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Average Scores of all Estates within a Region

The above chart represents the average of the scores gathered by all the Bordeaux wineries by wine growing region (AOC in French). For more details on a specific chateau, please use our search engine at the right hand's side of each page. This tool is extremely useful to pick the best wines at Bordeaux Futures offerings and wine auctions.  

88 to >90 = excellent
86 to 88 = very good
84 to 86 = good
< 84 = generally pleasant but lacks character, complexity or depth

The Bordeaux region experienced some difficult weather conditions in 1999: a hot and sunny summer followed by heavy rains just before harvest. 

The Merlot grapes were picked just at time before the rain and are of excellent quality. Generally the 1999 wines are slightly less concentrated than the 1998 and a serious selection is necessary to point out the best wines of the vintage. The tannins are generally softer than in 1998. Pomerol and St-Julien look quite promising.

The sweet white Sauternes-Barsac wines are also quite good.

This year we have statistically estimated the effect of the critics' scores on the price - or "Score Effect". This measure is low in 1999 with an average +9% price increase for each additional scoring point. In comparison, the Score Effect was +12% in 1998 and finally +10% in 1997.