Médoc, Left Bank
Haut-Médoc
5 châteaux distributed by the Compagnie Médocaine des Grands Crus.
The châteaux
Vintages in Haut-Médoc
| Vintage | Score | Vintage character |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 94 | A dry, bright summer, tempered by cool nights, gave pure, balanced wines, more classic than sun-drenched. |
| 2024 | 87 | A rainy spring and a difficult flowering reduced the crop; the dry October saved fine, light, easy-drinking wines. |
| 2023 | 91 | July mildew followed by a hot September demanded strict selection: fleshy, aromatic wines, more approachable than 2022. |
| 2022 | 98 | Three heatwaves and extreme drought gave, against all odds, wines of exceptional concentration without harshness — the great sun-drenched year. |
| 2021 | 86 | Frost, mildew, then a cool summer brought back Bordeaux of old: taut, vibrant wines, shorter but elegant. |
| 2020 | 94 | An early, hot year, with a harvest under pressure: a dense, juicy classic, ripe without heaviness. |
| 2019 | 96 | A hot end of summer after a rainy spring gave wines that hold ripeness and freshness together; the cabernets shine here. |
| 2018 | 95 | After a spring marked by mildew, the heat concentrated a small crop: rich, ripe wines with great depth of material. |
| 2017 | 85 | April frost cut the crop in half: the plots that were spared give fine, classic wines, and the vintage must be judged estate by estate. |
| 2016 | 97 | A very wet winter followed by a sun-drenched summer produced a rare balance, combining the depth of great years with genuine freshness. |
| 2015 | 93 | A hot summer tempered by August rains gave expansive wines, with rounded tannins and generous fruit. |
| 2014 | 90 | A gloomy summer redeemed by an Indian summer: the cabernets are radiant and the freshness is true to the Médoc. |
| 2013 | 78 | Coulure, mildew, then rain during the harvest: a light vintage, ready to drink. |
| 2012 | 85 | A late cycle closing with rain gave an uneven vintage: the cabernets hold up, the merlots remain taut. |
| 2011 | 87 | A scorching spring followed by a wet August turned the seasons upside down: classic wines, shorter but true to type. |
| 2010 | 99 | A dry summer and cool nights concentrated small berries: a benchmark vintage, with dense tannins and a thirty-year aging potential. |
| 2009 | 98 | A sun-drenched season from start to finish gave opulent, fleshy wines, immediately appealing yet built for the cellar. |
| 2008 | 91 | A bright late season saved a cool summer: wines of unexpected freshness and aromatic precision. |
| 2007 | 83 | A cool, wet summer demanded strict selection: light, delicious wines, to be drunk young. |
| 2006 | 89 | Rain at véraison followed by a dry September gave classic, balanced wines with fine freshness, without the density of 2005. |
| 2005 | 97 | Drought without any halt in ripening, together with cool nights, gave a legendary vintage: concentrated, with firm tannins and very long aging potential. |
| 2004 | 88 | High yields and a dry September gave a classic, unexaggerated vintage, straightforward, now at its peak. |
| 2003 | 88 | The historic heatwave halted ripening in young vines: very ripe, low-acid wines, at their best in Saint-Estèphe, where the clays held on to freshness. |
| 2002 | 89 | A dry, bright October redeemed a mediocre summer: the Médoc's cabernets fared well, the merlots far less so. |
| 2001 | 91 | A steady season closing with a cool September gave fine, aromatic wines, long unfairly overshadowed by 2000. |
| 2000 | 96 | After a wet spring, a dry summer and a perfect September gave the decade's first great vintage: dense, complete, with very long aging potential. |
| 1999 | 87 | A stormy summer with a few hailstorms reduced the crop: supple, fruity wines, built for a short cellaring span. |
| 1998 | 89 | The August heatwave followed by September rain favored the Right Bank; in the Médoc, the wines remain classic and a touch firm. |
| 1997 | 82 | A drawn-out flowering and a wet summer gave uneven ripening: supple, easy-drinking wines, to be drunk today. |
| 1996 | 92 | A dry, windy September saved the Médoc's cabernets: the cabernet vintage par excellence, structured and slow to open. |
| 1995 | 90 | A dry summer ripened the cabernets before rain arrived during the harvest: classic wines, tannic and well-structured. |
| 1991 | 76 | April frost wiped out half the crop: the wines that remain are light and now at the end of their drinking window. |
| 1990 | 96 | Summer drought and a scorching September gave rich, sun-drenched wines, even more generous than 1989 and remarkably age-worthy. |
| 1989 | 93 | The uninterrupted heat of the earliest season of the century gave ripe, fleshy wines, opulent for the time and early to reach maturity. |
| 1988 | 88 | A dry summer closing with a cool September gave wines that were straightforward and firm, austere in their youth but built to last. |