Antonio Galloni’s full set of Bordeaux 2018 scores have been published on Vinous today. He offers a generally positive assessment of the vintage, though he comments on its lack of consistency. He found six potentially perfect (100pt) wines – a relatively moderate number.
Galloni calls the growing season “dramatic”, pointing to the hail, rain and hot summer that “tested the resilience of vineyard managers and winemakers throughout the entire year”. Properties practicing biodynamics saw their yields “decimated”, he adds.
Interestingly, he suggests that the characters of the wines is different from what the technical details – high alcohol, high tannin, relatively low acidity – might suggest on paper.
“It may seem hard to believe, but the wines don’t taste like that all. The best 2018s are aromatically intense, deep, dark wines that beautifully marry fruit intensity with structure.”
Overall, he summarises: “The best 2018s are positively stunning. I don’t see the consistency of 2016, for example, but 2018 offers a tremendous amount of choice for the consumer, from everyday gems to the rarest of collectibles”.
A selection of his top scores are shown in the table below. His extensive report and tasting notes can be found on vinous.com.
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