The best 100 Bordeaux I tasted in 2014 underline one simple rule: The 2011 vintage is a year to buy white wine from Bordeaux.
Sure, some outstanding reds were made – particularly those from top vineyards in Pessac-Léognan, Pomerol and Saint-Emilion – but it was the dry and sweet whites of the region that were of phenomenal quality.
I did think twice about naming my 2014 Bordeaux Wine of the Year the stunning Sauternes from Château Guiraud, considering I scored the Château La Mission Haut-Brion a perfect 100 points. Yet the Guiraud costs under US $100 while still offering amazing richness and complexity. It is the greatest wine ever made at Guiraud and is a monument to the great wine region of Sauternes. To be sure, the La Mission white is equally compelling in quality but costs at least 10 times the price per bottle of the Guiraud!
In fact, seven of my top 10 recently released Bordeaux in 2014 were whites including Château Guiraud, Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Domaine de Chevalier, Château d’Yquem, Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux, Château Suduiraut and Château Smith Haut-Lafitte.
The growing conditions were just right for dry and sweet whites despite the overall difficulties. As I wrote in the past, a lack of water, nearly drought conditions, made it very hard to ripen the grapes properly. I remember winemakers telling me at the end of 2011 that it had been an inverted growing season. The spring was like the summer with extremely hot weather and little precipitation. Summer was like autumn, relatively cool with some humidity, and autumn was like summer again. They had to be extremely selective in their vineyards during the harvest and only pick the best grapes to make wine.
Of course, any of the top names of the slightly less than 10,000 wineries in Bordeaux would have done the above in 2011 to make the best quality wine. However, I found that the regions of Pessac-Léognan, Pomerol, Saint-Emilion and Sauternes/Barsac made the best wines. All the wines in this list of The Top 100 Bordeaux of 2014 are currently available on the market. The whites – dry and sweet – are delicious to drink now while the reds need another three or four years of bottle age to reduce some of the firm acid and tannins in the wines.
The list below is ranked keeping in mind the score of the wines but also their relative value and personal preference. I hope you enjoy the list.
Top 100 Bordeaux of 2014 – Click below for notes and scores, and click here for a full PDF.
1. Château Guiraud Sauternes 2011
2. Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc Pessac-Léognan 2011
3. Domaine de Chevalier Blanc Pessac-Léognan 2011
4. Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux Bordeaux 2011
5. Château d’Yquem Sauternes 2011
6. Vieux-Château-Certan Pomerol 2011
7. Château Mouton-Rothschild Pauillac 2011
8. Château Lafleur Pomerol 2011
9. Château Suduiraut Sauternes 2011
10. Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc Pessac-Léognan 2011
11. Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2011
12. Château Sigalas-Rabaud Sauternes 2011
13. Château Ausone St.-Emilion 2011
14. Château Climens Barsac 2011
15. Château Haut-Bailly Pessac-Léognan 2011
16. Château de Rayne-Vigneau Sauternes 2011
17. Château Pontet-Canet Pauillac 2011
18. Château Palmer Margaux 2011
19. Château Léoville Las Cases St.-Julien 2011
20. Aile d’Argent Bordeaux 2011
21. Château Cos-d’Estournel St.-Estèphe 2011
22. Château Angélus St.-Emilion 2011
23. Château Latour Pauillac 2011
24. Château Pétrus Pomerol 2011
25. Château Haut-Brion Blanc Pessac-Léognan 2011
27. Château Nairac Barsac 2011
28. Château Malartic-Lagravière Blanc Pessac-Léognan 2011
29. Château de Fieuzal Blanc Pessac-Léognan 2011
30. Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Léognan 2011
31. La Clarte de Haut-Brion Blanc Pessac-Léognan 2011
33. Château Doisy-Védrines Sauternes 2011
34. Château Pavie St.-Emilion 2011
35. Château Péby-Faugères St.-Emilion 2011
36. Château Pavie-Macquin St.-Emilion 2011
37. Château Margaux Margaux 2011
38. Château L’Église Clinet Pomerol 2011
39. Château Lafite Rothschild Pauillac 2011
40. Château Bouscaut Blanc Pessac-Léognan 2011
41. Blanc de Lynch-Bages Bordeaux 2011
42. Lion de Suduiraut Sauternes 2011
43. Château Cheval Blanc St.-Emilion 2011
44. Pensées de Lafleur Pomerol 2011
45. Château Trotanoy Pomerol 2011
46. Clos des Jacobins St.-Emilion 2011
47. Château Troplong-Mondot St.-Emilion 2011
48. Château Valandraud St.-Emilion 2011
49. Château Rabaud-Promis Sauternes 2011
50. Château Rauzan-Ségla Margaux 2011
51. Château Petit-Village Pomerol 2011
52. Château Pichon Longueville Lalande Pauillac 2011
53. Château Lynch Bages Pauillac 2011
54. Château Pavie-Decesse St.-Emilion 2011
55. Château Canon St.-Emilion 2011
56. Château Le Gay Pomerol 2011
57. Château Le Pin Pomerol 2011
58. Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2011
59. Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey Sauternes 2011
60. Château Larcis-Ducasse St.-Emilion 2011
61. Château La Conseillante Pomerol 2011
62. Château Léoville Poyferré St.-Julien 2011
63. Château Clerc Milon Pauillac 2011
64. Château Coutet Barsac 2011
65. Château Ducru-Beaucaillou St.-Julien 2011
66. Château Faugères St.-Emilion 2011
67. Château Figeac St.-Emilion 2011
68. Château Filhot Sauternes 2011
69. Château Gazin Rocquencourt Pessac-Léognan 2011
70. Chateau Doisy-Daene Bordeaux 2011
71. Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac 2011
72. Château La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2011
73. Château Haut-Bages-Libéral Pauillac 2011
74. Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes 2011
75. Château Godeau St.-Emilion 2011
76. Château Bélair-Monange St.-Emilion 2011
77. Château Trottevieille St.-Emilion 2011
78. Chapelle d’Ausone St.-Emilion 2011
79. Château Bellevue-Mondotte St.-Emilion 2011
80. Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan 2011
81. Virginie de Valandraud Bordeaux 2011
82. Château Giscours Margaux 2011
83. Château Haut-Batailley Pauillac 2011
84. Château La Fleur Morange St.-Emilion 2011
85. Château La Lagune Haut-Médoc 2011
86. Château Les Carmes-Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2011
87. Château Léoville Barton St.-Julien 2011
88. Château Lynch-Moussas Pauillac 2011
89. Château Malescot-St.-Exupéry Margaux 2011
90. Château Montrose St.-Estèphe 2011
91. Château Olivier Pessac-Léognan 2011
92. Château Puygueraud Francs Côtes de Bordeaux 2011
93. Château Rouget Pomerol 2011
94. Château Talbot St.-Julien 2011
95. Château Bouscaut Pessac-Léognan 2011
96. Château Brane-Cantenac Margaux 2011
97. Château Branaire-Ducru St.-Julien 2011
98. Château Calon-Ségur St.-Estèphe 2011
99. Château Fonplégade St.-Emilion 2011
100. Château Quintus St.-Emilion 2011
