Bordeaux Wines
By far the largest, the most important, and one of the best French wine regions, both for high-end wines and for bargains, is Bordeaux. Great reds from the renowned chateaus are what make the headlines, but Bordeaux is so big, that there is plenty of choice. Our Bordeaux wine guide features hundreds of Bordeaux wine ratings.
Within the Bordeaux wine region are numerous appellations, including the famous Left-Bank Médoc communes of St-Estephe, Pauillac, St-Julien Reviews and Margaux, among others. The most famous Right-Bank regions are St-Emilion and Pomerol. The general level of quality has improved dramatically over the past two decades. The reds are fruity, but never overly alcoholic, always with a layer of tannin that makes them superb food wines. The whites are fresh, the best with wood flavors to give complexity. Check the individual Bordeaux wine reviews for specific details regarding style and quality.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc are the main red grapes; Malbec and Petit Verdot are also used, while Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon predominate among the whites. But most Bordeaux are not single-varietal wines — they are more often Bordeaux-style blends, which make these wines more than the sum of their individual parts.
Château Léoville-Barton 2010 Barrel sample Red (Saint-Julien)
- Online Exclusive
97-99 A big, solid, wood powered wine. The power is all there, new wood offering an immense structure, while the acidity gives the necessary freshness. A solid wine, very concentrated, with an immensely long future.
— R.V.
(6/25/2011)
Château Léoville Las Cases 2009 Red (Saint-Julien)
- Cellar Selection
- Online Exclusive
- $360
A beautifully structured wine, with its tannins layered between the ripest black plums, damsons and black currants. It is opulent while remaining dense, concentrated and very serious. Certainly a wine for long-term aging.
— R.V.
(4/1/2012)
Château Léoville-Barton 2009 Red (Saint-Julien)
- Cellar Selection
- $135
A major success of the vintage. The wine exhibits extreme richness of the fruit, with all its sweet blackberry flavors. It also has underlying firm structure, density and solid tannins. Bring in the acidity at the end, and this is both impressive and ready for long-term aging.
— R.V.
(2/1/2012)
Château Margaux 2009 Red (Margaux)
- Cellar Selection
- $1900
A massive wine for Margaux, packed with tannins and ripe fruit. It has more Cabernet Sauvignon than usual, giving intense black currant flavors with enticing acidity balanced by the sweetness of the fruit. Ripe swathes of this opulent fruit are also elegant and structured.
— R.V.
(2/1/2012)
Château Palmer 2009 Red (Margaux)
- Cellar Selection
- $380
A beautiful wine, with the firmest tannins surrounded by perfumed fruit. It is dense, of course, but this density is balanced with great elegance, blackberry fruits, sweetness and final juicy acidity. The wine is structured, a powerhouse of concentration while preserving this complete style.
— R.V.
(2/1/2012)
Château Léoville-Poyferré 2010 Red (Saint-Julien)
- Cellar Selection
A wine of architectural strength and classical proportions, this has straight lines that mark the packed, concentrated fruits, which are sustained by its tannins. This is certainly the best wine that Léoville-Poyferré has produced, sumptuous while so finely structured.
— R.V.
(2/1/2013)
Château Haut-Brion 2010 Red (Pessac-Léognan)
- Cellar Selection
A firm and serious wine, complex and complicated, one of the finest wines from 2010 vintage. It has a rich undertow of black fruits, while the tannins dominate at this stage. To add to the powerful range of flavors, the wine has an edge of severity that bodes well for its long-term future.
— R.V.
(5/1/2013)
Château Margaux 2010 Red (Margaux)
- Cellar Selection
A great wine that is just starting out. The high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend gives the structured, black currant character. Dark chocolate and layers of wood are forward, revealing how young the wine is. And then the fruit, so rich and powerful, brings deliciousness to the firm, dense structure. Age for many years.
— R.V.
(5/1/2013)
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2010 Stival
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