Cru bourgeois 2018: panel tasting results

Georgina Hindle, Vincenzo Arnese and Daphne Teremetz tasted 89 wines with three Outstanding and 59 Highly recommended.

Cru bourgeois 2018: panel tasting scores

89 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 3

Highly recommended 59

Recommended 26

Commended 1

Fair 0

Poor 0

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their 2018-vintage red Bordeaux wines from cru bourgeois properties of all three levels, including supérieur (CBS) and exceptionnel (CBE)

This was a successful tasting, perhaps surprisingly, with plenty of consistency and reliability on show, as well as clear vintage and stylistic signatures. ‘The quality is there and you can really see the importance of the vintage,’ said Vincenzo Arnese, who commented on the ‘solid average performance’ with ‘not too many high-scoring wines but also not too many low-scoring’.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the cru bourgeois 2018 panel tasting

‘It’s reassuring to see what is considered a low-price category performing well and offering such drinkability,’ he added.

For Daphne Teremetz it was a ‘much better tasting than expected’ with ‘wines that have lots of approachability and are offering such pleasure now’.

Seductive character

Despite initially very challenging weather – a wet winter and spring with critical mildew pressure – the 2018 vintage in Bordeaux was highly successful thanks to the right amount of heat, sunshine and water arriving when it was needed: the warmest September for more than 60 years.

Some yields were considerably affected, and there were instances of high alcohols, low acidity and overripe fruit, but overall 2018 produced ripe, juicy wines with plenty of concentration and power but also seductive character. ‘The vintage showed very well and everyone seems to have taken the best from it,’ said Arnese, who enjoyed the distinct styles that stood out. ‘Some wines were rich and powerful while others were more classic, delicate and elegant.’

Teremetz described the best wines as ‘joyful’, and all judges agreed oak was used excellently and almost all of the bottles would have been suitable for dinner that evening, despite also having the capacity to age. ‘Most of the wines have at least five years ahead of them,’ Teremetz said, and while ‘some lack the acidity for long-term ageing, the best have considerable potential’.

Cru bourgeois then and now

It began in the 15th century as the ‘Crus des Bourgeois’ – the name attributed to the best plots in the Médoc acquired by wealthy merchants who were exempt from taxes on local sales and on the export of wines produced from their vineyards. Over time, an established hierarchy emerged until a 1932 classification of 444 estates, known as the ‘Crus Bourgeois du Médoc’, became an official reference lasting for several decades – although it was never submitted for approval at national ministerial level.

It has since evolved into a regular review and ranking of the Médoc’s estates and wines outside the 1855 classification, with strict criteria for endorsement. The most recent classification, published in 2020, identified 249 estates – 179 cru bourgeois, 56 cru bourgeois supérieur and 14 cru bourgeois exceptionnel – that will carry the endorsement on their labels across five vintages: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

See all 85 wines from the cru bourgeois 2018 panel tasting

The specific cru bourgeois quality tiers were not revealed during the tasting, so it was interesting to see a mix of classifications among the highest- and lowest-scoring wines, and that 36% of the top 25 wines, scoring 92 points or above, were ‘cru bourgeois’ – a sure sign of a good quality-price ratio.

That said, all but three of the top 14 wines were either cru bourgeois supérieur or exceptionnel, with the latter claiming two of the three highest-scoring wines.

The judges agreed that on the whole the Haut-Médoc region stood out, but the named appellation wines (St-Estèphe, Pauillac, Margaux, Listrac and Moulis) were ‘really exciting – it’s just a shame we didn’t have more available to taste for comparison’, as Teremetz said (fewer wines were entered into the tasting than expected, and a number of submissions regrettably arrived too late to be included). Though she did add, positively: ‘They’re likely to be phenomenal value for money.’

In terms of drinking windows, five years old seems a great starting point for drinking these wines, and none of those present seemed tired or past it. ‘They’re still very primary, upfront and forward – more than holding up,’ said Teremetz. Value was also key, and there was a good selection of wines priced under £20, with half a dozen under £15.

‘It really shows you can get great claret at a good price, with lovely classicism, ageability, refinement and finesse,’ Teremetz concluded.

Cru bourgeois 2018 panel tasting scores

The wines listed below all scored 92 points or above

The judges

Georgina Hindle is Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent, tasting and writing about the wines of the region where she lives. She is also editor of Decanter Premium, overseeing Decanter’s global fine wine content for online subscribers.

Vincenzo Arnese is head sommelier at Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, London. Born in Naples, he specialised in sommellerie at hospitality school, going on to work in prestigious hotels in Italy, Switzerland, and Australia as well as in the UK at The Waterside Inn in Bray and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.

Daphne Teremetz is a wine buyer at UK grocer Waitrose, responsible for managing and sourcing wines from Bordeaux, Loire, Rhône and Alsace, and previously regional France too. Born in northern France, she is based in London and is a DWWA judge. Read more about her in ‘Wine to 5’.

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