The year that could have been great – Our expert selects the best 2006 Bordeaux wines

Early in the growing season, 2006 seemed to many a year that could equal or excel the widely heralded 2005 that preceded it. Sadly, this was not to be the case.

A cool, wet August interrupted the stellar progress of the season up to that point, and rain during harvest put to rest hopes of glory. And yet, despite discouraging news from the vineyards at harvest, the wines in barrel and then in bottle offered promise, and a recent retrospective showed numerous wines that have stood the test of time.

I tasted through 24 of them in the spring of 2025 to find out what had become of this sometimes-overlooked vintage.

Charles’s pick of 2006 Bordeaux listed below

Vintage conditions

A wet winter helped replenish the water table after a dry season in 2005. The winter preceding the growing season was also frigid, killing vineyard pests and driving the sap deep into the roots of the vines and delaying budbreak.

After a warm, wet stretch in March, cool weather in April further delayed the season’s start. Following this hesitation, however, the weather was dry from April through July, and temperatures were summery from early May well past flowering.

Until this point in the year, it seemed that Bordeaux was due for two back-to-back blockbusters.

Unfortunately, August did not cooperate. The season was cool, cloudy, and wet, with approximately 10% less sunshine than the five-year average, and 20% more rain than an ordinary year, drawing out ripening and increasing the risk of rot.

Providentially, there was a spell of hot and dry weather in early September, and picking began with the Merlot on 11 September, but unfortunately the rain started back in again just as the harvest began.

The Merlot harvest was a battle between picking too early and a bit green or picking later and risking rot. Thicker-skinned Cabernet Sauvignon fared much better, and most of the rain had finished by 24 September.

The best wines were made after much sorting and a strict selection for the top wine, along with a bit of luck in choosing the harvest dates.

Don’t write it off

Despite the rollercoaster fluctuations of fortune, writing off the entire 2006 vintage is an error.

Although it was widely maligned in the aftermath of the enthusiasm over the 2005 vintage, 2006 is actually a very good vintage in Bordeaux that has produced a range of wines, from great to good to fair, but always with the emphasis on charm rather than power.

The best wines are classic clarets. The blackcurrant aromas on the Left Bank and the plummy fruit on the Right Bank are opening up now and showing developed hints of cedar, graphite, smoke, and earth.

To be sure, there were disappointments as well – châteaux with too large a crop on the vines invariably delivered dilute wines, and those who picked too early to avoid the rot risked unpleasant green, herbal notes, while those that did not sort thoroughly risked a hint of rot.

Properties that extracted too forcefully ended up with harsh, unyielding tannins that have yet to come around (and may never do so).

Conclusions

It is not a vintage of great concentration as was 2005, but the best among the wines in 2006 are agreeably approachable now and still have the substance to last another 20 years.

Even the biggest wines are starting to open now, and the best of the first growths will last another 50 years.

We double-decanted everything two hours before the tasting, and this seems to have worked well at this stage.

2006 is a vintage that offers both value and quality. There are wines in this selection under £50, and even the top-scoring wines are significantly less expensive than the 2005 from the same châteaux.

Bordeaux 2006

Top three value wines

• Château La Lagune £47 (UK) $84 (US)
• Château Saint-Pierre £44 (UK) $70 (US)
• Château Pavie-Macquin £57 (UK) $92 (US)

Top scoring wines

• Château Latour £416 (UK) $870 (US)
• Château Margaux £356 (UK) $698 (US)
• Château Pichon-Lalande £120 (UK) $251 (US)
  

Charles Curtis MW’s pick of 2006 Bordeaux

Related articles

• From dreams to vines: The expat winemakers bringing a fresh perspective to Bordeaux
• Our expert reveals her 12 favourites from 130 fine wines hitting Bordeaux’s marketplace – including one 100-pointer
• Decanter Value Index: The best Bordeaux first growth vintages for collectors