Bordeaux's famous '5' vintages

In stark contrast to last year’s article damning the majority of the decade milestone vintages throughout the 1960s and ’70s, everyone celebrating a decennial anniversary in 2025 is of far greater fortune… well, almost everyone. If I were to put down some of my cold, hard sterling on the outcome of 2025 being a successful Bordeaux vintage, history tells me that that’s as safe a bet as I could make in the world of wine. When we look back at the embarrassment of riches that the median vintage of each decade has given us, the ‘fives’ are almost always a contender for the finest vintage of the era. Scroll down for notes and scores from Bordeaux's famous '5' vintages [subscriber-content] 2015 [caption id="attachment_558723" align="alignnone" width="1300"] Paul Pontallier of Château Margaux.[/caption] They say that Bordeaux no longer has good vintages and bad vintages, just easy vintages and difficult ones. While it would be churlish to suggest that the late Paul Pontallier (pictured) of Château Margaux 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 were all ‘difficult vintages’, they were certainly less lauded than the two vintages that preceded them. The Bordelais would have to wait no longer, as 2015 was deemed to be yet another ‘vintage of the century’. A decade on, I would suggest that, in the pantheon of legends we’ve already witnessed this century, it sits behind the top-tier trio of 2000, 2010 and 2016 but alongside 2005 and 2009. The vintage is both generous and homogenous across quality levels and appellations. There is a seamlessness to the best wines and an approachability that you don’t find in some of the longer-term vintages. The balance here is wonderful and so many of these wines give a huge amount of pleasure now and will do for decades to come. Château Margaux – 2015 the last vintage under the late, great Paul Pontallier – is the best of the firsts, while on the Right Bank, Château Lafleur is the wine of the vintage. See the ‘10 years on’ tasting for Châteaux Margaux, Lafleur and La Conseillante as my top 2015 picks. 2005 [caption id="attachment_558724" align="alignnone" width="850"] Maurice Rougement[/caption] After the limp response to the vastly inferior 2004 vintage, the Bordelais were more than ready to reap the rewards of the perfect 2005 growing season during the en primeur campaign the following spring. When influential critic Robert Parker (pictured) posed the question ‘Is 2005 the perfect vintage?’ as the title to his initial report, the phone lines of every wine merchant in London promptly went into meltdown. Contrary to expectation, when the great man revealed his ‘in-bottle’ scores for the 2005s the following year, only two wines were bestowed with the perfect three-digit score. What he went on to point out was that, although he didn’t feel that the vintage had the ultimate highs, it was the most homogenous vintage of modern times, where everything excelled, from top to bottom. Recent tastings have shown he may just have been right. 2005 rarely stands out among its peers of 2000, 2009 and 2010, but there are almost no bad wines. The definition of a ‘great vintage’? Possibly… It’s a vintage of generally structured and powerful wines built for the long term and wonderfully successful in all communes for the red wines. There are so many great wines it’s hard to pick favourites – but from the top flight, a recent bottle of Mouton Rothschild was just beginning to show well. As an addition to the two below, I will stick my neck on the line for the Gruaud Larose, whose reputation in this vintage is mixed. 1995 [caption id="attachment_558725" align="alignnone" width="1300"] Château La Mission Haut-Brion.[/caption] In remarkably similar fashion to how things would unfold two decades later, the Bordelais were dealt the unfortunate hand of a difficult run of vintages in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994; 1995 came as manna from heaven. Unlike its successor, 1996, this vintage was equally lauded on both sides of the Gironde. Initially quite structured and ‘square’, it’s unlikely you’ll find many wines here that are charming and ethereal, but now approaching 30, they’ve resolved beautifully. I have always loved Château Haut-Brion among the first growths, but the really special example was made across the road at La Mission Haut-Brion – a château that I believe, with age, rises to the top in both strong and weak vintages alike. While I’m not always a huge fan of Château Lafleur in Pomerol, I think the team here really excelled in 1995, along with Château Clinet, where they made one of their finest wines ever. 1985 [caption id="attachment_558726" align="alignnone" width="884"] Château Cheval Blanc[/caption] I sit firmly alongside former Decanter columnist, the late, great Michael Broadbent with regard to 1985. For me it is the vintage of the decade, surpassing the tannic 1986s, the occasionally foursquare 1989s and even the legendary 1982s; due to their inherent charm and homogeneity across the whole span of estates. The argument for 1982 over 1985 was always that the ‘highs were higher’, even if that was only true for half a dozen or so wines. I will not contest that point, but I would argue that both Château Cheval Blanc and Château Margaux 1985 have evolved to a point that they rival many of the legendary wines of the last half-century. In the first growths, Mouton is fabulous, as is Lafite, but Latour didn’t hit the heights it managed in other years. From the next rung, in terms of quality, châteaux Léoville Las Cases, Pichon Longueville and Lynch-Bages are all world-beaters, Léoville Barton is the best of their decade by a long stretch, and Gruaud Larose remains an incredible bargain. If you ever come across Château Haut-Brion Blanc 1985, it might just be the greatest white wine you ever drink… from anywhere. I could go on, but top to bottom – even a recent magnum of Château Beaumont Haut-Médoc was glorious – these wines are fabulous. 1975 [caption id="attachment_558727" align="alignnone" width="1300"] Château Haut-Brion. Credit: Francois Ducasse[/caption] The year that saw the end of the Vietnam war was merely a busted flush in the region’s worst decade of the 20th century. On release, the vintage was met with optimism after the damp, dank years that preceded it, but ultimately many of the wines simply don’t have the fruit required to balance out the monumental structure. That’s not to say that the wines are undrinkable, but sadly they’re not as laudable as initially anticipated. Of course, there are exceptions. Pomerol, in general, fared incredibly well and I would recommend taking a chance on well-stored, lower-end properties as they are often incredibly well priced. At the top end of the scale, Petrus produced one of its greatest-ever wines. On the other side of the Gironde, Château Haut-Brion made a solid wine, but the aberration was La Mission Haut-Brion (which I suppose now shouldn’t come as a surprise), where a vinous tour de force was crafted. A foursquare, muscular wine that has all the stuffing, it’s a contender for wine of the decade. 1965 I suppose there always has to be an outlier and, in this series, 1965 is undoubtedly it – unquestionably a contender for worst vintage of the 20th century. One critic said of a particularly esteemed château, after initially smelling the wine: ‘Only for purely educational purposes did I put this wine in my mouth.’ A recent bottle of Château Poujeaux was, surprisingly, drinkable. Moving on… 1955 [caption id="attachment_558729" align="alignnone" width="1300"] Château Palmer. Credit: Günter Gräfenhain[/caption] Often overshadowed by 1959 and 1961, 1955 is almost the 1985 of its day in that there’s balance and quality here from top to bottom. At the top end, Mouton Rothschild is a real standout, as is Château Palmer in Margaux, but sadly I’m yet to encounter the legendary 1955 La Mission Haut-Brion, often touted as wine of the vintage. A recent bottle of Château La Lagune Haut-Médoc showed that you don’t need to break the bank to experience the majesty of the vintage. Buy well-stored bottles with confidence. 1945 [caption id="attachment_558730" align="alignnone" width="894"] Bottle of 1945 Château Mouton-Rothschild. Cellar of Palais Coburg, Vienna, Austria.[/caption] It would be impossible to conclude without a few words on what many deem to be the finest vintage ever produced. ‘ Année de la Victoire ’ is inscribed above a large ‘V’ on the label of the harvest’s most famous wine, Château Mouton Rothschild. When the vintage was produced, it was as if the vineyards themselves were breathing a sigh of relief and speaking out against the defeated Nazi regime. It has been many years since I have encountered the legendary '45 Mouton, but I suspect perfectly stored bottles will still require seven or eight hours of decanting to show why it was adorned with the top spot in Decanter ’s ‘Top 100 wines to try before you die’, back in 2004. More recently, both Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Margaux have been fabulous, even with some ullage (the wine level reduced in the neck or shoulder of the bottle). If you ever come across a wine from this singular vintage, I urge you to try it. After 80 years, it might not be in mid-season top form, but the quality, history and legend represent everything that makes Bordeaux the greatest wine region in the world. [/subscriber-content] Bordeaux's famous '5s' [wine-collection] Related articles Bordeaux 2024: Weather & growing conditions The Bordeaux 2024 growing season: Punch by punch All the latest Bordeaux 2024 En Primeur wine releases

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Bordeaux’s famous ‘5’ vintages

Scroll down for notes and scores from Bordeaux’s famous ‘5’ vintages

Bordeaux’s famous ‘5s’

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