After 10 days of tastings across 60 châteaux and hundreds of wines, I believe this is the most interesting vintage we have seen since the 2019 release. It does not entirely surpass 2022, and the 2023s in bottle are showing very well. The 2019 campaign, however, arrived at the beginning of the pandemic, in the midst of a global market shock. Bordeaux has enjoyed a run of good to great vintages since then, but the market today is plainly different. Prices will hopefully reflect it. This vintage deserves a global audience and deserves to be sold in meaningful volume. In my view, it deserves commercial success because, for many estates, 2025 was defined by the way it came into the world and the way it exited, telling a story of Bordeaux unlike any other vintage.
A defining feature of 2025 was that the vintage began with the memory of 2024 already written into the vines. Poor spring conditions in the previous year reduced bud fertility, setting the stage for lower yields before the hot, dry summer further concentrated the crop. Over the next few weeks, we will dedicate a newsletter to the science behind this, the vine physiology, and the various responses in the vineyard. For me, the vintage has forced a clearer explanation of quality, and of the precision viticulture required to achieve it: from soil depth and canopy management to water.
The second point we are trying to draw out is the generational shift and the evolution of capital expenditure programmes, and where the two overlap. It is also clear that, for many estates, strategy no longer relies solely on En Primeur. Much has been said about investment in buildings and cellars, but the parallel investment in viticulture has certainly been there too. The point at which these meet should make for a more measured, less dogmatic, and ultimately more interesting discussion about the tools of both the winemaker and the farmer.
2025 Pontet-Canet is out this morning, matching its 2019 release price. It is one of the wines of the vintage, not only for the sheer class and elegance of the wine, but also because it was one of the best technical presentations of the week. By the middle of last week, word of its release was already circulating, and it got its fair share of airtime, both around the hope for a favourable price and the outstanding quality of the wine itself.
Patrick O'Connor, Group CEO
Here are the plans over the next few weeks.
May 1st 2026: Launch of our wishlist and pre-ordering system
May 3rd 2026: Release of our Bordeaux 2025 vintage report
May 10th 2026: In-depth vintage focus, exploring the science behind the year
May 17th 2026: Round-up of leading critics’ views on the 2025 vintage
May 24th 2026: Generational changes and investment
Enjoy the campaign, follow us on all channels, and buy Bordeaux 2025.