Best Bordeaux 2018 dry white wines

bordeaux 2019 en primeur releases — Credit: Benjamin Zingg / Wikipedia

(Image credit: Benjamin Zingg / Wikipedia)

You might have thought that a summer heatwave in the Bordeaux 2018 growing season would have caused trouble for the region’s dry white wine producers.

But, Decanter’s Jane Anson reported that Bordeaux 2018 dry whites were ‘much better than I expected, especially in Pessac‘.

This is partly thanks to the fact that most of the white grapes had been harvested before the continued heat of September and October, she said.’Levels of malic acid were relatively normal in the dry whites, and generally the aromatics are good, even if some have high alcohols with perceptible heat,‘ said Anson.However, only a very few dry whites were exceptional enough to best the brilliant wines of the 2017 vintage.Anson called Château Margaux Pavillon Blanc ‘easily one of the best whites that I have tried this year‘, and La Mission Haut-Brion a ‘knockout white wine full of character and grip‘.

Jane Anson was Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent until 2021 and has lived in the region since 2003. She writes a monthly wine column for Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, and is the author of Bordeaux Legends: The 1855 First Growth Wines (also published in French as Elixirs). In addition, she has contributed to the Michelin guide to the Wine Regions of France and was the Bordeaux and Southwest France author of The Wine Opus and 1000 Great Wines That Won’t Cost a Fortune. An accredited wine teacher at the Bordeaux École du Vin, Anson holds a masters in publishing from University College London, and a tasting diploma from the Bordeaux faculty of oenology.

Roederer awards 2016: International Feature Writer of the Year

Best Bordeaux dry whites of 2018

See also: Andy Howard’s top 20 dry white Bordeaux wines

Best Bordeaux dry whites of 2018

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Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Blanc, Pessac-Léognan, Cru

Château Cantenac Brown, Alto de Cantenac Brown, Bordeaux Blanc 2018

Château Cos d'Estournel, Blanc de Cos d'Estournel, Bordeaux Blanc 2018

Château Lynch-Bages, Blanc de Lynch-Bages, Bordeaux Blanc 2018

Château Suduiraut, S de Suduiraut, Bordeaux Blanc, 2018

Domaine de Chevalier, Pessac-Léognan, Cru Classé de Graves

Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, 2018

Château du Tertre, Tertre Blanc, Vin de France 2018

Château Doisy-Daëne, Grand Vin Sec, Bordeaux Blanc, 2018

Château Olivier, Pessac-Léognan, Cru Classé de Graves, 2018

Château Mouton Rothschild, Aile d’Argent, Bordeaux Blanc 2018

Château Rieussec, R de Rieussec, Bordeaux Blanc, 2018

Château Bouscaut, Pessac-Léognan, Cru Classé de Graves, 2018

Château Valandraud, Blanc de Valandraud, Bordeaux Blanc