Blog
2025 Bordeaux At A Glance
- In two sentences, why should I pay attention to another Bordeaux vintage?
- 2025 is like a great year from the 1980s re-imagined using 21st century farming and winemaking.
- It delivers feather-weight alcohol, vivid fruit, brilliant acidity, and frequently exceptional quality.
- But I heard it was a hot dry year? Another…YAWN…solar vintage??
- Too true. Records for heat were broken and there were punishing dry spells and drought.
- Yields were down, and all this could add up to concentration and wines lacking freshness and drive.
- The enigma of the vintage is that the wines are dynamic, mid-weight and crunchy. Cheval Blanc has just 12.7% alcohol and some have pH levels more commonly seen in dry whites.
- How can this be? Sounds suspiciously like the Bordeaux hype machine’s cranking into action here…
- The answers are geeky, complex and technical. It’s down to a double tap of top-notch vineyard work and cutting-edge winery technique – but technique over technology, this is not about deploying gadgets and machines, a lot is about what not to do and how to ease off the gas.
- As Jean-Basile at Rauzan Segla told us, it’s about producers overtaking climate change. If you think about it, they had no choice; climate change has the potential to kill their golden goose so they’re super motivated to maintain their classic style.
- Okay, you’re starting to convince me there could be something worth a look here. Just how good is 2025?
- If the conditions for a great vintage are that producers over-perform across the length and breadth of the region, and up and down the quality hierarchies, then we have the makings of a truly great Bordeaux vintage on our hands.
- Any previous vintage it reminds you of?
- Arrgghhh, do people still ask that question? I think it belongs to the same lineage as 2016 but it’s a re-boot for the current decade. Thomas Duroux, of Chateau Palmer, talks about 2025 as 2016 but with more charm.
- Any stand outs? Hit me with a top three, and then another three unlikely to require a re-mortgage.
- Lafleur, Latour and Vieux Chateau Certan – I reckon each of these has the potential for perfect 100/100 ratings in the future.
- Canon, Grand Puy Lacoste and Rauzan Segla. All exceptional and, whilst they may not be everyday gluggers, you shouldn’t have to sell essential organs to buy them.
- How about some under-the-radar tips?
- Chateau Puyblanquet – Saint Emilion. A revived estate under the ownership of Alexandre Malet-Roquefort of La Gaffeliere. This has been an absolute bargain in recent years.
- Chateau Lascombes – Margaux. A huge 2nd growth property that’s now being run by Axel Heinz, formally of Masseto. He’s turning the ship around and this is now one to watch.
- Chateau Clerc Milon – Pauillac. The first time I remember tasting this and seeing some of the Mouton signature (they’re under the same ownership). Probably the best Clerc I’ve ever tasted.
- Any hot gossip having been down on the ground out there?
- There’s going to be plenty of money talk. It’s inevitable but it’s also out of our control and maybe just a little tedious…? I mean, we can all predict the discussions already, right?
- Plenty has been said, and will continue to be said, about Lafleur and the other Guinaudeau properties: Les Pensees, Les Perriers, Les Champs Libres & Grand Village. In short, they used water to (in their words) ‘re-charge’ their vineyards’ soils in the face of extreme heat and drought. This meant they had to leave the official appellations and drop the Chateau designation.
- These wines have always been ‘other’ from the rest of Bordeaux; they march to the beat of their own drum and are totally distinct from their peers. In that sense nothing has changed. Lafleur was always more Lafleur than it was Pomerol. They have made adaptations to maintain their style and quality – and the quality is off the charts in 2025.
- Oh, nearly forgot, white wines?
- We didn’t taste as much as we’d like, due to time constraints, but what we saw was very promising. It’s a rare year when dry whites approach a similar quality to reds!
- Finally, out of school and I won’t hold you to it: what’s your genuine take on 2025 Bordeaux?
- I’m honestly pondering whether it’s the best vintage I’ve ever tasted en primeur. I was disarmed by the quality and it cut through my initial cynicism. The low alcohol, high-definition dynamism of the wines is compelling and I’m a total convert.