Five Bordeaux vintages to drink now

When faced with the proposition of choosing five ‘Bordeaux vintages to drink now’ it is perhaps best to outline the parameters under which these years were selected.

Firstly, the vintages should be homogenous, from top to bottom, in terms of their drinkability.

Yes… the very best 1961s are still at their peak, but 95% of anything you are likely to find has probably seen better days.

The wines should not only be relatively readily available but offer value for money next to other vintages of similar age.

This is, in part, related to the fact that my recommendations are all but useless if they mirror those of critics from major publications that have, over the years, determined the secondary market prices of the very best wines.

With that in mind, here goes…

Scroll down to see notes and scores for claret from vintages to drink now

2014 – The last value vintage

We have, admittedly, reframed our reference countless times over the last two decades as to what constitutes value in Bordeaux.

Perhaps it was last truly seen in 2002, with the first growths being released at a shade over £50 a bottle en primeur.

Nonetheless in the modern era, 2014 undoubtedly represents incredible value.

While boasting a decade of age, most wines are still cheaper than those freshly bottled.

Preceded by the worst vintage of the modern era but overshadowed by the pair of titans that followed, 2014 was slightly forgotten despite its wonderful concentration and beautiful balance.

On both sides of the Gironde there are very few lightweight wines or anything overworked that is all too common in the riper vintages.

Although the top châteaux are still approaching maturity, I suspect you will find almost nothing that is over the hill.

That being said, the real value is found in the ‘middle ground’: Branaire-Ducru, Giscours and Grand-Puy-Lacoste all made fabulous examples on the left bank that still have decades in them.

Meanwhile, Clinet and La Conseillante are absolute standouts for the money in Pomerol.

2012 – The Underdog

Perhaps not as ‘complete’ as 2014, 2012 is a vintage I have always had a soft spot for and has far outperformed both 2011 and 2013.

The wines, generally, are firmer and slightly more structured than the more opulent 2014s, but there is a huge amount of pleasure to be found, especially on the Right Bank.

Pomerol was, across the whole region, the standout performer, owing partly to the success of the Merlot whose sugar levels were not dissimilar to the legendary 2009.

The successes here were numerous: Vieux Château Certan, L’Eglise Clinet, Trotanoy and Figeac as well as both the aforementioned Clinet and La Conseillante.

Still great value for money on the Left Bank are d’Armailhac, Pontet-Canet and Grand-Puy-Lacoste to name but a few.

In Graves, Domaine de Chevalier and Pape Clément are fabulous.

2007 – Our greatest lesson

We are, it seems, obsessed with the idea of ‘assessing’ the quality of a vintage before it’s been bottled and stamping it with a moniker that it carries around for the rest of its days.

2007 was that in spades. ‘Dilute, lacking concentration, lighter than both 2006 and the legendary 2005,’ was one assessment, and the world was already welcoming in 2008 before the buds had even burst.

Its successor was well priced and, with a little help from the Chinese market, the most successful primeur campaign of modern times, with some wines hitting 10 times their release price a year later.

The wines themselves in 2008 were far more concentrated than 2007 and the vintage was deemed to be an incredible success, even after a few years in bottle in the shadow of 2009 and 2010 that followed.

Sure, the wines were closed, but we ‘had 2007 to drink up while we waited’.

Now, as it fast approaches legal drinking age, there has not a single day in the life of 2007 where the wines have not drunk beautifully.

Open and expressive, full of charm and character bringing endless joy unlike its younger sibling which promised so much early doors but, in the opinion of this author, is destined to be consigned to the pile alongside 1986 and 1988 as vintages that never showed their ‘true potential’.

If you’re determined to play the maverick, turn up to a serious dinner with a magnum of 2007 claret under your arm.

These names will help your meteoric rise from zero to hero by the end of the main course: Lynch Bages, La Mission Haut-Brion, Léoville Las Cases, Rauzan-Ségla, Gazin or absolutely anything from Sauternes where it remains one of the greatest vintages of the past half century.

2000 – The best of the best

It would be churlish to not include one of the ‘modern greats’. I see the legendary millennium vintage as the finest of the flurry that followed: 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015 (even if it may ultimately be surpassed by 2016).

2000 is, although splitting hairs, the most consistent, from Fronsac to First Growth, and even the lowliest of reds are still drinking well.

At the top end the wines are just hitting their stride and have an opulence that is still measured (unlike in 2003) and a structure to last a century.

Admittedly, at nearly a quarter of a century old, and with the famous ‘three zeros’, these wines don’t come cheap.

That said, the joy of the vintage can really be found in châteaux like Le Chenade, Potensac and Poujeaux who all weigh in at under the price of the Chateaubriand that you won’t need to soften out their perfectly rounded tannins.

If, on the other hand, you landed a full hat of score draws on last week’s pools, I urge you to seek out this singular and unique vintage of Le Pin, a wine whose opulence and decadence defies belief.

1985 – The claret lover’s icon

It was important to include at least one fully mature vintage, while still adhering to the parameters we set out at the beginning.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: ‘1985 is the finest vintage of the eighties’ – a decade jam packed with quality red Bordeaux.

Many would swear by 1989 or the famous 1982 vintage, which has greater highs than 1985, but is lacklustre beyond the top two dozen châteaux.

1985 not only shows its quality in wines like Beaumont, Ormes de Pez and Clos de Marquis but even at the top of the tree the wines represent excellent value for money.

Léoville Barton and Lynch Bages are certainly not cheap but probably represent the best value for money of anything globally approaching 40.

Again, if price is not your primary concern, then Léoville Las Cases, Pichon Lalande, Mouton Rothschild and Lafite are fabulous.

Reaching a notch higher, Margaux and Cheval Blanc are not only timeless and classical and oozing with class but represent the very apex of what mature Bordeaux can become.

If all of the vintages mentioned above can become half as fabulous as the 1985, then the future of Bordeaux is bright.

Bordeaux wines to drink now

Selected from the most recent Decanter tastings of each wine

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