We just published our Bordeaux 2020 en primeur tasting report, and after going through 1,302 pre-bottled samples (mostly from the barrel) we concluded that 2020 has capped off the legends of 2018 and 2019 by making it a trilogy of greatness. It is also a vintage marked by the sterling quality of merlot, with a balanced distribution of top wines coming from Pomerol, St.-Emilion, Pessac-Leognan and Medoc.
The only challenge wineries have now is arriving at reasonable price points for these bottles, as they did with the 2019 vintage, which showed stunning quality and value. As James points out in the Bordeaux report, it doesn’t make much sense to buy wine in barrels if the same quality is available from other top vintages already in the bottle. But here we turn to the Bordeaux 2018, which is currently the most widely distributed vintage on the market, and recommend 10 wines from that vintage that over-deliver on quality at a price of about $15.
Although Bordeaux is a star in the high-profile fine wine market, it also flies under the radar in the world of great value wines. It’s a shame that many people write off the more affordable yet still excellent Bordelais offerings simply because the region’s sublime top wines have so long overshadowed its lesser or unsung names. In fact, Bordeaux should not be seen only as a mecca for collectors when it can just as easily be labeled the promised land for wine consumers looking for everyday pours.
The good news for Bordeaux is that it actually has more safe cards to play now – especially with global climate change – than ever before. “If you remember the vintages of the 1980s and 1990s, we have less and less poor vintages [by comparison] and we have more and more great vintages,” Jean-Philippe Delmas of Haut Brion and Mission Haut Brion said during a Zoom interview with James as they tasted 2020 barrel samples. Today, with fewer challengingly cool vintages and more generous, warmer years, the mediocre wines from the region that used to be considered “too green” could be evolving into much more balanced, predictable and drinkable bottles.
