Despite the initially difficult weather conditions, the 2018 Bordeaux vintage produced many outstanding wines. One of these wines is the Château Margaux 2018, which was awarded the coveted and very rare 100 Parker points. The château was only able to do this for the third time in its history. In addition to Château Margaux, Château Lafite-Rothschild was also able to celebrate the coveted 100-point rating.
In addition to these icons of the vintage, which are particularly suitable for storage in the wine cellar and will only reach their first drinking window in a few years, there are also wines that offer excellent value for money and are ready to drink earlier. In this vintage we can particularly recommend the L'Hêtre 2018, which promises a special drinking experience at a moderate price.
Markus Del Monego, Sommelier World Champion 1998, Master of Wine and outspoken Bordeaux lover has written the following Primeur note on the Bordeaux wines from the 2018 vintage:
"The best vintage of my life," says Christian Moueix from Ets. Jean Pierre Moueix in Libourne. Indeed, 2018 is a vintage with wonderfully ripe tannins that taste almost sweet and are characteristic of wines with excellent structures. But this vintage was anything but easy. In the first six months of the year, the complete annual rainfall for the Bordeaux region fell, over 800 mm. Due to the difficulties in the first half of the year, only small yields could be harvested, however concentrated grapes. Some châteaux such as Château Guiraud have lost their entire harvest.
Véronique Sanders from Château Haut-Bailly in Pessac-Léognan sums up the vintage as follows: "We are from hell to heaven". After the deluge of the first half of 2018, there was a dramatic change for the second half, bringing great dry weather with lots of sun. The sometimes high daytime temperatures alternated with lower nighttime temperatures and created excitement for aromatic wines. Getting the right level of extraction and maceration was key and some winemakers have changed their maceration methods, creating great wines with plenty of freshness. These winemakers are among the winners of the vintage. The future may show whether 2018 will be one of the greatest vintages in Bordeaux for the overall production. But there are already a number of châteaux that are well above the 2010 or 2016 vintages. In any case, this vintage is easy to taste. The wines already seem to have matured perfectly. This is an entirely new experience in Primeur week.
Véronique Sanders from Château Haut-Bailly in Pessac-Léognan sums up the vintage as follows: "We are from hell to heaven". After the deluge of the first half of 2018, there was a dramatic change for the second half, bringing great dry weather with lots of sun. The sometimes high daytime temperatures alternated with lower nighttime temperatures and created excitement for aromatic wines. Getting the right level of extraction and maceration was key and some winemakers have changed their maceration methods, creating great wines with plenty of freshness. These winemakers are among the winners of the vintage. The future may show whether 2018 will be one of the greatest vintages in Bordeaux for the overall production. But there are already a number of châteaux that are well above the 2010 or 2016 vintages. In any case, this vintage is easy to taste. The wines already seem to have matured perfectly. This is an entirely new experience in Primeur week.