Bordeaux 2013: 10 years on & 30 wines tasted

The difficulties of the vintage are hardly evident here. Very deep in colour, the wine is dense and opulent on the nose, with black cherry aromas. It's ripe and solid, rich and very concentrated, showing ample force and extraction. For 2013 it's powerful and has some grandeur and is quite unlike the other Pomerols here. Spicy, imposing and long.

More aromatic than most, with lush, smoky, leafy aromas, suggesting it's just beginning its evolution. Concentrated and velvety, it displays fine balance and no overt extraction, nor is the ageing in 100% new oak evident on the palate. There's structure and complexity here, yet the impact is gentle rather than burly. Well balanced and long, with surprising cellaring potential.

The reticent blackberry nose has lift and charm, and the palate is medium-bodied rather than intense and powerful. It's graceful and stylish, yet doesn't lack concentration and structure. Spicy oak marks the mid-palate, which has drive and persistence. Such is the attention to detail at Lafleur that this small property never seems to put a foot wrong, even in the most unpromising vintages.

Very deep in colour, this is muted on the nose, though with black fruits lurking in the background. A compact wine with firm tannins, this also has a welcome juiciness to balance the solid structure. It shows Latour grip and typicity, though on a more modest scale than usual.

The blackcurrant-scented nose is subdued and quite oaky, while the palate is rich and succulent. The tannins are ripe and chocolatey, and the wine has unusual vigour and energy. It's robust but not too extracted and there are no rough edges. Structured and long, this still has ageing potential. Tasted from magnum.

Muted raspberry coulis aromas, but the palate is rich and sleek, with polished tannins and no excessive extraction. It's lightly structured and accessible, but also stylish and balanced, with good if not accessible length. Not for long cellaring. A scarce wine as only 8,000 bottles were released.

There's brooding blackberry fruit on the nose, but not very expressive on the day of tasting. In the mouth the wine is svelte and more open than the nose, showing ample fruit and spice, as well as a vivid character unusual in 2013. It's concentrated and tannic but also appealingly textured, with some complexity on the finish.

This was an excellent Pomerol seven years ago, and it still is. The nose is closed, but there are lurking aromas of black cherries and oak. It's juicy and fluid, fleshy and upfront, delivering a hedonistic style for 2013, with ample energy and flair. The finish is textured and fairly long.

A sweet oakiness marks the red-fruited nose, and there's welcome purity and aromatic intensity. Rich and juicy, it's quite full-bodied and concentrated. The tannins are light and lack the virility of Mission at its best, but overall the wine is polished and elegant with some freshness on the lingering finish.

Aromatically restrained at present, with lurking blackcurrant fruit but moderate lift and zest. More weight and concentration on the palate, which shows both juiciness and light tannins. The lowish alcohol ensures a youthful austerity and this is one of the few 2013s that should improve, though it will never dazzle. Long finish.

Le Gay took care not to extract more than the vintage could deliver, and the result is a suave wine with excellent balance. There's intensity and charm on the nose with cherry and raspberry fruit. The succulence of the palate is supported by ripe tannins that give texture and spice. This stylish Pomerol has better length than most of its peers.

Over the years, this has taken on more weight. The colour is deep and there's no lack of rich, ripe blackcurrant fruit on the nose. Fleshy and compact, it is backed by assertive tannins. It's forceful and chocolatey without being extracted, and there are no rough edges. Although the acidity is moderate, the wine is not yet tiring.

When tasted en primeur, this was a lightweight Mouton, but it too has gained weight over the years. There's solid fruit and integrated oak on the blackcurrant-scented nose. The palate is succulent and fleshy, and shows surprising power without too much density. The fruit is ripe and appealing, but it lacks some vigour and persistence.

Palmer's hallmark elegance is still present in this wine, despite the problems of the vintage. The nose is poised and lifted, with refined blackcurrant and oak aromas. Although medium-bodied, it's quite fleshy and concentrated, with a tannic backbone to give some structure. Balanced and long, this is a Margaux that acknowledges the limitations of the year and overcomes them. Full organic certification was achieved over the three vintages following this one.

Tasted twice before, Rauzan-Segla has always shown high quality. The nose is oaky and vibrant, with firm blackcurrant aromas. There's ample upfront fruit as well as discreet tannins, and there's good structure and grip, even if the finish is a tad dry. Delicious but it may not be especially long-lived.

There's unexpected opulence on the nose, with its robustly fruity blackcurrant aromas, although the wine's density was apparent from the start of its life. Rich and rounded, it shows ample fruit but also a slight hollowness and fluidity. But it's not green or extracted, and the finish is firm, with good grip and length.

Haut-Brion wisely aimed to produce a wine of charm and finesse rather than power. The nose is reticent and less open than that of its stablemate La Mission. On the palate; it's easygoing and silky, with little weight or density, but a light structure, polished tannins, and enough acidity to ensure freshness and a long, fluid finish.

In its youth this wine, under the same ownership as Le Gay and Montviel, was one of the most impressive Right Bank wines of the vintage. Now Le Gay seems to have gained complexity at the expense of La Violette. Nonetheless, this is a fine wine, with ripe plummy aromas, and a palate that's suave and textured but also delicate and charming. Fresh and elegant, the wine has a fluid and ethereal finish. A tiny vineyard with a tiny production.

Nicely balanced and quite similar to its neighbour, Leoville-Barton, with the same blackcurrant aromas, but with a bit more charm and a bit less density. The fruit is upfront and juicy, and the texture is luminous rather than dense. It finishes long, with succulence and spiciness.

This gloriously located estate always delivers full-bodied and powerful wines, and despite a more slender frame in 2013, the same is true in this vintage. Very deep in colour, it shows ample oak and blackcurrant fruit on the nose, yet with freshness too. It's suave and concentrated, tannic and oaky, with considerable vigour and complexity. But it does lack some of its usual grandeur, and the moderate acidity gives a rather blunt finish.

Even in this vintage, Poyferre is a big, opulent wine, and it has now shed its youthful austerity. It remains dense and oaky on the nose, but it's voluptuous, too. Although less compact than the nose, the palate remains chewy and extracted, but that gives structure rather than brutality. The fruit remains subdued, but the finish is long and chocolatey.

Very dark, rich in oaky blackcurrant aromas and robustly fruity, this certainly has Pauillac typicity. It's velvety as well as concentrated and weighty, and the still-chewy tannins give grip and energy. Long finish, but it's far from elegant.

Pichon-Baron is never shy and retiring, and this is no exception. The nose has developed a savoury tone alongside its blackcurrant and liquorice aromas. It's compact, dense and imposing, with no sign of evolution. Robust and even chunky, it does lack some finesse but it's a typically assertive Pauillac with considerable staying power and length.

Alexandre Thienpont is proud of the 'cashmere' quality of his Cabernet Franc, but it scarcely entered the blend in 2013. Instead the Merlot supplies solid cherry aromas, a suave and concentrated palate with moderate tannins but good weight of fruit. There's structure here but little flair and drive. Only 900 cases were produced.

Canon did not show well at first, but since 2017 has made a better impression. There's reticent black cherry fruit on the nose, while the palate is suave and polished, with solid fruit and some structure. The acidity is modest, so it lacks some persistence, although the finish is balanced and toasty.

This has always been a modest wine, conscious of the risks of over-extracting and trying to find a weight of fruit that simply wasn't present in the vintage. There are delicate raspberry aromas of considerable charm and an immediately accessible palate, fluid and upfront, with delicacy and flair rather than structure or depth. It's well balanced, quite long, but not for much more cellaring.

A relatively lightweight expression of this superb property, but it's attractive nonetheless. The cherry-scented nose is bright and lifted, while the palate is upfront with ample fruit and decent concentration. It's easygoing and lacks depth, but still lively and balanced, and the light tannins and moderate length suggest it should be drunk fairly soon.

Tasted many times, this lightly plummy Clinet has always been among the best Pomerols in 2013. It retains much of its original opulence and finesse, but is now losing some force and drive. Finely crafted, but its essential modesty has come to the fore.

There's attractive upfront fruit here, with light tannins that avoid excessive extraction. The nose is subdued, and the palate also lacks some vigour and flair. Rather chunky and drab on the finish, this is solid enough but hardly the equal of better vintages from here.

This has the solidity one would expect from this wine, but it's far less assertive than usual. The black-fruited nose is subdued, and the palate, while juicy and concentrated, lacks excitement and flair. There are sufficient tannins to give some structure, but it's foursquare and lacks some persistence.