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Get 10% off 6 still wines. Enter code SAVE10 during checkout. Excludes some fine wine and Sparkling.
Get 10% off 6 still wines. Enter code SAVE10 during checkout. Excludes some fine wine and Sparkling.
If you follow Bordeaux closely, you'll already be hearing the noise around 2025. Drawn on our on-the-ground tastings at the châteaux, we wanted to give you our honest take before the campaign gets fully underway.
This is a genuinely exciting vintage across all styles. It isn't a simple or uniform year, but at its best it delivers wines of real stature, surprising freshness and exceptional concentration. The catch is that yields are among the lowest since 1991, which means availability will be tight.
After the misery of 2024, the 2025 growing season was a breath of fresh air. A dry, mild winter gave way to a fine spring, with early, even flowering setting up the potential for a great year. From there, a warm, dry summer built exceptional ripeness, with temperatures in August regularly exceeding 35°C and peaking above 40°C in places. Berry sizes were tiny across both banks, concentrations were extraordinary, and winemakers were watching the skies nervously.
The turning point came with well-timed rainfall at the end of August. At Cheval Blanc, around 60mm of rain brought potential alcohol back from around 14.5% to 12.7%. At Montrose, just 14mm over two days was enough to unlock phenolic maturity. The rains locked in freshness, prevented overripening and saved what could have been an unbalanced vintage.
This is where 2025 separates itself from simpler warm years. Tannin levels were extreme, with polyphenol indices frequently in the 70–80 range and beyond, so winemaking decisions were critical. The best producers responded with cooler fermentations, shorter macerations and restrained extraction. The goal was precision and freshness rather than power.
At Petrus, maceration was cut back to around 16 days to preserve lift. At the other end of the spectrum, Pontet-Canet used extended macerations of up to five weeks to encourage gradual tannin development. Two very different philosophies, both chasing the same thing: balance.
The Merlots are fresh and generous, with lovely fruit character and real depth on the better clay-limestone soils of the Right Bank. The Cabernets are where things get seriously exciting: concentrated, structured and beautifully balanced, with moderate alcohol and some of the finest tannins seen in recent years.
On the Left Bank, Montrose, Léoville Las Cases and Lafite stand out for classical structure. On the Right Bank, Ausone, Belair-Monange and Petrus are producing wines of real plenitude and precision.
Across the board, the best wines show pure, concentrated fruit, fresh mineral acidity and fine-grained tannins. The finest examples sit comfortably alongside the great recent vintages, but with a more restrained, perfumed profile that gives them real charm alongside their structure.
Harvested earlier than almost any year on record, the whites show concentrated fruit, linear acidity and surprising aromatic freshness. Haut-Brion Blanc stands out for its smoky, waxy intensity, while Pavillon Blanc shows powerful mineral drive. Yields were tiny, so there won't be much to go around.
September rainfall created near-ideal conditions for botrytis development, with the harvest running in three to four successive passes through to mid-October. The wines are vibrant, complex and beautifully refined, with candied citrus and white flower character. Suduiraut and La Tour Blanche are among the highlights.
We will be selective. Not every estate has translated this growing season equally, and quality varies significantly by soil type, picking decisions and extraction philosophy. We'll be focusing on wines that performed particularly well and where pricing reflects genuine value. As always, we'll be in touch as individual releases come through.
If you'd like to discuss the vintage or talk through your allocation options, please do get in touch. With production at historic lows, the best bottles will go quickly.
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