The basic pattern of the 2020 Bordeaux wine vintage was a wet spring, followed by a dry, hot summer, ending with a warm, dry harvest. A rainy winter gave vineyards ample water reserves, but the rain stretched into spring, leading to severe mildew pressures. Summer turned hot and dry, but the Right Bank escaped the heavy August rain which adversely affected many Left Bank estates, with Pomerol looking particularly strong. Because of a combination of frosts in March, the threat of mildew from spring wetness, higher than average summer temperatures, and summer droughts, yields in the 2020 vintage were generally about 10% lower than in 2018 and 2019, which were vintages of average yields. From barrel samples, the best Bordeaux wines from the 2020 vintage are expressive, pure-fruited wines, with sweetness and intensity, freshness, forwardness, finesse, finely integrated tannins, and balance.