Liv-ex survey: ‘best’ wines of Bordeaux 2018

Every year Liv-ex polls its global members to get their thoughts on the latest vintage from Bordeaux – here are what were considered the ‘best’ wines.

Liv-ex has 430 members around the world and among the questions asked in the annual survey is which five wines each merchant considered the ‘best’.

The wine ranked the best was awarded 10 points, second five points, third three, fourth two and fifth one point.

The scores were then collated and the 10 top picks revealed…on the following pages.

Bordeaux-based Colin Hay, who has written several reports on the wines of the vintage for db, laid out his own thoughts on the best wines from Bordeaux 2018 yesterday.

10: Ausone and Haut-Brion

Ausone
Antonio Galloni: 97-100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 98-100
Julia Harding MW: 17.5+

Haut-Brion
Antonio Galloni: 93-96
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 97-99+
Julia Harding MW: 17.5

A joint tenth place for two heavyweights from the Left and Right banks. Ausone has received a lot of critical praise as is clear to see from the three scores above.

A split between two estates from either side of the Gironde in many ways rather neatly sums up the vintage which many have noted did not seem to favour either the Médoc or Libournnais which can often be the case.

9: Château Margaux

Antonio Galloni: 95-98
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 97-100
Julia Harding MW: 18.5

As one of the larger communes on the Left Bank, Margaux can often be a little patchy in a heterogeneous vintage such as 2018.

Nonetheless, when the wines are good they can be really very good indeed and there is rarely a better exemplar than the AOC’s eponymous first growth.

Colin Hay opined it is the estate’s best effort since its now near-legendary 2015, while Antonio Galloni in his report (out today, 3 May) notes that it carried off the vintage in its “inimitable style”.

8: Calon Segur

Antonio Galloni: 96-99
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 96-98
Julia Harding MW: 18

One of Bordeaux’s clique of hot ticket properties at the moment and one that Galloni was especially effusive about in his report.

Saint-Estèphe continued what has been an extremely good run of excellent vintages in 2018 and Calon Segur by most counts may be the pick of the bunch.

Another wine from the same stable, Capbern, was also highly praised and voted as one of the merchant’s ‘best value’ picks of the vintage.

Released on 2 May it has sold very well.

7: Pichon Lalande

Antonio Galloni: 95-98
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 97-99
Julia Harding MW: 17.5

Those keeping tabs on the primeur tastings on social media in early April may have picked up an undercurrent of excitement whenever the roving merchants turned up at this Pauillac second growth.

Another label on the rise and well-liked for its pricing too, the team at Pichon Comtesse have been stringing together some pitch perfect wines in the last few vintages and the fact it is listed here alongside wines that will cost a very great deal more speaks volumes about how it is perceived by the trade now.

6: Mouton Rothschild

Antonio Galloni: 94-97
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 97-99+
Julia Harding MW: 18

Mouton has been snapping at the heels of Lafite for the last five years or so, its star rising in conjunction with ever more impressive wines and demand in the secondary market.

Pauillac as a whole has produced some A* wines in 2018 and Mouton is right in among them with a grand vin Colin Hay described as a “plunge pool of potential perfection”.

But, this year, Lafite seems to have stayed just one short step ahead.

5: Lafleur

Antonio Galloni: 97-100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 97-100
Julia Harding MW: 18.5

Another property that can seemingly not put a foot wrong at the moment. It was heaped with praise from the get-go – “incredibly seductive” Perrotti-Brown swooned, Suckling just gave it a straight 100 points and Jeff Leve named it his personal wine of the vintage.

It has been released nice and early too and, in line with its wine, got its pricing bang on. Yes at at £5,800 for a dozen it may not be within the reach of all mortals but for those that can afford it, it was a release pitched at just the right line and length.

Nothing the batsman can do and, judging by most merchant’s sites, the wine is (sold) out.

4: Petrus

Antonio Galloni: 97-100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 98-100
Julia Harding MW: 18.5

Judged the top dog in 2017, Petrus has had to take a few steps back this year but one can see from its critical reception that Petrus has not at all dropped the proverbial baton in 2018, submitting a wine with all the power, grace and precision one would expect from such a famous domain.

3: Vieux Château Certan

Antonio Galloni: 94-97
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 97-100
Julia Harding MW: 18.5

Credit where it’s due to Petrus but there are clearly many who have fallen under the spell of its near neighbour ‘VCC’ – and who wouldn’t?

Along with Lafleur and Figeac this is one of the Right Bank’s increasingly stand-out properties.

Complexity, elegance and finesse in a pale pink-capsuled bottle.

2: Cheval Blanc

Antonio Galloni: 97-100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 97-99
Julia Harding MW: 18.5

There have been a few occasions in recent years where the pricing of Cheval Blanc has made some pull a funny face but when it comes to the quality of the wines themselves there’s has been little but delight.

2018 is clearly a vintage where the best have produced the best no matter the AOC and Cheval Blanc has bottled that key ingredient as well – freshness.

1: Lafite

Antonio Galloni: 93-96
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 98-100
Julia Harding MW: 19

Hail to the conquering hero, the ‘best’ wine of 2018 – in a way. This is a vintage for the best and Perrott-Brown noted that if Lafite’s effort “doesn’t get Bordeaux lovers hearts’ racing, nothing will”.

“Another magical wine”, noted Jeb Dunnuck and if you read the tasting notes for this wine you’d be forgiven for thinking there are not superlatives enough.