Bordeaux Reviews is an independent publication about the wines of Bordeaux, written and edited from Miami by Antonio "Guto" Assumpção. It is made for the people who carry this corner of France around in their heads: those who drink Bordeaux, hunt for it, cellar it, study it, and argue about it late into the evening, and who want to understand what is really in the glass and why it earns the fuss.
The Château Case Files · Case 13/70 CONFIRMED
Léoville Barton, the Saint-Julien second growth the Barton family has held since 1826, has no house of its own: the one on its label is Langoa's. Bordeaux has long said a château helps make a great growth. Two centuries of records test what the absence cost.
On Instagram: September 23, 2026 · Saint-Julien
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13cases · 70
Case 12/70 MOSTLY TRUE
Did the Revolution break up Léoville?
Château Léoville Las Cases says the French Revolution split Léoville into Las Cases, Poyferré and Barton, and on the same page credits a birthright. Which was it? And if Léoville was 3 estates by 1840, why did the classification of 1855 still print one?
Case 11/70 MIXED
Did one inheritance split Pichon in two?
In 1850 a deed parted Pichon-Longueville among the old baron's heirs, and Pauillac dates Baron and Comtesse from it. The brokers of 1855 listed one Pichon. Since 1868 the directory has printed 2, in a table it said it copied word for word. When did Pichon become two?
Case 10/70 MIXED
Is there a second Margaux?
In 1844 Durfort-Vivens sold above Rauzan-Ségla, Lascombe and the contract price of Château Margaux. The trade's own handbook classed it a fourth growth. By the 1980s it sold like a fifth. Was there ever a second Margaux, and where did it go?
Case 09/70 CONFIRMED
Can a name outlive the man?
In 1853 the Bordeaux trade's handbook ranked Palmer a Fourth Growth and printed its owner as a mortgage bank. The Englishman who named it had died broke in London. In 1855 the brokers raised it to third, under his name. How does a name climb after its man is gone, and why did the bankers keep it?
221Tastings
September 18, 2026 · 8
7 Bordeaux, Tasting Night
May 29, 2026
Château des Capucins 2024, Lalande de Pomerol
May 28, 2026
Château Le Chemin 2017, Pomerol
May 27, 2026
Château Perron 2016 and 2017, Lalande de Pomerol
May 26, 2026 · 2
Château Perron La Fleur 1998, Lalande de Pomerol
May 25, 2026
Silex 2022 and 2023, Lalande de Pomerol
May 22, 2026
Château Billeron Bouquey 2022, Saint Émilion Grand Cru
May 21, 2026
Christian Moueix 2005, Saint Émilion
The most expensive Bordeaux wines of 2026
Wine-Searcher identifies the Bordeaux wines with the highest asking prices in 2026.
The top end offers a useful reading of scarcity, brand strength and collector preference, although advertised prices do not necessarily indicate transaction volume. The composition of the list can also show where mature vintages or rare formats carry the largest premiums.
Why Bordeaux’s second wines are called second
The 10th Foire aux Seconds Vins will take place on October 10, featuring wines assembled from lots excluded from a château’s grand vin.
Second wines make selection visible and often provide earlier-drinking access to classified estates. Their growing prominence also raises questions about pricing, vineyard sources and how clearly each label expresses the parent château.
Premières Côtes de Bordeaux seeks a 3-colour future
Premières Côtes de Bordeaux has applied to INAO to expand beyond sweet white wine and authorize a broader range of styles under its name.
Approval could give growers greater commercial flexibility while reconnecting the appellation name with the full potential of its terroir. The decision will test how far Bordeaux’s regulatory structure can adapt to changing demand.
Michelin’s Bordeaux château ranking reaches new audiences
A Portuguese-language report introduces Michelin’s new grape-based selection of Bordeaux estates, framing it as an extension of the group’s hospitality ratings.
International coverage shows that the ranking is already influencing how Bordeaux estates are presented beyond traditional wine media. Its lasting importance will depend on whether consumers use it for visits, purchases or both.
Record earliness defines Bordeaux’s 2026 harvest
Consultants Romain Bocchio and Frédéric Massie assess a historically early 2026 harvest in Gironde after an exceptionally dry summer.
Picking dates will determine whether the 2026s retain freshness and aromatic definition or reflect the season primarily through concentration and warmth. Differences between water-retentive clay and faster-draining gravel could be especially revealing.
Bordeaux records its hottest growing season in 133 years
According to Revista ADEGA, Bordeaux’s 2026 growing season was its hottest in 133 years. Temperatures exceeded 35°C on 1 in 3 days between May and July, while rainfall totaled 54 mm against a 141 mm average.
Heat alone does not determine quality, but its interaction with drought, vine age, soils and harvest timing will shape both alcohol levels and acid balance. The claim also raises the stakes for how the trade eventually describes 2026.
A 27-vintage vertical charts Giscours’ recovery
According to Jancis Robinson, Château Giscours rebuilt its quality after a difficult period, based on an assessment of 27 vintages.
Long verticals reveal whether an estate’s improvement is durable rather than vintage-dependent. For collectors, the exercise can also identify overlooked mature vintages from before market recognition fully caught up.
Château Fourcas Dupré completed a 3-year transformation in June, following Gérard Jicquel’s 2019 acquisition of the Listrac-Médoc estate.
Substantial investment in Listrac is significant when many Bordeaux properties face pressure on margins and demand. The project also tests how far capital, positioning and renewed facilities can elevate an appellation that remains relatively accessible.
40appellations
Each one written from its cahier des charges: what the rule lets a grower plant, pick and bottle, and what that means in the glass.
628châteaux
A profile of each château.
24 more appellations, and all 628 châteaux, on the châteaux page
854flash cards
Bordeaux learned the way I learned it, one question at a time, for anyone sitting the WSET, the Wine Scholar Guild or the Master of Wine, or who just wants to know what they are drinking. There are 4 ways in, and the search at the top of every page reaches all of them.
An interactive map of Bordeaux, with the areas of its appellations and the classified châteaux of 4 lists.
Most maps of Bordeaux lay the appellations out side by side. The ground does not work that way. A row of vines at Latour stands inside the areas of Pauillac, Haut-Médoc, Médoc, Bordeaux Supérieur, Crémant de Bordeaux and Bordeaux at once. Touch any point on this map and it names every area that covers it.
The map also places the châteaux of 4 lists: the Classification of 1855, the Classification of Graves, the Classification of Saint-Émilion and the MICHELIN Guide selection.
The bars measure the area INAO has delimited, in hectares: the ground a vine must stand on to carry the name. The vineyard actually planted is smaller, and each appellation's page gives it. The map draws the 44 appellation names INAO maps in the Gironde; 4 pairs share a page here, which is why there are 40 pages.
6lists
Bordeaux has 6 lists (5 classifications and a selection). One has changed only 2 times in more than 170 years, one is rebuilt every 10 years and was once annulled by a court, and one scores the grower before it scores the wine. Each list has a page of its own here, with every change it has been through since its first edition: who rose, who fell, who was thrown out and who simply walked away.
