Best French wines: 100 point scores

France has more 100-point wines in our database than any other country - unsurprising really, considering it's home to the fine wine strongholds of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and the Rhône valley...

France is one of the leading wine-producing countries by volume, and it’s the source of some world-beating wines.

In fact, many of these styles have, at one time or another, been aped by producers in other countries looking for their own slice of perfection.

Scroll down for tasting notes & scores of the best French wines

Scrolling down the list of Decanter’s French 100-pointers at any one time is like reading a who’s-who of star producers with names such as Petrus, Lafite Rothschild, Rayas, Krug, Leroy and Romanée-Conti are rattled off with ease.

So if you’re wondering what the best French wines are, according to Decanter’s experts, we have collated all the wines tasted since Janaury 2020 that have received a perect-score and listed them below.

The 18 wines include Champagne producer Philipponnat, Bordeaux greats; Château Cheval Blanc, Palmer and Ausone, top Burgundy names; Domaine Ramonet, Coche-Dury, Georges Roumier and Armand Rousseau and the Rhône Valley’s Château de Beaucastel and Domaine Jamet.

Vintages are a mix of old and new with several Bordeaux bottles receiving top scores in the recent 2018 in-bottle tastings by Jane Anson while others are from unique and rare tasting opportunities including a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Les Gaudichots Grand Premier Cru, Vosne-Romanée 1929 tasted by Matthew Luczy who called it a ‘true wonder’.

Best French wines: the regions

Bordeaux

The heart of the fine wine world, Bordeaux is renowned for its beautiful chateaux and swathes of vineyards.

Mention a ‘first-growth’ and you’ll get nods of recognition in the right circles, but relatively few people are lucky enough to have drunk the likes of Haut-Brion, Mouton Rothschild or Latour.

See all Bordeaux 100-point wines

Burgundy

Operating on a completely different scale to Bordeaux, Burgundy may be defined by its huge number of appellations (nearly 700 in total) but its vast number of producers and small vineyard holdings means that there’s rarely much of any particular wine to go around.

Rarity rules at the top, pushing prices into the stratosphere.

See all Burgundy 100-point wines

See all the best French wines tasted by Decanter in score and date order

Champagne

The best Champagnes can age almost indefinitely, offering incredible complexity in the process.

The region has perfected the art of traditional method fermentation, replicated the world over but rarely equalled.

See all Champagne 100-point wines

Rhône

Home to a diverse array of wines, from Syrah-dominated Hermitage in the north, to 22-variety Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the south, the sun-drenched Rhône valley is famed for its rich, powerful wines.

See all Rhône 100-point wines

The best French wines – 100 pointers:

The following 18 wines have all been tasted by Decanter experts within the past 18 months.

You might also like:

Bordeaux 2020 wines: our en primeur verdictJane Anson: My top 10 fine wines of 2020Matt Walls: My top 10 Rhône wines of 2020Top five red Burgundy vintages ready to drink now