Wines of the Year 2024: Bordeaux & Burgundy

Bordeaux editor Georgie Hindle and France editor Natalie Earl select the best Bordeaux and Burgundy wines tasted throughout 2024, based on their quality, value and how they demonstrate the diversity of their respective regions.

By Georgie Hindle

last updated 28 December 2024

in Features

Credit: Craig Maccubbin / Getty Images

(Image credit: Craig Maccubbin / Getty Images)

Decanter’s expert writers and contributors awarded 95-points or more to almost 3,000 wines in the 12 months to October 2024.

While they have all appeared in the pages of Decanter magazine and online on Decanter Premium and in our decanter.com database, there were too many to reproduce here for a seasonal wrap-up.

Scroll down for notes and scores of the Bordeaux and Burgundian Wines of the Year 2024

Bordeaux

Bordeaux’s excellence shone in 2024, with more than 240 wines scoring 95-points or above (78 at 97pts or higher), across 25 vintages, making this selection both a thrilling and challenging exercise.

While the Bordeaux first growths predictably litter the list (Château Latour alone has seven entries), and legendary wines such as Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2010 (99pts), Petrus 1964 (98pts) and Yquem 1999 (97pts) were tempting, I’ve chosen five wines that offer immediate pleasure as well as ageing potential from a range of different vintages and appellations.

In order of most recent vintage first, Château Smith Haut Lafitte’s 2021 stands out as a clear gem, brimming as it is with abundant vibrancy, bounce and energy, along with classicism and charm.

From the excellent 2019 vintage comes Château Montrose’s grand vin; tasted four times over the years, averaging 98pts, it boasts opulence, power and aromatic intensity, as well as mouthwatering acidity – it’s unquestionably a superb buy!

Château Pédesclaux’s 2016 isn’t the highest-scoring wine tasted from the highly acclaimed vintage, but it’s an excellent offering from the rising-star estate and a great buy at around £50-£65.

Looking to the 10-year sweet spot for fine claret, Pichon Comtesse 2014 is one of the best – and if you’re a fan of the 2010 vintage, Château Léoville Poyferré delights with its richness, density and freshness, balancing immediate enjoyment with supreme ageability.

Burgundy

With nearly 400 Burgundy and Beaujolais wines scoring 95-points or more this year, choosing five to highlight was a challenge.

Many of these reviews came from our 2022 en primeur report, penned by Burgundy correspondent Charles Curtis MW. A particularly hot and dry vintage, 2022 produced many accessible, early-drinking wines, along with ageworthy reds, and the 100-point Romanée-Conti Grand Cru, which Curtis ‘immediately qualified as perfect’, exemplifies that.

Biodynamically farmed Domaine Leflaive’s 2022 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, tasted some time after the en primeur report was published, shows the lush fruit of the vintage, and the richness gleaned from extended lees ageing.

Curtis says that there are marvellous 2022 wines to be found on the hill of Corton, and Domaine Chandon de Briailles’ Corton-Clos du Roi Grand Cru was one of the highest-scoring reds.

On Decanter Premium, Andy Howard MW profiled Beaujolais’ Moulin-à-Vent cru 100 years after it was first recognised; Louis Jadot’s Château des Jacques Clos des Thorins 2020 stood out as a truly terroir-driven wine.

This selection wouldn’t be complete without representation from the glittering star that is Chablis, so it seems apt to include the 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 2020 from highly sought-after Chablis supernova Domaine François Raveneau.

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