Finna Sze | March 30, 2024
Sotheby’s Wine is thrilled to showcase our newly added vintage charts, written by Nick Jackson MW in the fall of 2023, starting with the red wines of Bordeaux.
Below I have selected several vintages that I have been enjoying drinking recently. If you have any questions, please reach out via email to Finna.Sze@sothebys.com. Cheers!
2009 – The 2009s have been glorious from the beginnings of their distinguished lives. The warm summer produced opulent, rich wines, full-bodied, with melting tannins and plush finishes. By no means are these wines classical Bordeaux, but the overall hedonism of the style is hard to resist; a comparison with the 1982s, similarly accused of being too fruity or too soft, reveals the potential here.
2015 – Much excitement greeted the 2015s, after a run of so-so vintages. And the wines in general live up to it, especially on the Right Bank, where the Merlot was excellent. In the final analysis, 2015 is a fruit-led vintage and lacks the purity of terroir expression of the 2016s. But this should not be held against it; the succulent, generous 2015s are irresistible and already offer so much pleasure.
2017 – A somewhat forgotten year, which gave wines high both in tannin and acidity, and rather limited in fruit. This combination has not in general appealed to the market, but that is not to say that all the top names did not make good wines: they did. Further down the quality ladder, quality remains more variable.
