There is a great deal to like in the Bordeaux 2025 vintage, which is no small thing given how difficult large parts of Bordeaux had it for much of the year. It was hot, dry and early. In many places, it was also a small harvest. The berries were often tiny, the skins thick, and the tannic potential high. Several estates arrived at harvest with less fruit than they would have wanted. In some cases, the size of the crop had already been decided by the previous year. The best wines, however, are outstanding.
I believe this vintage and its context make it the most important vintage since 2019. For some producers, it also marks a coming of age for the decade of investment in viticulture, winemaking and people, along with regional and international competition.
The pandemic shadow begins to lift
Bordeaux is large, and our focus here is on a relatively small group of wines (around 150 producers): those most actively traded at FINE+RARE and those most closely reviewed by critics. That distinction matters. Although around 750 wines are released during en primeur each year, the campaign is still shaped commercially by a much smaller number of châteaux, which account for the majority of revenue.
In the post-pandemic period, fine wine buyers bought more ex-château Bordeaux releases and ready-to-drink wines from these same leading estates than at almost any previous point. At the same time, top Bordeaux bought en primeur from 2015 onwards has been slower to move into consumption. The best wines from that run of great vintages remain largely outside their drinking windows.
For more than a decade, the changes at these leading Bordeaux wines have been substantial and widely discussed: new ownership, generational succession, new technical leadership, major investment in vineyards and cellars, and a better understanding of warm vintages. Much of that discussion has remained theoretical because these bottles have been slow to move from cellars to consumption in any meaningful volume. That is now beginning to change. Over the next decade, fine wine consumers will start drinking these wines, and that’s important.
A new wave comes into focus
Across the 2025 en primeur tastings, winemakers, négociants and merchants seemed to agree that a new tier has emerged in Bordeaux. Certain estates have risen above the broader lift in quality across the region into a category outside any clear classification, while increasingly influencing a generation of winemakers and owners. These are estates moving into their prime after a decade or more of viticultural renewal. They show an immediate identity in the glass, increasingly distinct from many excellent neighbouring wineries. Carmes Haut-Brion, Troplong Mondot, Canon, Figeac, Montrose and others now sit firmly in this group.
From 2013 onwards, the scale of ownership, generational and management change across Bordeaux was significant. Much has also been said about capital investment in the region, often with a fair amount of cynicism. But in the right estates, and where it was matched by serious work in the vineyard, it has clearly made a difference. The best winery tools have given producers greater precision: cleaner selection, more detailed vinification, gentler extraction and more controlled blending. When matched by an ambitious vineyard programme, that investment is translating into wines of greater clarity and, most important of all, identity. In discussion with some estates, this also carried the hope that the wines would become approachable sooner.
What changes now is that Bordeaux collectors will begin opening the wines shaped by this movement, for want of a better word. This will translate into real volumes being consumed. Over the next two decades, more outstanding Bordeaux is likely to be drunk than at any previous point in history.
Opening bottles has never been more important
The potential change in the market perception of Bordeaux because of this consumption is also significant. The run of vintages from 2015 to 2025 was collectively the strongest sequence of quality vintages, presumably ever, yet peak en primeur sales fell away after the 2019 en primeur release, halfway through that run. Any decent merchant now has portfolio tools available and, with them, transparency around losses on en primeur purchases across parts of this period. There is therefore no simple positive correlation between quality and price stability. Of course, much of this market dynamic played out against a backdrop of high interest rates, geopolitical chaos, war, the competing pull of Burgundy, and the lingering effects of the pandemic. Unfortunately, much of this still exists.
However, at the very top of the ready-to-drink market, demand remains strong. There are very good wines from 2011 and 2014 that remain well priced, but that is not enough on its own. The market now needs the stronger run of vintages from 2016 onwards to begin entering their drinking windows.
The next decade should bring a significant shift. Seven very good to outstanding Bordeaux vintages are now moving towards their drinking windows. As these wines are opened in greater volume, Bordeaux should gain much-needed visibility in the ready-to-drink market and build a stronger connection with consumers.
The Bordeaux opportunity
Whether Bordeaux can manage this opportunity collectively remains to be seen. The more these wines are visible at, or around, the ten-year mark, the better. This incredibly important milestone should sit alongside the UGCB en primeur tastings, which have become a major part of the fine wine calendar in cities around the world.
That is the opportunity for Bordeaux: to encourage more drinking, restore momentum in the secondary market and, in time, support the primary market. This remains theoretical, but a run of exceptional vintages gives Bordeaux a strong hand. It needs to be played with far greater purpose and a degree of aggression that may feel a little uncouth but is probably necessary.
Families still really matter to the soul of Bordeaux
The best families give an estate continuity, personality and a recognisable point of view, backed by a record of singular wines made over time.
On Monday 27th April, ownership of the Valandraud family of wines had been signed over to the Lefevere family that morning as part of a planned transition. Bordeaux has seen new waves before, but few had the force of the garagiste movement, or, as Robert Parker noted on 21 April 2000, what Nicholas Baby called vins de garage. It inspired not only winemakers in Bordeaux but also became a beacon for bootstrapped wine production in a region better known for generational businesses and grand châteaux. As Neal Martin once said, “one man, and let’s not forget, one woman, changed the face of Bordeaux.” (Drinks Business). Murielle Andraud and Jean-Luc Thunevin became part of many mythologies: Robert Parker’s, Bordeaux’s, and those of many people I have met who still talk about those wines, those times and that cooking. In 2025, they made perhaps their best Valandraud yet.
At Tertre Roteboeuf in Saint-Émilion, the 2025 wines from the Mitjavile family portfolio were presented by Louis Mitjavile with usual honesty. The vintage was warm, dry and technically demanding, with small berries, reduced yields, marked heat and significant temperature variation. Again, the rain was important. It helped refresh the skins and soften the tannins, while leaving the character of the year intact. The wines clearly carry the warmth of 2025. That is very much the Mitjavile approach: the wines are not made to hide the vintage or to chase freshness through early picking alone.
The tasting ended with a bottle of 2004 Roc de Cambes, only some weeks after a quite extraordinary bottle of 2008 Tertre Roteboeuf. Together, they were a reminder of how special these wines are, and of how singular the family’s work remains. 2025 Roc de Cambes should be on many wish lists.
We spent some wonderful time at Langoa Barton with Lilian Barton-Sartorius and Export Sales Manager Fiona Rimbeault tasting the Barton family wines, along with a few from the Anthony Barton négociant range. Preparations were also under way for the family’s 200th anniversary at the estate. Yields were clearly reduced, Lilian Barton-Sartorius told us. Historically, the estate spoke of yields around 50 hectolitres per hectare, later closer to 40 to 45, while 2025 was materially below that. There was no frost, and flowering appears to have passed reasonably well, yet the final crop remained small, with thick skins, limited juice and berries that did not swell meaningfully even after later rain.
Low-yield comparisons were made with years such as 1991, marked by frost, and 1977, marked by frost and hail. In 2025, the cause was different, though the result was again a small crop. The strongest impression from both Langoa Barton and Léoville Barton was texture. Both wines were superbly refined and notably smooth. The tannins are present and structural, and the wines will be wonderful from the bottle with at least a decade or more ageing. Proper Saint-Julien, really: classical, composed and assured.
Seeing the celebrations in place was a useful reminder that Bordeaux is still shaped by families who have lived and worked in the region for generations.
On to Pomerol and Belle-Brise, where time with the de Coincy family was, as usual, a kind of celebration. Henri-Bruno is now slightly retired, with his son Marin taking the lead, and the usual family dynamics between founder and new boss played out in the loveliest spirit.
Vintage imprimatur matters differently here. The language is garden rather than vineyard, it is small: two hectares and around 800 cases. You can see how it shapes their long-term thinking on back-vintage releases, and how much is released en primeur. We started with the 2025, which carried much of the vintage’s tension between concentration and freshness, before tasting Belle-Brise across a range of vintages from 2022 back to 1995. A lunch of white asparagus, poached salmon, strawberries and cheese marked the end of a full week.
It is a wine we buy direct every year, both en primeur and in back vintages. It remains one of our best sellers, with a loyal following among customers who appreciate its unique, matter-of-fact philosophy: the garden, the minimal cellar and the low-intervention approach. Drinking the wines from the mid-1990s, I thought again of the enormous diversity in Bordeaux across appellation, generation, philosophy and farming, and of the region’s broad use of the idea of terroir.
That feels increasingly important now because the broader field of excellent Bordeaux has become so strong. In many ways, being excellent is no longer quite enough. As one young winemaker at an outstanding classified Bordeaux estate said, “It is the best wine we have ever made. I am not sure what more I can do.”
The answer, of course, is not broad value relative to the market, but something more specific: a real connection to collectors and drinkers. That is what families such as the de Coincys, the Bartons, Thunevin and Andraud, the Mitjavile family, and many others have understood so well. They create a clear point of connection between the wine and the buyer: personality, soul and, crucially, an extraordinary record of singular wines. Look at the release of 2025 Batailley last week. Its value is undeniable, almost absurd in the context of current pricing in other regions, both in France and internationally. By coincidence, on the night of its release, I drank 1949, 1955, 1961, 1975, 1982 and 1996 at a small gathering of friends that was booked in March. All but the 1975 showed beautifully, but the rest were emblematic of what Bordeaux still does better than anywhere else: wines that can age for decades and, after almost eighty years, outlast many of the world’s finest wines.
For the buyer of 2025
So, what is the opportunity for the buyer? This comes from a simple alignment of quality, selectivity, pricing pressure and, depending on one’s view of markets, timing. The best wines are very strong, in some cases outstanding, making this a campaign that buyers should pay close attention to.
This is not an argument for buying Bordeaux en primeur as a financial investment. Thankfully, that spiel has largely moved on. The opportunity in 2025 is that customers can buy selectively, or more broadly across the campaign, into a unique vintage where the best estates are making wines of real distinction. In some cases, these may prove to be among the best wines made at their addresses.
What makes this a unique vintage: water was the first answer
The central issue in 2025 was water, or the absence or timing of it. Not just how much fell, but where it was held, how soils behaved, and whether the vines could keep working through the summer.
At Lafleur, Omri Ram gave one of the clearest explanations of water’s role in 2025 and placed it within the wider context of the estate’s decision to step outside the appellation system. In August 2025, the Guinaudeau family announced that, from the 2025 vintage, the six wines of Société Civile du Château Lafleur would be declared as Vin de France rather than as Pomerol or Bordeaux AOC. That decision had been studied for more than a decade.
After the rainiest year in the estate’s recorded history in 2024, the property entered 2025 with full soil reserves. All the tanks, as they put it, were full. The difficulty was that not all tanks are built the same. Grand Village, with one to one and a half metres of clay over massive limestone, had a large reserve. Lafleur itself, with its poor, stony, fast-draining soils, had a much smaller one. From February, the atmosphere was already drawing water. March was among the driest they had recorded. Between 19 May and 19 August, only 40mm of rain fell, through a period marked by four heatwaves and exceptional UV intensity. The estate’s response was to remove cover crops where they had become competitive, follow each soil’s reserves, and intervene only where red flags appeared. The method used in 2025 was not conventional irrigation, in Lafleur’s own terms, but a targeted return of water to the soil, used on only 18% of the vineyard and not at all at Grand Village. Lafleur wants vines under tension, not vines in stress and this is at the centre of both the 2025 wine and the estate’s decision to step outside the appellation system.
Across both banks, the best sites were those with some form of hydrological buffer. Clay, limestone, deep gravel with clay, old vines, deep roots, natural springs and high-functioning soils gave vines access to enough water to continue ripening. At Haut-Bailly, clay and deep roots helped avoid damaging hydric stress. At Brane-Cantenac, deep gravel over clay retained enough moisture to protect balance. At Léoville Barton, clay and natural water sources helped maintain freshness. On the Right Bank, Canon’s limestone and underground quarries acted as a regulator, holding coolness and humidity. Ausone, Larcis Ducasse and Figeac each pointed in different ways to limestone, clay, water tables or subsoil reserves as decisive elements.
The late August and early September rains were equally important. They arrived after a long dry period and allowed many vines to resume proper physiological activity. At Latour, the rain helped Cabernet reach full ripeness in skins and pips. At Margaux, it allowed the estate to wait for phenolic maturity without the danger of excessive alcohol. At Vieux Château Certan, the rain rehydrated the vines and refined the skins. At Clinet, a significant fall around 20 August reactivated the vineyard after an extremely dry summer.
This goes some way to explaining why 2025 is such a distinctive vintage. The best wines have real concentration from small berries and thick skins, but what sets them apart is how that concentration comes through: with freshness, aromatic detail and generally moderate alcohol.
In the vineyard: practical tactics to support vine physiology
The question of cover crops also became highly practical. Lafleur removed them where they were competing too strongly for water. Figeac kept them, judging that they helped preserve freshness and moderated vine behaviour. La Conseillante also kept cover crops and added large quantities of crushed wood to improve the soil’s capacity to hold water. Together, this all seems to strike a balance between pressure and collapse.
At Smith Haut Lafitte, the explanation was physiological in the strict sense. Freshness was understood as the consequence of a vine that continued to function under heat and drought, rather than as acidity viewed in isolation. The estate attributed this resilience in part to long-term organic farming, which they believe has encouraged deeper rooting and allowed the vines to draw on water reserves during dry periods.
Again, it comes back to the work already done in the vineyard. The best 2025s were helped by years of better data, better people, better planting decisions and a clearer understanding of the soils.
The rain came at the right moment
The rain in late August and early September really mattered – this was pointed out at every technical tasting we had. It did not make the vintage, but it slowed down a season that was getting too hot, too fast and gave the better estates time to finish ripening without losing balance.
At Château Margaux, the year had been very warm, very dry and highly concentrated until the end of August. Potential alcohol stood at around 14 to 14.5% before the rain. After roughly 60mm, it fell closer to 12.5 to 13%. The significance of that change was not simply analytical. It allowed the château to wait. Margaux’s decision was grounded in physiological ripeness: the maturity of skins, seeds and tannins, not sugar alone. Managing Director Philippe Bascaules’ own phrase captures the point exactly: “The rain allowed us to wait for proper phenolic maturity without excessive sugar.”
At Latour, Katherine Cross, Hospitality & Events Director for Artémis Domaines, described 2025 as a year of “two harvests in one”. The Merlot carried the imprint of the hot summer. The Cabernet benefited from rain, cooler weather and a wider difference between day and night temperatures. That interval allowed the skins and pips to reach proper maturity. The image used at the estate was apt: Cabernet acted “like a corset”, drawing in the generosity of the Merlot and giving the wine its line.
At Palmer, Export Director Sébastien Menut described the rain in the third week of August as “a real breath of fresh air”. Without it, parts of the vineyard might have moved towards a much more opulent register, perhaps approaching 15% alcohol. The rain steadied the vintage. It reduced the solar character, brought the fruit back towards balance, and helped keep Palmer in the range of roughly 13 to 13.5%.
In Pomerol, Vieux Château Certan also waited after the rain. The vines had slowed after nearly two and a half months with very little water. The early September rain refreshed the plants and got them working again.
Guillaume Thienpont told us the estate then waited around two weeks before picking, watching tannin maturity closely. In a year of small berries, with more skin and seed than juice, structure came quickly. The job was to give that structure enough flesh.
Harvest was early, with patience, and some risk still required
Many estates began early, in some cases at dates of real historical significance. Many of those who spoke most confidently of picking dates produced the best wines of the vintage.
Canon began on 28 August, its earliest picking date. The harvest then continued over three weeks.
Latour began on 30 August, earlier than any vintage previously recorded at the estate, with 1893 cited as the former reference point. Figeac harvested from 1 to 19 September, the shortest harvest in the modern history of the Manoncourt family at the estate. Smith Haut Lafitte began the reds around 3 September and finished on 30 September, allowing Cabernet and Petit Verdot the additional time required for full maturity.
Château Margaux gave one of the most practical accounts of the decision. The team looked beyond laboratory figures and tasted for physiological ripeness. If the vascular connection remained alive when a berry was detached, the fruit still had work to do. Once that connection was dry and red, the exchange with the vine had ended. Early picking risked green tannins, bitterness and difficult extraction. Full ripeness gave softer tannins and a more natural passage from vineyard to vat.
Restraint in the cellar
The fruit arrived in the cellar with ample material. Small berries, thick skins and high phenolic load gave the wines their structure early. The chief risk was excessive extraction.
At Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, some lots reached IPT 100 (Indice de Polyphénols Totaux – Total Polyphenol Index), an unusually high figure even for Cabernet Sauvignon. For Bordeaux 2025, it matters because small berries and thick skins can push IPT up quickly. The better wines are not just those with high IPT, but those where the structure is carried with flesh, freshness and tannin maturity.
The response was measured: fermentation temperatures held at 25 to 27°C, with macerations of 15 to 18 days. Cellar Master Florence Forgas was clear that over-extraction was the principal danger of the year. Pontet-Canet adopted the same logic in more radical form: no punching down, minimal extraction, and a clear emphasis on fruit integrity and finesse. Pichon Comtesse worked through gentle, infusion-style extraction, with reduced pumping over and longer maceration. The purpose was precision rather than force.
Gwennaëlle Brieu at Figeac described the work as slow and careful, with daily tasting throughout vinification to reach the right level of extraction. La Conseillante lowered fermentation temperatures to around 26°C, since the small berries gave a high skin-to-juice ratio and therefore considerable extractive risk.
Smith Haut Lafitte also reduced the cellar’s imprint. Punch-downs were cut by roughly half. New oak was brought down to around 50%, from 60%, with lighter toast levels. The reasoning was sound. The vintage was highly aromatic, and the role of élevage was to frame that character without covering it.
All vintages are different, but as part of a buying decision, this supports the case for 2025 as a distinctive vintage because the main challenge in the cellar was control rather than extraction. The fruit arrived with high natural concentration, driven by small berries, thick skins and a high ratio of solids to juice.
The best estates therefore focused on limiting extraction and preserving balance. Lower fermentation temperatures, gentler handling, shorter or more controlled macerations, fewer punch-downs and more restrained oak use all point to the same conclusion: the quality of the vintage depended on managing the material already present in the fruit.
Oak in 2025 was handled carefully. It should also be seen in the wider context of bringing drinking windows forward and fruit purity to the fore. Across the Left Bank, several estates reduced the impact of new oak or diversified ageing vessels: Pontet-Canet combined 50% new oak with concrete amphorae and one-year-old barrels; Lafon-Rochet, Smith Haut Lafitte, Palmer and Les Carmes all pointed to lower new oak influence, lighter toast, larger formats or amphorae as ways of preserving fruit clarity, freshness and texture.
The same pattern appears on the Right Bank. Canon’s work at Berliquet uses amphorae to provide oxygen exchange while avoiding additional oak tannin or toast; Ausone spoke directly about the integration of wood, observing that at the top addresses oak is now scarcely perceptible; Clinet reduced new oak from the higher levels used in warmer vintages; and La Conseillante kept a classical élevage while using amphorae for purity and freshness. Figeac and Tertre Roteboeuf remain at 100% new oak, although they also talked about integration, grain, toast level and the proper match between barrel and fruit.
Overall, 2025 points to a Bordeaux approach in which oak remains important, though increasingly judged against fruit purity, the character of the vintage and, for some estates, the realities of the market. Others have stayed as they are, and fair enough.
We’ll be publishing more about the 2025 vintage: keep an eye out for more.
