You don’t need Reddit, here are the best Bordeaux Vintages from 1990 to 2025
Written by the local experts at Bordeaux Wine Vacations. A year-by-year guide to help you buy, cellar, and drink Bordeaux with confidence.
Save this article and use it whenever you’re wondering which vintage to choose!
In Bordeaux, the year on the label really matters. The weather shifts from one growing season to the next. That shapes every wine in the bottle. A great vintage can age for decades. A weak one can fade in just a few years.
This guide covers every Bordeaux vintage from 1990 to 2025. Each year gets a short, honest description. You will learn which vintages to cellar, which to drink now, and which to skip. It is the perfect companion for a birth-year hunt or a growing collection.
Want to taste these wines where they are made? Our private Bordeaux wine tours bring the vintages in this guide to life.
Bordeaux Vintage Chart at a Glance
Here is a quick-reference table for every year. Use it to scan fast, then read the details below.
| Vintage | Quality | Drink or Hold |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Exceptional | Drink now, top wines will hold |
| 1991 to 1994 | Weak | Drink up |
| 1995 | Very good | Drink now |
| 1996 | Very good | Drink now, top wines will hold |
| 1997 | Weak for reds | Drink up (buy Sauternes instead) |
| 1998 | Good to very good | Drink now |
| 1999 | Good | Drink now |
| 2000 | Very good | Drink now |
| 2001 | Very good (overlooked) | Drink now or hold |
| 2002 | Good | Drink now |
| 2003 | Good | Drink now |
| 2004 | Above average | Drink now |
| 2005 | Exceptional | Hold |
| 2006 | Very good | Drink now or hold |
| 2007 | Weak | Drink up |
| 2008 | Very good | Drink now or hold |
| 2009 | Exceptional | Drink now or hold |
| 2010 | Exceptional | Hold |
| 2011 | Very good | Drink now |
| 2012 | Average | Drink now |
| 2013 | Weak | Drink up |
| 2014 | Very good | Drink now or hold |
| 2015 | Exceptional | Hold |
| 2016 | Exceptional | Hold |
| 2017 | Good | Drink now |
| 2018 | Very good | Hold |
| 2019 | Exceptional | Hold |
| 2020 | Very good | Hold |
| 2021 | Average | Drink now |
| 2022 | Exceptional | Hold |
| 2023 | Good | Drink now |
| 2024 | Weak | Drink now |
| 2025 | Potentially great | Hold |
The 1990s
1990. This is the best vintage of the decade, with no real competition. None of the other 1990s years reach its quality level. The wines are iconic, and many are still stunning today. There is a curious quirk worth noting. Quite a few producers made either a brilliant 1989 or a brilliant 1990, but not both. Bottles remain easy to find if you are willing to pay.
1991 to 1994. These four years were genuinely difficult. Most wines are now past their prime, so drink up or throw out. 1992 and 1993 are the weakest of the group. A truly good bottle is a rare find. There is always the odd surprise that outperforms its vintage. Keep these only for a full vertical collection.
1995. A very nice, classic vintage with some absolute gems. The tannins are softer and gentler than in 1996. That makes it the safer bet of the two. It shares the same classic mold, just with a rounder structure.
1996. More tannic than 1995, and some wines are lean and rustic. A few are actually green, so choose carefully. When it works, though, this vintage delivers real gems. It sits just behind 1990 as one of the decade’s best.
1997. A weak vintage for reds, and most are tired now. Even the first growths are turning lean and skinny. There is a bright exception, though. This is a brilliant year for Sauternes. Buy sweet wines if you need a 1997 birth year.
1998. This vintage splits by region. It shines on the Right Bank, especially in Pomerol, and Pessac-Léognan does beautifully too. Some wonderful Saint-Émilions appear as well. Across the rest of Bordeaux it is good, but not as lovely as in those communes.
1999. A touch weaker than 1998, but very classical. There are some genuinely charming wines here. Most sit right in their drinking window now. Enjoy them over the next decade, since they will not improve much further.
The 2000s
2000. Hyped enormously as the Millennium Vintage, and priced to match. It remains very good today. Still, the wines are maturing quicker than anyone expected. They have softened and rounded, losing a little of their early shine. The prices, however, have held onto much of that original hype.
2001. Long overlooked, and possibly better than 2000. This vintage has texture, concentration, and backbone. The tannins are classic and typical of Bordeaux. Wine lovers are finally coming around to it. Most 2001s can still age for another two decades or more.
2002. One of the few vintages that keeps surprising tasters, and usually for the better. It once seemed to lack fruit and concentration. Fifteen years ago it looked like the decade’s weakest year. Somehow these wines have gained concentration and now drink younger than expected.
2003. One of the warmest vintages ever recorded. The wines were strikingly sweet when young, even without especially high alcohol. Today they are maturing very fast. Acidity runs a little low, so some wines feel flabby. Most 2003s are ready now, so keep an eye on them.
2004. A classic, above-average vintage that gets debated for the wrong reasons. Some wines are green or herbal, and a taste for tannins helps. But the structure works wonderfully with food. It sits below 2001 in quality, yet it remains underrated.
2005. A great vintage, and probably the longest-lived of the last 25 years. The wines have every building block for longevity. Tasted blind, they often seem ten years younger than they are. Right now, many are in a difficult, closed phase. Give a bottle at least three hours of air.
2006. The little brother of 2005. It is tannic and very classic in style, and also a bit closed at times. Giving these wines enough air can be tricky. The vintage is slightly underestimated. With good concentration behind the tannins, the rest is just patience.
2007. A leaner, skinnier vintage, and not an important one. Most bottles are probably drunk by now. It may be the leanest year of the era. Keep any you have for a vertical tasting. Otherwise, enjoy them while the fruit still holds.
2008. A very good, classic, and charming vintage. It never shut down, which makes it unusual. Closed or difficult bottles are hard to find here. The wines have been enjoyable from the very start. They should keep drinking well for another 20 years.
2009. A great, charming vintage in an unusually rounded style. Acidity sits a little lower, and the tannins are gentle. Some wines mature faster than expected, others age slowly. A few estates stay remarkably classical despite the warmth. This is one half of the endless 2009-versus-2010 debate.
The 2010s
2010. Possibly the most iconic vintage of the era. It is deeply tannic, with some of the highest tannin levels ever measured. Yet those tannins are extremely ripe, so you barely feel them. A few wines carry unusual power and alcohol. The wines are still young and built to last a very long time.
2011. Underrated and always well-priced. It has very high tannin levels, but they are ripe and elegant. The wines were dull for years, sitting in one big lump. Now they have opened up and drink really well. This vintage is usually cheaper than 2010, which is a bonus.
2012. An overrated vintage in most side-by-side tastings. Next to 2011, the 2012s are lighter and leaner. They show everything upfront but lack concentration. The finish tends to be short and a little watered down. It rates as a fairly average vintage overall.
2013. The worst vintage in the last 25 years. Almost everything went wrong here. There was frost, mildew, hail, and too much rain. The wines are very thin, and some are already fading. Pop the corks and drink them now.
2014. A much more classic vintage in the traditional Bordeaux style. The alcohol is lower and the fruit less concentrated. This is a year for lovers of classic Bordeaux. These wines have always been enjoyable and never shut down. Now they are starting to show lovely secondary aromas.
2015. The first great vintage after 2010. It brings lovely fruit, more concentration, and a longer finish. The wines are just moving into their drinking window. They tend to have more fruit and a touch more alcohol. This vintage often appeals to the US palate.
2016. A standout vintage and a modern classic. It is very classic in style, with bright fruit and gorgeous expression. The wines are starting to show their secondary aromas. They will happily age another 15 to 20 years. This is the more European-styled counterpart to 2015.
2017. A frost-hit vintage of real extremes. Some estates lost everything, others lost a single grape variety. That produced some unusual, atypical wines. A few carry surprisingly high alcohol. Producers who escaped the frost made elegant, classic wines rivaling 2014.
2018. One of the warmest vintages, and an unusual one. Acidity runs low because the heat pushes it down. It is a big, potentially great vintage, but the style divides people. The alcohol is high and the acidity a little lazy. Check that you love this style before buying.
2019. Another very classic vintage, a little richer than 2016. The two are like brothers in the same mold. This year has slightly more richness on top. Opinion is split between the two. Both rank among the finest of the decade.
The 2020s
2020. This vintage sits between 2018 and 2019. It keeps the freshness of 2019 and adds the ripeness of 2018. So it lands somewhere in the middle. Together with 2018 and 2019, it forms a trio. Wine lovers will debate the three for decades.
2021. A much more difficult vintage, lean in style. It plays like a modern 1988, with a green, herbal note. Many wines feel lean, skinny, and thin. To love it, you need to love the classic Bordeaux style. With so many exciting vintages around, this one is easy to skip.
2022. A strange vintage marked by heat and drought. Early on, the wines seemed jammy, sweet, and big. Eighteen months later they turned far more classic. They lost their baby fat and gained real brightness. The acidity now lifts very concentrated fruit beautifully.
2023. A difficult vintage, and not an essential one. There are some good wines, as always. But with so many exciting recent years, it is not a priority. This is not a year for filling a cellar. Like 2021, it is easy to skip.
2024. A cool, wet, and genuinely challenging vintage, widely called the weakest of the last decade. Several châteaux reported a year’s worth of rain before bud-break, and those conditions bred powdery mildew. Poor flowering brought low yields and uneven ripening. Success came down to careful selection and later harvest dates. The best wines are a modern, classic style: medium-bodied, fresh, and bright, at around 13 to 13.5 percent alcohol. They drink well young rather than demanding long cellaring. The dry whites are a highlight, often outshining the reds. The clear message from critics is to buy the wine, not the vintage. As a silver lining, prices came down sharply, so there are real bargains for careful buyers.
2025. A vintage born of heat and resilience. Bordeaux faced record-hot temperatures, scarce rainfall, and some of the earliest harvests ever recorded. The heat blocked berry growth, producing smaller grapes with reduced yields but greater concentration. Disease stayed nearly absent, a welcome change after years of mildew. Cool, dry nights in late August and early September created near-perfect harvest conditions. Expect deep, structured reds with rich tannins, comparable to 2022. Dry whites show ripe, expressive fruit. Sauternes is less certain, since the dry September limited the noble rot that sweet wines depend on. Early word calls it “potentially great.”
Which Bordeaux Vintage Should You Choose?
The right vintage depends on what you want from the bottle.
- For long cellaring, look to 2005, 2010, 2016, and 2019.
- For classic, food-friendly Bordeaux, 2014 and 2008 rarely disappoint.
- For a bargain, the discounted 2024s and the underrated 2011s offer real value.
- For drinking right now, the 1990s and early 2000s are fully mature and ready to enjoy.
- And if you are shopping for a birth year, remember that even weaker red vintages can shine in Sauternes.
These vintages taste even better where they are born. On a Saint-Émilion or Médoc château visit, you can taste older vintages straight from the estate cellar. Want to understand why the Left Bank and Right Bank age so differently? Our guide to Bordeaux wine regions breaks it down.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Bordeaux vintage of the last 30 years? Several years stand out as truly exceptional. 1990, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2016, and 2022 are among the finest. Each has its own character. 2010 is famous for its power and tannin, while 2016 is prized for its bright, classic elegance.
Which Bordeaux vintages should I drink now? The 1990s and early 2000s are fully mature. Enjoy them now. Weaker years like 2007, 2011, 2012, and 2013 are also ready and will not improve with more age.
Which recent Bordeaux vintages are best for cellaring? For long aging, focus on 2005, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2022. These have the structure and concentration to age for two decades or more.
Is 2024 Bordeaux worth buying? 2024 was a challenging vintage, widely seen as the weakest of the decade. The best wines are fresh, light, and drinkable young. Prices dropped sharply, so careful buyers can find real bargains.
What is the best Bordeaux vintage for a birth-year gift? It depends on the year, but even weak red vintages can produce brilliant sweet wines. 1997, for example, was poor for reds but excellent for Sauternes. Always check the red, white, and sweet wine quality for your year.
How does climate affect a Bordeaux vintage? Weather shapes everything. A cool, wet year like 2013 or 2024 brings disease and dilution. A hot year like 2003 or 2018 brings ripe, powerful, high-alcohol wines. The best vintages get warmth and dryness at just the right moments.
Plan Your Bordeaux Wine Experience
Reading about these vintages is one thing. Tasting them among the vines is another. At Bordeaux Wine Vacations, we are local guides who live and breathe this region. We will take you to world-class châteaux, pour exceptional wines, and share the stories behind every vintage.
Contact us to start planning your private, all-inclusive Bordeaux wine tour.
