Bordeaux 2020 in bottle: overview plus top-scoring wines

Bordeaux 2020 at a glance

A challenging vintage in which difficulties were faced both in and beyond the vineyards, with lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions adding to mildew, unprecedented drought, heatwaves and harvest storms.

Overall red wine vintage rating: 4/5

Good but variable quality and quantity, with the third-lowest yields in a decade after 2013 and 2017.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top-rated Bordeaux 2020 wines

Coming soon: all 900 tasting notes and scores PLUS

Individual appellation analysis and top-scoring wines

Pauillac | St-Julien | St-Estephe | Margaux | Pessac & Graves | St-Emilion |Pomerol

It’s both a blessing and a curse approaching an in-bottle vintage ‘blind’ as it were, having not tasted these wines en primeur. There are no expectations, meaning each is judged on its own merits, yet there’s a lack of context and inability to detect improvements over time.

It’s also difficult tasting so many wines over an extended period, putting those tasted in November 2022 at a potential disadvantage to those tasted at the beginning of February this year. Even so, many of the 2020s were in general much less friendly, less approachable and less charming than the 2019s were at the same point in their development; however, the vintage also produced some of the most detailed, precise and compelling young wines I’ve ever tasted.

Comparatively, the 2020s offer a combination of the 2005 and 2016 vintages in terms of structure and refinement – more elegant and fresh than the ripe and opulent 2018s, and more focused but less immediately charming than the 2019s. It’s a trio of vintages offering something for every Bordeaux lover.

Wines of the vintage

Left Bank Château Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac 1CC

Pessac-Léognan Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion

Right Bank Petrus, Pomerol

Other 100 point wines;

Château Trotanoy

Château Troplong Mondot

Much to anticipate

This report offers a snapshot of the 900-plus wines sampled, highlighting the very best of a vintage in which not everyone succeeded. And while resources, ability to react and technical proficiency were imperative in 2020, it was also down to luck, timing and terroir (see ‘Weather & conditions’ box, below).

The best wines offer personality, sleekness, concentration, smooth tannins and abundant freshness – ‘classic’ claret markers that put you squarely in their appellations. Pauillac and St-Estèphe particularly shone, as did Pomerol. They manage to combine richness with purity and definition, and you certainly feel that these wines have been fine-tuned in the cellars with careful extractions, meticulous tannin management and sensitive use of oak (in addition to ageing in larger wooden barrels and amphorae for oxygen control).

It’s not a Left Bank or Right Bank vintage – though as a generalisation, older, more established vines on cooler terroirs, and areas that saw more rain at crucial times, had the biggest success in 2020, with some excellent Cabernets produced in the Médoc and brilliant Merlot on clay and limestone soils in St-Emilion and Pomerol.

Despite lower alcohol levels in general compared to 2019, some wines fell into over-maturity with high alcohols and low acidities. With a 0.5% labelling tolerance, many wines showing as 14.5% (let alone 15% or 15.5%!) feel far more potent than advertised, and while they may entice for one glass, they’re unlikely to be emptied as quickly as those with lower levels.

Weather & conditions: Bordeaux 2020

The growing season followed a similar pattern to 2016, 2018 and 2019, with a wet spring followed by a dry, hot summer, and a warm, dry harvest. Unlike 2016 and 2019, it was an early vintage like in 2018.

The growing season began with an unseasonably warm winter – the highest temperatures for a century, though November and December were extremely wet helping build up necessary ground water followed by a relatively dry and warm January and February.

A mild March and warm April (the third highest in a century behind 2007 and 2011) triggered bud break two to three weeks earlier than usual with rainstorms conducive to rapid growth of vine shoots. Early flowering occurred in late May under warm, dry conditions.

After summer-like weather in May (save two hailstorms, one particularly damaging in St-Emilion), June came with frequent rainfall that amplified the threat of mildew and, in some cases, enacted a painful replication of 2018 where major crop losses were suffered.

The weather then radically changed from mid-June onwards, enforcing a dry spell that lasted nearly two months. From 18 June to 11 August there were 54 days of drought. It was one of the driest Julys on record with veraison occurring in the latter part of the month after which the heat was turned up peaking at 39 degrees at the end of the month putting vines at risk of blockage especially on soils without great water-storage capacity (sand and gravel).

Water stress increased in early August especially for shallow-rooted young vines. A mid-August heatwave triggered a series of thunderstorms that saw localised rainfall with parts of the northern Médoc receiving 120mm of rain while parts of St-Emilion saw 10mm.

A dry and sunny September with temperatures in the mid 30s saw accelerated ripening with Merlots and early-ripening Cabernets being harvested in mostly fine conditions as they dodged spells of heat and rain. Later-ripening Cabernets had a shorter picking window, some being harvested in haste due to deteriorating weather conditions and before Storm Alex hit on 2nd October while the rest were picked in early October.

Chance to stock up

Invariably, the top-scoring wines comprise many of the most illustrious names and famed terroirs, with very little to separate them overall. Despite encouraging moves towards producing wines with earlier drinkability, many of these wines will require long cellaring and won’t hit their stride until they’re at least 10 years old, becoming even better at the 20th and 30th year mark.

There are, however, plenty of lovely wines in 2020 that balance freshness and concentration, ready for drinking sooner. Given the increasingly turbulent, and in some cases perilous circumstances winemakers further down Bordeaux’s hierarchical quality pyramid are facing, now’s the time to be filling your cellars and everyday glasses with great-value and great-quality, ageable and enjoyable wines that are to be found in the lower and mid-range tiers.

The Market

According to Matthew O’Connell, CEO of LiveTrade and Head of Investment at Bordeaux Index, ‘En Primeur 2020 had a pretty good take-up, but demand was predominantly focussed on a clutch of wines for which the price-quality relationship was convincing (by value sold, the spread of wines was less diverse than usual).

‘A long way from the broad-based buying that characterised vintages such as 2016, let alone 2009 and 2010. As in 2019, availability was a challenge as châteaux/négociants limited supply of the more in-demand names.

‘Post EP, demand has been thin but as the wines become physical – around now – we would expect to see more interest. As ever, where the price is correct and the wine commands a strong narrative then there will be good demand. Where either of these elements are absent, we would expect secondary market interest to be more limited.

‘We are strongly of the view that contemporary Bordeaux often represents excellent value across the price spectrum; Châteaux Lafite, Margaux and Haut Brion were unsurprisingly compelling; Figeac, Lynch Bages and Pichon Lalande are amongst their finest recent iterations’, O’Connell concluded.

For Mathieu Chadronnier, Managing Director of Bordeaux négociant CVBG, he says; ‘Stylistically, I’ve always seen 2020 as the synthesis of both 2018 and 2019. It combines the irresistible charm of 2018 with the purity and grace of 2019.

‘2020 sets a new standard in terms of quality and style. As such, it is as testament to Bordeaux’s ability to constantly learn, adapt, evolve and progress.

‘Thanks to a historic succession of great vintages, Bordeaux is in a strong position. To the consumer, within a fine wine market that is more exciting and diverse than it’s ever been, Bordeaux remains a reference point in terms of quality, ageability and accessibility. There’s probably never been a more interesting time to buy Bordeaux, and the 2020 vintage is the best illustration of this.’

Standouts & value picks

2020 Left bank

St-Estèphe Château de Pez; Pauillac Batailley, Haut-Bages Libéral, Haut-Batailley, Pibran; St-Julien Beychevelle, Lagrange; Margaux Kirwan; Pessac-Léognan Domaine de Chevalier, Le Thil; Haut-Médoc Lamothe-Bergeron, Les Hauts de Lynch-Moussas; Médoc La Tour de By Héritage Marc Pagès

2020 Right bank

Pomerol Châteaux Bonalgue, La Pointe; St-Emilion De Pressac, La Rose Perrière Clos les Grandes Versannes, Haut Roc Blanquant, L’Etampe; Lalande de Pomerol La Chenade, Les Cruzelles; Fronsac De La Dauphine; Bordeaux Supérieur Grand Village

See tasting notes and scores for the top-rated Bordeaux 2020 wines

The following 40 wines all scored 97 points or above

Related articles

• Bordeaux 2020 wines: our en primeur verdict
• Which Bordeaux 2020 wines sold best en primeur?
• Anson: Bordeaux 2020 harvest – An insider guide