bordeaux" vintage of the 2018-2020 trilogy, sublime Cabernets, wines that can be kept for sure
— 2018 Vintage —
TO KEEP
The vintage of the decade, the first of an already mythical trilogy, some vintages can wait 50 years
— 2017 Vintage —
READY-TO-DRINK
After 2015 and 2016, 2017 is a great vintage already perfect to drink with a beautiful potential of guarding
— 2016 Vintage —
READY-TO-DRINK, TO BE DECANTED
Sunny, powerful, a very successful vintage everywhere in Bordeaux, the wines are already pleasant to taste
— 2015 Vintage —
READY-TO-DRINK, TO BE DECANTED
A great vintage, perfect climatic conditions, a great potential already delicious
— 2014 Vintage —
READY-TO-DRINK
A nice vintage very typical of Bordeaux, pleasant wines, perfect for dinners with friends. We recommend it !
— 2013 Vintage —
READY-TO-DRINK
The most difficult vintage of the last 20 years, the great wines remain superb and very affordable!
— 2012 Vintage —
READY-TO-DRINK
A vintage of pleasure par excellence, pleasant fruity wines, a favorite at each tasting.
— 2011 Vintage —
READY-TO-DRINK, TO BE DECANTED
Long closed, the wines are now ready to drink, to decant them to let the Cabernet open
— 2010 Vintage —
TO KEEP
An exceptional vintage, in the Médoc it is an absolute reference. A must to have in the cellar for years
— 2009 Vintage —
TO BE DECANTED & TO KEEP
Solar and powerful, it is a magic vintage, racy wines, to be decanted, forget in cellar the great wines...
— 2008 Vintage —
READY-TO-DRINK
Very successful vintage, very typical Bordeaux wines, powerful and elegant, sublime to taste in carafe
— 2007 Vintage —
READY-TO-DRINK
A classic Bordeaux vintage, rare balance between fruit and tannins, ready to drink
— 2006 Vintage —
READY-TO-DRINK
Complicated climate, the great terroirs have given great wines, perfect to taste.
— 2005 Vintage —
TO KEEP
A vintage of anthology whose perfect weather has produced wines recognized as the best in the world
— 2004 Vintage —
READY TO DRINK
Balance between power and elegance, the tannins are melted, the wines are pleasant, a pleasant vintage.
— 2003 Vintage —
TO BE DECANTED
The vintage of the heat wave, wines of unprecedented power and structure. After 2000, the new nugget...
— 2000 Vintage—
TO KEEP
The first vintage of the millennium, born under a lucky star... to drink and to keep, rare and great
What's a vintage?
Each year, the vintage corresponds to the date of harvest of the grapes. Thus the fruits harvested in 2021 will be those of the 2021 vintage. This notion of vintage is common to the whole French vineyard but also to those around the whole world. Some exceptions exist, notably for sparkling wines (Champagne, Crémant, Prosecco...) where the winemakers blend several vintages without necessarily mentioning them on the label.
DO CLIMATE AND WEATHER HAVE AN IMPACT ON WINES AND VINTAGES?
Each vintage is different. What determines the quality of a vintage is above all its climatic conditions.
A hot, arid, dry summer will give different wines often more qualitative than those of a rainy summer. The climatic hazards are numerous for each vintage in all regions. Winegrowers have to adapt to bad weather: recently, in Bordeaux as well as in Burgundy and in the Rhone region, estates have had to protect themselves against frost, hail or mildew to save their harvests and produce wines of the highest possible quality.
For each vintage, the climatic conditions will give the qualities of the wines in the bottle. A vintage that had a cold winter, a temperate spring, and a sunny summer preserved by cool nights will be born under a lucky star. This was the case in 2018, 2019 and 2020, a magical trilogy in Bordeaux, on the left bank as well as on the right bank.
VINTAGES FOR AGEING, GREAT VINTAGES, HOW TO CHOOSE ?
Vintage for keeping, vintage for pleasure, our customers often ask us questions. The answer is not universal, it depends on your tastes and your desires. Here are some answers to help you choose your red Bordeaux wines.
If you like fruity and fresh wines, prefer a young and ready-to-drink vintage. If you like silky wines with soft tannins, take a step back and choose wines that have been in the bottle for a few years. If, like many of our customers, you have your own favourite Châteaux, complete your collection and reorder the wines you loved to keep and enjoy.
- The vintages to the guard, the exceptional years: 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020. For the past 20 years, Bordeaux has not lacked great vintages. These wines are perfect to complete a cellar, to let them age patiently, to watch with pleasure and to open for special occasions.
- The great vintages: 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017. Superb vintages, perfect to taste young with very good ageing potential. For example, in 2017 the second wines of the Crus Classés are already delicious while their elders can start to be tasted and will remain perfect for 10 years.
- Particular vintages: There are no bad vintages, we like to tell our clients. 2002, and 2013 for example are vintages where the climatic conditions were very complicated. But they remain excellent value for money, especially for the First Classified Growths and the Super Second Classified Growths, whose wines are always amazingly fresh and complex.
Besoin d'aide ?
Notre équipes de passionnés reste à votre disposition du lundi au vendredi par email et par téléphone au 05 35 542 541