Bordeaux · vintages · 1945–2025
Bordeaux vintage chart: the great years, from 1945 to 2025
Eighty years of Bordeaux on one page: for each year, how the Left Bank reds, the Right Bank reds, the dry whites and the sweet wines rate, whether they are for keeping or drinking today, and the wines of that vintage we have in stock.
The chart, year by year
Click on a year: the detail by family, what to do with it today and the bottles of that vintage on the Transvins price list. Consensus ratings for wines from cru bourgeois to classified growth; a modest Bordeaux is drunk earlier, whatever the year.
| Year | Left Bank | Right Bank | Dry white | Sweet | In stock |
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Wines in stock, vintage by vintage
The bottles on the Transvins price list, sorted by year, most prestigious first, with the year's rating for the reds. Indicative prices incl. VAT per bottle of the format, confirmed in the quote.
The best years, family by family
A great year is not great everywhere: 1964 is great in Pomerol and washed out in the Médoc, 2000 is immense for reds and average in Sauternes. The years that stood out for each family:
- Left Bank reds (Médoc, Pessac-Léognan)
- 1945, 1953, 1959, 1961, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2019, 2022. Cabernet sauvignon likes long summers and dry Septembers: 1986 and 1996 are greater in the Médoc than anywhere else.
- Right Bank reds (Saint-Émilion, Pomerol)
- 1947, 1949, 1964, 1971, 1975, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2020, 2022. Merlot ripens earlier: it wins in years that are cool or rainy late in the season, such as 1964 and 1998.
- Dry whites (Pessac-Léognan, Graves)
- 1989, 1998, 2005, 2010, 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023. They need freshness more than heat: 2021, a difficult year for reds, is superb for whites.
- Sweet wines (Sauternes, Barsac)
- 1945, 1947, 1955, 1959, 1967, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2021. Botrytis follows its own rules: a damp then sunny autumn makes great Sauternes, not the summer.
Reading the chart
Each cell rates the year for one family of wines, on four levels: great, good, average, weak. It is the critics' consensus for crus bourgeois and classified growths, not a tasting score: a great château often succeeds in an average year, a small one sometimes misses a great one. Each château's rank is on the Bordeaux classifications page.
The detail for a year also says what to do with it today: keep, drink, drink without waiting, or only for well-stored great growths. A great year keeps longer, a dry white is drunk earlier than a red, a Sauternes later. For a specific bottle, the château's page gives its own window; for a wine we don't sell, the when to open this bottle tool.
The 2025 rating is provisional: the wines are still ageing in the cellar and will be rated in bottle. To choose a vintage to open this year, see the vintages to drink in 2026; for a birth year, the birth-year vintage wine; for a cellar to open birthday after birthday, the family cellar.
What is the best Bordeaux vintage?
There isn't a single one. In the 20th century, 1945, 1947, 1961 and 1982 come up most often; since 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2019 are the most consistent on both banks. For a Sauternes, 2001; for a dry white, 2010 or 2019.
Is a great year always better to drink?
Not straight away. A great Left Bank year such as 2010 or 2016 stays closed for ten years or more; a lighter year such as 2014 or 2017 is ready well before and costs less. For a meal this year, the question is the drinking window, not the rating.
Why do the two banks have different ratings?
Because they don't plant the same grape. The Left Bank relies on cabernet sauvignon, which ripens late and fears October rain; the Right Bank on merlot, an early ripener, which fears spring frost and poor fruit set. The same weather favours one or the other.
Are the old vintages on the chart still drinkable?
The great years before 1980, yes, for well-stored classified growths: known provenance, a correct fill level, a sound cork. The weak years of that era are now just labels. Ask for the bottle's provenance before buying it, from us as from anyone.
Does Transvins have all these vintages?
No: the chart covers every year, the stock only some of them. The wines in stock show under each year; for a missing vintage, we look for it among fellow merchants on the Place de Bordeaux and reply within 48 working hours.
A specific vintage, château or format? Ask for it: we confirm availability and price within 48 working hours. The wines of each appellation, vintage by vintage: Pauillac, Pessac-Léognan, Pomerol, Sauternes, or the whole catalogue.