Bordeaux 2010: Reappraising the grands crus of the Médoc

The Bordeaux 2010 vintage stands as a landmark year, one of the most celebrated in recent memory. Superb across the entire region, red wines reached optimum maturity with bright acidity and firm tannins . Small berries produced concentrated wines with many having increased percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blends, leading to a slight advantage for the Left Bank over the Right . Often talked about alongside the equally brilliant but contrasting-in-style 2009 vintage , 2010 offered less hedonism but more homogeneity with excellent red, dry white and sweet examples. Scroll down to see notes and scores for our top 2010 Médoc reds [subscriber-content] Tale of the vintage Almost 14 years later, the finest 2010 reds are shining examples of what Bordeaux can do at its best: structured, classical and fresh. And while they have taken their time to come around after being initially quite closed, many of the wines are now reaching the start of their drinking windows. To quickly recap the weather at the time, a cold winter and dry early spring in 2010 delayed the initial vine growth , slowing and disrupting both bud burst (starting a few days later than in 2009) and flowering, which led to problems with millerandage and coulure (poor fruit set resulting in undersized berries in gappy bunches), particularly in the Merlot. March saw less rain than average, then low rainfall in April and May led to a water deficit ahead of an exceedingly hot and dry summer. Although rain prevailed somewhat in June, only 50mm fell on average across the region July to September, according to data from the ISVV Bordeaux Institute, with no localised variations as in some years. The year was drier than both 2009 and 2005 . Long sunny days were fortunately offset by cool nights, vital in preserving acidity in both reds and whites, and there was a uniform spread of botrytis in Sauternes . [caption id="attachment_531477" align="alignnone" width="600"] Château Léoville Poyferré, St-Julien. Credit: Anne Cuvelier.[/caption] Overall, Pauillac is the most Cabernet-oriented appellation in 2010, and there were some great, almost unsurpassable wines produced there; St-Julien delivered some ‘quintessential clarets’, with each estate able to produce wines reflecting its own individual style and terroir . Indeed, in our tasting for this feature, those two appellations produced four of the five top-scoring wines. Renowned for their depth, intensity and precision, these wines were lauded for their impeccable balance of fruit, tannin and acidity, as well as their potential for long-term ageing. As such, en primeur release prices were set largely too high – as a reaction to the already-risen 2009 vintage, particularly for the first growths and their second wines – with the aim being to capitalise on interest from Asia at the time. With the 2010s up an average 23% on the 2008 vintage , the secondary fine wine market suddenly fell out of love with Bordeaux and crashed a month or so after the spring 2012 primeurs campaign ended, heralding a fall in value for the 2010 vintage over the next five years. The vintage remains one of the most expensive in recent times, and this has had the effect of largely overshadowing its greatness – but as the wines approach their drinking windows, these prices should now start to make more sense, relative to the market in general. Fluctuating fortunes As in all vintages, there have been winners and losers in terms of investments. According to Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the wine trade, the returns and margin for 2010 wines in its Bordeaux 500 index were down -11% two years after en primeur release and currently by -12%. The average ex-château release price per bottle of the 2010s was €211, the ex-négociant release price €255, and ex-London release price €282; two years later the market price had dropped back to €250, and the current market price remains at €248. Of the 2010s, the best performers in terms of the percentage difference between release price and current market price are Le Pin at +144%, Calon Ségur at +70%, Smith Haut Lafitte +68%, Beychevelle +67% and Petrus +63%. There are 30 estates from the top 500 that show positive figures, ranging from +2% to +144%. [caption id="attachment_531484" align="alignnone" width="600"] Harvest at Château Montrose. Credit: Mehdi Fedouach / Getty Images.[/caption] For some wider context, Liv-ex’s figures for current average return on en primeur release pricing reveal that the 2009 vintage is currently down -13%, as is the 2017, with 2019 at +13%, 2020 -10%, 2021 -9% and 2022 -5%. Liv-ex maintains that: ‘Bordeaux offers plenty of value to buyers – just rarely en primeur’, adding: ‘Decades of poorly priced campaigns means that the relative value comes from well-priced back-vintages, often from leading estates.’ However, collectors with 2010 wines in their cellars – and even buyers looking to purchase bottles today – will be rewarded at almost any price point. Lots of wines are now ready to drink, but many are also capable of ageing further. The best still need at least a decade longer but will have at least 20-30 years ahead of them after that, steadfast in their charm and approachability. [/subscriber-content] Hitting their stride: 40 top Médoc 2010 reds to seek out [wine-collection] Related articles Bordeaux 2004: A 20-year retrospective Top value Bordeaux 2023 wines tasted en primeur Bordeaux 2023 releases: Price cuts in early campaign

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