Editor’s note: This list and this report is an overview of the French wines we tasted this year (more than 5,000 of them). While we would love to taste every wine in the market, our capacity is naturally limited. This list is based primarily on scores, unlike our global Top 100 Wines of 2019 list which is based on scores and also value. Feel free to add your own top wines tasted this year in the comments – if they are new to us, we will try to taste them next year!

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It may look like our list of the Top 100 Wines of France in 2019 is a list of the top 100 wines we tasted in Bordeaux this year – more than half the wines on the list below are from France’s most popular wine region. That’s because Bordeaux bottles made up half the 5,356 French wines we reviewed and about 10 percent of the total of 25,000 wines we rated in 2019!

Sixty-two of the 100 wines in this list are 2016 Bordeaux, which highlights the outstanding quality of the vintage. It follows the superb 2015, which means Bordeaux produced a beautiful pair of vintages. The reds from 2016 show structure and firmness with an excellent acid and fruit balance that should give them beautiful longevity. I still prefer 2015 due to its more generous and fresh character but the two vintages are both excellent and will be viewed together like other superb back-to-back vintages such as 2009 and 2010 and 1989 and 1990.

The bottom line is you need some 2015 and 2016 Bordeaux in your cellar if you love Bordeaux. Both vintages represent a new classicism for the region where producers are moving away from the big and rich wines of 2000 to 2010 to a more fresh and unique style. They are wines that other places can’t duplicate and remind me of some of the excellent years of the 1980s but are even better due to advances in viticulture and winemaking.

Read more: 2016 Bordeaux: A vintage for today’s Bordeaux wine lovers
Read more: 2017 Burgundy is nuanced and terroir driven

France’s value wines

This raising of the winemaking bar is also evident in Champagne, which accounts for 15 of the Top 100 from France. Senior Editor Nick Stock and I believe it’s a Golden Era for Champagne with the best wines and vintages ever for the region. The 2008 vintage is sensational, producing wines with structure and finesse at the same time. Moreover, so many Champagnes have true terroir-driven character highlighting where they come from, a big improvement over market-driven blends and styles. Champagne may produce the best value super fine wines in the world now.

Value is certainly not a concept Burgundy holds dear. The top wines continue to increase in price each year and become harder to buy. But each year we try to taste a range of wines from negociants and some growers that are available on the global market. We fell in love with eight amazing wines this year that we know you would also love … if you can find them and afford them.

Rhone remains good value in comparison to its northern neighbor – even the famous “La-La” wines of Guigal, at positions 3 and 33. They are relative bargains compared to the top names of Burgundy. They both come from the extraordinary vintage of 2015, which delivers both intensity and balance in the Rhone Valley, both north and south. There are eight Rhone wines in total in the list.

Read more: A Champagne moment – quality and value
Read more: Rhone in the zone with a string of solid vintages

Alsace’s pinot awakening

Finally, another seven wines in the list come from Alsace, a region I take a personal interest in, not just because my line of glasses from Lalique is produced there but also because there’s a unique character to the wines. The region is one of the best for biodynamic and organic viticulture in the world and produces soulful and intense wines. The 2017 vintage is a unique year for Alsace and produced wonderful wines with a density, freshness and clarity in both whites (dry and sweet) and reds. Pinot noir continues to be one of the most exciting categories in the region. As one producer recently said, “You have to be a serious red wine producer today to be considered a top wine producer in Alsace.”

I hope you enjoy our list of Top 100 French wines for 2019. I know it is not all encompassing but it shows what we rated this year and what we enjoyed most. 

Read more: Top 100 wines of Alsace in 2019
Rad more: Top 100 wines of France in 2018

– James Suckling, CEO and editor