Bordeaux 2016: 10 Years On
Bordeaux Index
3 February 2026
Last week, we hosted our annual '10 Years On' tasting, an in-depth appraisal spanning many of Bordeaux's finest addresses.
With over eighty different wines on show, critics, journalists, sommeliers and clients tasted an expansive range of wines from both the Left and Right Banks.
From the very first tastings, 2016 showed extraordinary promise, drawing attention for its balance, finesse and the remarkable quality that would come to define the vintage.
The Bordeaux 2016 Vintage
What characterised 2016 back when we first tasted it was balance. Fantastic acidity, moderately low alcohol and purity of fruit were supported by a vast weight of tannins which had amazing softness and finesse. The slow, dry ripening period allowed the sugar levels to build in parallel with the phenolics and the low levels of photosynthesis in the vine reduced the rate at which acid levels dropped. Whilst the perfumes and aromatics were extraordinary, the textures took the cake.
The First Growths and Saint-Émilion’s Premier Grand Cru Classé ‘A’ estates were sublime. The Médoc delivered benchmark-setting wines; Pomerol excelled on the plateau; limestone-rich Saint-Émilion shone once again; and in the Graves the best estates made some of the finest wines in their long histories.
In his 2017 vintage report, Neal Martin wrote that the best wines of Bordeaux 2016 "send tingles down the spine", describing a vintage defined by precision that fully lived up to the early excitement.
2016: Ten Years On
In nearly twenty years of hosting Bordeaux "Ten Years On" tastings, none has generated greater anticipation than the 2016 vintage. Over the course of 83 wines, under the watchful eyes of the vignerons who had travelled over to tell their story, they delivered. These are some of the most flawless, magnetic and enchanting Bordeaux wines we've ever tasted. Cashmere tannins, delineation of fruit, rapier freshness along with absolute precision of terroir and appellation.
With the best raw material and most lavishly sophisticated production in a century, the viticulture and wine-making on display are at the absolute bleeding edge. Bordeaux has become the Silicon Valley of wine, attracting the brightest and most talented minds in the business to create products for which there are genuinely no parallel. Neal Martin captures it perfectly when he states: "it crystallized everything Bordeaux had been progressing toward over the previous ten years."
While the quality of other regions has risen alongside - be under no illusion; Bordeaux is not arriviste Napa or Tuscany. An acre of dirt in Pauillac is not equivalent to the same in Yountville, just as the clay on the Pomerol plateau is unmatched anywhere outside the Gironde. Bordeaux's intricately mapped terroirs have been producing the finest Cabernet and Merlot based wines for centuries, it is the GOAT.
So if the quality of the wines is indisputable, consider the value proposition. Measured against almost any yardstick - the cost of a new car, a suit, a dinner out - right now the incredible 2016s, are the most affordable top vintage in memory. If you have them in the cellar, be ecstatic, they are truly life-affirming wines. If not, don't sleep on buying them! As one of the strongest selling releases in recent decades throughout Europe, Asia and the US, it is truly a difficult vintage to buy in any quantity.
Critical Reception
The 2016 vintage has already secured its place among Bordeaux’s standout modern years, and a decade on the conversation around it has only grown more confident. The themes that showed from barrel, precision, structure and control, are exactly what critics continue to highlight today.
The 2016 vintage has already casually and self-assuredly claimed its place in the history books, standing shoulder to shoulder with Bordeaux’s greatest years, unbothered by hype, immune to doubt.
This is a vintage of precision with muscle, of elegance that knows it doesn’t need to shout. Power, yes—but disciplined power. The kind that waits, watches, and endures. There is no argument here, only inevitability. Time will not diminish it; time will work for it.
An unstoppable force, not because it tries to be, but because it simply is.
- Ivar Bjurner, The Wine Independent
That sense of quiet authority and longevity is not just theoretical. We are starting to see it play out in how the wines are performing and how the market views the vintage. As Matthew O'Connell puts it, 2016 marked a real turning point for Bordeaux, calling it "the start of a golden age of winemaking."
The market, he believes, is only beginning to reflect the quality in the glass. "They have outperformed recently and I think that will continue," he says. "They are at a 20 percent discount vintage to the 2000s. Yes, they are five to ten years younger, but that looks pretty cheap to me, especially as they are probably better than the ’05 and the ’10."
In his view, today’s relative value may not last. "The ’16s are good value now, but when they move up again, and other vintages start to look cheaper by comparison, this may create more movement in the market."
Bordeaux 2016: In Stock and Ready to Buy
SAINT-ÉMILION
99 Lisa Perotti-Brown "Wow – it rockets out of the glass with a powerful nose of blackberry preserves, chocolate-covered cherries, and blueberry compote."
100 Neal Martin "The stunning 24-carat bouquet rivets you to the spot with brilliant delineation and mineral-rich red fruit that articulates its terroir as well as any Right Bank you will find."
POMEROL
99 Jeb Dunnuck "Complex blackberries, cassis, flowers, incense, forest floor, and floral notes all soar from this full-bodied, pure, and polished Pomerol that has an undeniable class as well as wonderful purity of fruit."
95 James Suckling "This sophisticated Pomerol slowly creeps up on you, then suddenly you're in the deep end."
MARGAUX
97 Jane Anson "Precision and balance to the fruit flavours, feels like every base is covered, laced through with liquorice, cinnamon and black chocolate."
94 Jane Anson "I just love this, it has a true sense of forward motion but it is also intense, complex and layered."
100 Lisa Perotti-Brown "Amazing tension, finishing with a firework display of minerals, flowers, and exotic spices. Sell your car and get a few cases of this – you won't regret it!"
Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux 2016
95 James Suckling "Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins with beautiful ripeness that highlights the palate."
SAINT-JULIEN
97 Jeff Leve "This is stunning. From start to finish, this is a complete wine... perhaps the best vintage of Beychevelle ever produced."
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 2016
100 Jeb Dunnuck "An absolute legendary wine that's as good as anything out there."
96+ Lisa Perotti-Brown Gorgeous scents of black cherries, warm cassis, and lilacs, followed by hints of licorice, dried flowers, and crushed rocks with a touch of cinnamon. The medium-bodied palate is fantastically elegant and refined, with plush tannins."
96 James Suckling "An exceptionally deep, long line through the dark berries and cassis and deliver a very powerful, unwavering finish. This is in great form. Very powerful and focused."
PAUILLAC
96 Antonio Galloni "Undisputedly great. Readers will find a potent, dark Forts de Latour endowed with massive concentration and tons of depth."
100 Decanter "Pichon Baron 2016 is a riveting, classy wine, richly aromatic and expressive from the start."
99 Antonio Galloni "The 2016 Pontet-Canet is absolutely breathtaking. Powerful, ample and racy in the glass, the 2016 is one of the most exquisitely well-balanced young Pontet-Canets I can remember tasting."
SAINT-ESTÈPHE
100 James Suckling "This is muscular yet so well defined and toned. Full-bodied with deep and dense fruit on the palate, yet powerful and rich at the same time... Extravagant. Magical."