When to drink a Bordeaux?
Bordeaux · indicative values: the producer, the vintage and storage conditions come first.
Bordeaux
Red
Recommended ageing: 2 to 6 years after the vintage.
For example, a 2020 red Bordeaux drinks best between 2022 and 2027, with a peak plateau around 2024-2026.
White
Recommended ageing: 1 to 4 years after the vintage.
For example, a 2024 white Bordeaux drinks best between 2025 and 2028, with a peak plateau around 2026-2027.
Rosé
Recommended ageing: 0 to 2 years after the vintage.
For example, a 2024 rosé Bordeaux drinks best between 2024 and 2026, with a peak plateau around 2025-2026.
Vintage by vintage
A great year outlives an average one: the window moves with the vintage. The most recent rated years in Bordeaux, applied to the ageing for red Bordeaux given above.
| Vintage | Rating | Drink |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Great | 2025–2030 |
| 2022 | Outstanding | 2024–2029 |
| 2021 | Good | 2023–2027 |
| 2020 | Great | 2022–2027 |
| 2019 | Outstanding | 2021–2026 |
| 2018 | Outstanding | 2020–2025 |
| 2017 | Good | 2019–2023 |
| 2016 | Outstanding | 2018–2023 |
| 2015 | Outstanding | 2017–2022 |
| 2014 | Great | 2016–2021 |
| 2013 | Drink up | 2015–2017 |
| 2012 | Good | 2014–2018 |
The full history, back to the older vintages: Red Bordeaux.
How to read this window
Before the window opens, the wine is in its youth: fruit dominates, tannins or acidity can feel stern. During the peak plateau, everything falls into balance: this is the moment ageing prepares. Beyond it, the wine slowly declines: nothing unsafe, but the emotion fades. These are general benchmarks for the appellation, not a verdict on your bottle.
Curious where these numbers come from? The method is published in full: five levels from the estate down to the grape, corrected by the vintage and the bottle format.
From the same region
Other appellations in Bordeaux, each with its own window:
What about your bottles?
Caviste computes this window for every bottle in your cellar: photograph the label, the sheet fills itself in (estate, vintage, appellation) and the app tells you when a bottle reaches its peak. Discover Caviste.
