2002

Rating: 8/10 - Keep.

2002 was a small harvest that has yielded some first-rate, well-structured, stylish wines, especially from the Médoc and the Graves, with the best wines requiring considerable cellaring before they reach their peak.

After a mild, relatively dry spring there followed a cooler than normal summer culminating in a wet August. A major factor early in the year was the cool spring that upset the flowering, causing coulure (shatter) and millerandage (grape bunches contain berries of greatly different sizes) that distressed the early-developing and more fragile merlot grape. However, Bordeaux was blessed with a glorious Indian summer through September and October and this, combined with the vastly improved technology available, saved the harvest.

2002 is the smallest crop since 1991, but the quality is far, far better.