Bordeaux 2017: Top Appellations & Classifications
Today we continue our analysis of the 2017 Bordeaux vintage, looking at wine quality across each major appellation and classification within Bordeaux to see where we can find the best wines and which areas offer the most consistency.
Top 2017 Bordeaux Appellations
For our appellation analysis, we used the Global Wine Scores of 610 red Bordeaux wines that were rated by at least 3 critics during the 2017 en primeur campaign.
In our last Bordeaux 2017 post covering the top wines, we noted that 4 of the top 5 wines this year were from the Right Bank, suggesting stronger performance from the top châteaux on the Right Bank. As you can see in the chart below, the median Global Wine Score for wines on the Right Bank is 89.02, and the median for the Left Bank is 88.505. The Right Bank also had a slightly higher floor than the Left Bank, but overall you can see that the distribution of scores is very similar for both sides of the river. While the Right Bank had a slightly higher median score, the two regions performed similarly in 2017.
Now let’s look more closely at each major Bordeaux appellation. You can see in the chart below that the appellation with the highest median score is Pauillac, with a median score of 90.055, followed by Saint Julien with a median score of 90.04. Pauillac also had the highest floor of any appellation in our analysis, so it is a great region to look at more closely this year.
On the Right Bank, Pomerol had the highest median score of 89.63, but the score distribution in the Saint-Émilion Grand Cru appellation is similar. Pomerol was also home to this year’s top two red wines, Lafleur and Petrus.
Bordeaux 2017 Classification Review
Looking at the wines by their classification, we can see that the 1er Grand Cru Classé en 1855 and the Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé A both offer excellent wines, as each wine in these classifications scored over 95 points. On the Left Bank, the 2eme — 5eme Grand Cru Classé en 1855 all had a similar floor around 88 points, ensuring your wine will meet a minimum standard if chosen based on the 1855 classification.
On the Right Bank, the two Premier Grand Cru Classé tiers offer the highest scoring wines, but high scoring wines can also be found in the Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé group as well as in unclassified areas such as Pomerol.
We can also see that the score ranges within each classification are generally smaller than the ranges by appellation, suggesting that the classification is a stronger predictor of a wine’s score than the appellation. Our data show that the classified wines of Bordeaux were consistently high-scoring this year and are a safe bet when choosing wines for purchase.
Conclusion
The data suggest that the 2017 wines were slightly better on the Right Bank, with the top wines coming from Pomerol. The highest scoring appellations on the Left Bank were neighbors Pauillac and Saint Julien.
When looking at the classifications, we can see that the top tiers on both the Left and Right bank produced the highest caliber wines of the vintage. The score range within each classification is narrower than the range within each appellation, making the classification a stronger indicator of quality than the appellation.
If you are looking to buy Bordeaux wine en primeur this year, be sure to check out our price and score comparison tool where you can compare the consumer price of wines with their Global Wine Score. The tool is updated daily as the châteaux release their prices.
See our complete series on the 2017 Bordeaux vintage here.
