Bordeaux Red Wine Vintage Chart: 1970 to 2022

2022

The hottest and driest vintage in recent memory. After a heatwave on June 18th, hailstorms arrived on June 20th, causing localized damage. Crop levels were down by around 15% overall  – the right bank, with its moisture retaining clay soils, fared better than the left bank. The vintage saw one of the earliest harvests on records with most reds being picked in September. Wines are generally deeply coloured with powerful tannins, average acidities, elevated alcohols, rounded texture, and a surprising degree of freshness considering the heat of the vintage. Excellent quality overall with the best wines being capable of long term ageing. See this guide to our coverage.

2021

A warm spring encouraged early budbreak followed by sometimes devastating frost in early April. Very small crop and a cool, damp growing season beset by problems, with Merlot a particular casualty of downy mildew but some communes and estates dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon produced lightish but very satisfying wines. St-Estèphe seems to have been notably successful but this was a very, very different vintage from the warm, ripe years that preceded it. Alcohol levels were back down to about 13% and some chaptalisation and concentration were employed for the first time in many years. The optical sorters came into their own.

2020

A particularly early growing season characterised by heatwaves and drought – and some downy mildew pressure in June – until mid August when thunderstorms played a (sometimes usefully diluting) part in the northern Médoc. Merlot was picked in ideal conditions in early September but then the weather turned cool and particularly damp so some Cabernet Sauvignon had to be picked before absolutely perfect ripeness. Small grapes meant lots of tannins, and a relatively small crop. In November 2022 the wines were appealing but some seemed a little too sweet for the acid levels.

2019

This was a pretty wonderful vintage for producers, with quantities slightly reduced by cool weather at flowering, until the time came to launch the primeurs in a pandemic. The wines, generally pretty consistent, were clearly made from fully ripe grapes with a good charge of tannins but also, considering how hot and dry the summer was, with a surprising degree of freshness. Price reductions led to a surprisingly successful primeur campaign. The wines shone in a blind retasting in January 2023 and the vintage was voted by tasters the best in the previous 10 years. See this guide to our coverage.

2018

A year of extremes with a very wet winter and spring, very damaging hail in some areas, severe downy mildew threats in most. A very hot, and dry, summer and autumn allowed winegrowers to decide on their own harvest dates. Powerful, deep-coloured wines with no shortage of (generally well-managed) tannins suggest this may be one of the region’s longer-lived vintages.

2017

Frost is the major headline for Bordeaux in 2017, resulting in the lowest yield in over 25 years across the region. What was left of the crop had very mixed fortunes. The top appellations in the Médoc generally fared well, while the right bank had much more variable ripeness levels. Even though some very good wines were made, and quantities were limited, this is a vintage that failed to sell well en primeur but provided pleasant drinking relatively early.

2016

The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance. This is without doubt one of the finest recent Bordeaux vintages but may lack a little of 2019's freshness and intricacy.

2015

Would this vintage adhere to Jancis’ rule of five, whereby any vintage divisible by five is of good quality? It seems so, with particularly healthy, uniform fruit at harvest. A generous flowering and hot, dry early summer was followed by a slighty cooler, damper August. Harvest was generally earlier than in 2014. Optimists were already calling it the best vintage since 2010 with early reports favouring the right bank. With time in bottle the tannins became a little more insistent and it began to be overshadowed by 2016.

2014

Exceptionally cool, damp July and August but the vintage was saved by an unusually dry, warm September and October that (just about) ripened the grapes though autumn concentration has resulted in relatively high-acid wines. Reds have fragrance, medium body and supple tannins but are not for long term cellaring. A vintage for drinking rather than investing in, and one that is in danger of being overlooked in favour of the more glamorous 2105.

2013

A universally poor vintage, beset by uneven ripening and dilution. Rot forced relatively early picking. Even at their best, the wines are pretty light – though perhaps a benefit of this is lower alcohol levels, as compared with some of the 15% bruisers of recent years. The best of a bad lot can be found in Pomerol, St-Julien and St-Estèphe. At 10 years old the wines were almost universally disappointing and should certainly not be kept.

2012 

Tricky across many European wine regions, and none more so than Bordeaux. Generally speaking, it was a wet, late year with a hot mid-summer. Bad weather in October compromised quality at the crucial moment, meaning that the earlier-ripening Merlot-based reds were less adversely affected. Making good Cabernet-based wine was achievable, but only by those who had the resources for micro-management in the vineyard. Top properties made small quantities of outstanding wines that were drinking well at 10 years old but most have a lack of depth and persistence.

2011 

Generalisations are difficult in this variable year, but there is agreement that quality is back down to earth after the excitement of 2009 and 2010, with lower alcohol and generally higher tannins too. A forgettable year.

2010

Another stellar vintage, with higher tannin and more freshness than 2009 but comparable intensity. More appealing to classical palates than the 2009s and likely to last well, but in retrospect the wines were overpriced on release.

2009

'Vintage of the decade/century'? This growing season seemed to have it all. A long, fine, warm summer but, crucially, with refreshing nights to help retain acidity. Dramatically ripe, voluptuous wines, especially on the left bank. As with the 2010s, prices were inflated by sudden (and temporary) demand from China. A vintage likely to be compared often with 2010  and to lack a bit of structure compared to the subsequent vintage.

2008

Another ungenerous summer saved by some better weather at the end of the season. Yet again, those properties at the top of the tree managed to field enough good fruit to salvage some pretty impressive grand vin but life was increasingly tough lower down the food chain.

2007

An extremely difficult year for growers, with rampant mildew, not enough sun, too much rain until September. Thanks to an arsenal of modern techniques, not least rigorous selection, those who could afford it managed to make attractive wines for relatively early drinking but high prices left the primeur market as flat as a pancake. 

2006 

This stop-start vintage suffered inevitably by comparison with 2005, although it produced some well-made wines which looked even better in comparison with the 2007s. Drought and high temperatures were the dominant characteristics until the end of July but August was unusually cool and wet and harvest was interrupted by rain. Pauillac and Pomerol seemed to perform best in a year that can taste pretty crisp. 

2005 

Textbook perfection during the growing season in all respects other than price. Best kept for many a year. Quite marked tannins are too marked in some wines, notably the more modernistic St-Émilions, in which the then-prevailing fashion for extraction was taken to the limit. 

2004 

The last affordable vintage? Large, late crop needed meticulous summer supervision. Grapes were often picked in the rain but healthy at the top end. Not massive but the best really are that rare breed, classic claret. Best on the left bank where sappy tannins suggest they might be ready to enjoy from 2010. 

2003

Exceptional heatwave resulted in many raisined grapes and uncomfortably dry tannins. A handful of stunning wines for the long term but most are probably best drunk while the bloom of youth can distract from that dryness. 

2002 

Smallish crop dogged by an uneven flowering and a grey, humid summer which meant uneven ripeness in far-from-uniformly healthy grapes. Growers concentrated on the rescue effect of pretty fine weather from 9 September. The wines are correct and, in a 21st-century context, are not expensive, but they may not last all that long. 

2001 

Extremely varied, large crop which depended on crop-thinning and extremely careful selection to produce exceptional wines. Hot August was followed by dangerously wet September, which sometimes resulted in dilute Merlots and tart Cabernets. Some good value to be found here, and with time the 2001s showed better and better – especially on the right bank where it can be superior to 2000. 

2000 

Nature's benevolence coincided with the commercial imperative to have a good vintage in this numerically exceptional year. Great consistency and balance. The petits châteaux represented some of Bordeaux’s best value for many years though most are ready to drink or even starting to decline. The best wines should last well into their second or even third decades. 

1999 

Good potential created almost exclusively by three weeks of sunshine from late August was diluted by rain at harvest time. Hail also devastated some St-Émilion vineyards in early September. A cool, humid start to the growing season led to excessive vegetation initially. Fairly early maturing wines with better potential on the left bank. 

1998 

Very good on the right bank but a less starry performance in the Médoc, whose 1998s are a bit stolid, means that these wines, and their equally successful counterparts in Graves have tended to be overlooked. 

1997 

Far from dramatic and early developers, these wines were ludicrously overpriced initially but provided some easy drinking in the early years of this century. Few show any possibility of improvement. 

1996 

Some very fine, potentially long lived wines, especially in the Médoc, although robust tannin levels recall 1986s in many cases. 

1995 

Hot, dry summer resulted in early harvest of healthy Merlot grapes. Relatively tannic Cabernet Sauvignon was picked after a week of mid-September rain. Generous crop levels, best in Pomerol and Pauillac. 

1994 

The best year since 1990 (which is not saying that much). Nicely ripe but September rains were a problem again for less conscientious producers. 

1993 

Another wet harvest. Picked earlier, the right bank a better bet than the left. 

1992 

Light, fruity, simple wines that needed drinking early. 

1991 

The start of Bordeaux's run of bad luck. Spring frosts decimated the right bank, but the top Médocs are not bad. 

1990 

Second scorching year in a row. Very ripe, alluring wines at all levels, many outstanding. The vintage character of velvety texture and luscious, almost overripe fruit is one of the easiest to spot and tends to impose itself over any geographical characteristics. 

1989 

Seemed an unusually hot summer at the time, producing a huge crop of rich, opulent, expensive wines, drinking astonishingly well young. Some very good right bank wines indeed. And an exceptional year for Haut-Brion. 

1988 

Overshadowed by 1989 and 1990. 'Classic' style ie firm and initially a bit austere. Chunky and chewy. 

1987 

Simple, fruity and pleasant but unexciting. Early maturing. 

1986 

Dense, brooding and viciously tannic at first. Some may impress in the end but have required enormous patience. 

1985 

Uniformly lovely, fragrant wines especially but not exclusively from the right bank. They drank well for years but most are losing fruit or showing slight herbaceousness now.

1983 

Good but less concentrated and opulent than 1982. Their lesser amount of stuffing meant that most have peaked although it was a banner year for Margaux for once. 

1982 

Legendary year, the first of the modern era. Horribly expensive but very concentrated and so delicious. The best were still going strong at 40 years old. 

1981 

Patchy quality, with a lack of guts but attractive balance. Most are well over the hill. 

1979 

Graceful, suave and well-balanced for a time but they should have been drunk in the 20th century. 

1978 

A perfect autumn saved the crop. The big left bank names are strongest. 

1975 

Frequently overwhelmed by dry tannins. A few Pomerols and Pauillacs are huge and magnificent. 

1970 

These firm, sturdy wines, very much of their era, have lasted well but are generally pretty short on flesh.