Bordeaux 2025 - At a crossroads
If I read another comment on social media describing the 2025 Bordeaux vintage as “very unique”, I might scream—not only because something is either unique or it isn’t, but because the idea that one can meaningfully run the rule over a Bordeaux vintage and compare it to one from the past is as deluded as it is empty. The conditions encountered in modern-day Bordeaux are fundamentally different from those of previous decades, and the decisions made by winemakers have shifted just as dramatically. Would contemporary viticultural and winemaking choices deliver wines like the 1982s, the 1989s, or even the 2010s? Unlikely. Techniques and knowledge have evolved with experience, and just as importantly, style itself is in flux.
Bordelais winemakers and estate owners are acutely aware of a changing market. They frequently cite a younger audience that feels little inclination to buy wines early on faith alone, trusting that they will represent value 10, 15, or 20 years down the line. In response, producers are increasingly aiming to make wines that show greater freshness; wines that are more supple thanks to a lighter hand in extraction; wines that are more fluid, a touch lighter in body, ideally lower in alcohol, and marked by less overt oak and less aggressively youthful tannin. The objective is to create wines with far broader drinking windows—wines that are approachable early, yet capable of aging for decades. After all, as one often hears in Bordeaux today, a good bottle of wine is an empty bottle—perhaps an implicit acknowledgement of some of the excesses of the last major stylistic shift, driven by the Parker palate, which prized richness, power, and extraction to the point where certain wines became near caricatures: showpieces for which enjoying a glass in their youth was an unfancied challenge.
The scale of this shift should not be underestimated, and it may yet prove to be every bit as significant as the influence once exerted by Parker. Having visited Bordeaux for the best part of 25 years, I have never before sensed that the region stands at such an important crossroads. This vast landscape is evolving, and the stylistic spectrum is being stretched in a way I haven’t witnessed previously: some estates remain largely unmoved by fashion, continuing to produce wines that follow the classic pattern of earlier years; others still seem anchored in an extracted style; while a growing number are actively embracing the push towards lighter, more accessible wines. Given this backdrop, generalisations have rarely seemed so unhelpful.
At the same time, the very purpose of the En Primeur system is being called into question, appearing increasingly irrelevant to a younger audience that struggles to understand the economic logic of parting with their cash years in advance when equally lauded vintages that are physically available at the same price. Even more seasoned buyers, who committed to En Primeur over many campaigns, have seen market corrections erode a very significant proportion of the value of their holdings. The likelihood of their re-engagement this year feels low, despite the ‘enthusiasm’ expressed by certain merchants. The price reductions required to genuinely re ignite demand seem to be at levels that many château owners find difficult to contemplate, particularly as it would have a cascading knock-on effect to many recent, overpriced vintages that have not sold through.
Last Wednesday’s release of Château Pontet Canet hardly qualifies as a rip roaring success, coming to market above last year’s price. And yet, some people are already talking of it selling out. Given production was 40% down on a normal year and the Château may feel the need to hold back some stock, it may not represent a clamour for stock even if négociant allocations do run dry.
As one négociant observed, we may need a sacrificial lamb: news of lacklustre sales travels quickly in Bordeaux and may yet prompt a last minute reappraisal of release pricing for the next wave of châteaux, should a release price meet with minimal uptake. Certainly, if this vintage needs to work, individual releases will be closely watched—and any signals could still perhaps be heeded.
I would add that 2025 is no homogeneous success (please see the separate section below), an outcome signaled by the weather data and confirmed by our recent tastings. There are successful wines, but fewer than early noise might have suggested. The drum banging that has already begun, wrapped in simplistic soundbites, smacks less of confidence than of desperation. The UK fine wine market remains subdued. While a degree of stability has edged in since late autumn last year, volumes are low. The limited areas of buoyancy relate largely to mature stock in tighter supply, trading at market corrected prices and concentrated firmly at the top end of the market.
The absence of meaningful En Primeur sales for merchants who have historically depended on them will inevitably pinch. It is worth remembering how the system once functioned: merchants sold En Primeur, collected cash from private clients within 15–30 days of invoicing, and benefited from positive cash flow through staggered payments to their négociants over the year. For many, it was a valuable financial tool—far less so in recent years, as volumes declined and demand narrowed to an ever-smaller group of wines. It is increasingly difficult to see how En Primeur regains its relevance, which will cause some added consternation for those merchants who view it as a central pillar of their offering.
Today, there is no shortage of intelligent, financially minded analysis highlighting the true cost of carry and laying bare why, in recent years, En Primeur has so often failed to add up once all costs are factored in. As compelling as this analysis can be, it also strips away something vital: the joy of En Primeur as it once existed. When collectors participated, they rarely made hard nosed financial decisions. They bought what they liked, and often in volume. It may not have been framed as investment, but many purchased more than they were ever likely to drink, secure in the belief that first offer prices were relatively fair and that values would rise over time. The now more talked about carry costs would be covered by a steady and gentle price appreciation sufficient, at the very least, to cover their cellarage costs.
I don’t recall spreadsheets or cost of carry calculations driving decisions back then. Release prices were low, the market was gathering momentum, and gains were assumed. At best, it was a passion investment: cases might have been sold occasionally to fund new purchases, never with the intention of losing money, but without anxiety either. Graphs were unnecessary. Today, almost everything in Bordeaux comes back to price, and it is remarkably hard to convey just how fundamentally attitudes have changed.
Many of those collectors—now in their late 60s and 70s—are naturally less active, other than in selling down cellars even in a soft market. The baton is not being passed to the next generation because the decision is no longer an easy one. Collecting has become less about pleasure and more about avoiding mistakes: who wants to buy at the wrong price, only to watch wines emerge cheaper at maturity once someone else has paid for the cellarage. Small wonder, then, that Bordeaux en Primeur is proving to be a turn off for younger drinkers. The once finely tuned En Primeur machine now feels bloated and protracted, and above all, it demands analysis where instinct and enthusiasm once sufficed. It has certainly lost much of the sense of excitement that once made it special and now appears like a sideshow. Can it be salvaged? Of course, but it would necessitate a dramatic re-positioning if that were to be the case and I don’t believe Château proprietors and shareholders are anywhere near that mindset yet.
Update on the quality of 2025 post tasting
The 2025 Bordeaux vintage was shaped by a pattern that is becoming increasingly familiar: a hot, dry growing season punctuated by well timed rain, particularly towards the end of August that unblocks the vines and allows them to move into the final phase of ripening their fruit. Winter and spring provided modest water reserves, but from May through much of August conditions were warm to very hot, with prolonged drought stress across much of the region and occasional extreme heat spikes—up to 45–46°C in parts of Pessac Léognan, with close to 40–45 days above 30°C reported at some leading estates. As in 2022, there were genuine fears of runaway sugar accumulation, rising pH levels, and of vines shutting down before phenolic maturity could be completed.
By mid summer, many vineyards—particularly those on free draining gravel and sandy soils—experienced hydric stress severe enough to induce vine blockage, effectively halting photosynthesis and sugar accumulation. This phenomenon was widely cited by technical teams during En Primeur tastings. On younger vines or less water retentive soils, ripening stalled entirely, producing small, thick skinned berries with low juice yields and growing sugar acid imbalances. At that stage, potential alcohol levels were tracking well beyond comfort zones, while malic acid degradation pushed pH upwards, raising legitimate concerns around freshness and balance.
The vintage was effectively rescued by rainfall at the end of August and into early September, which reactivated blocked vines across much of Bordeaux. This rain played a decisive role. It allowed physiological ripening to resume while also increasing berry size, thereby reducing sugar concentration and moderating pH. As a result of both blockage stopping sugar accumulation and dilution on account of rains, many finished wines display alcohol levels notably lower than initially anticipated, frequently in the 13.0–13.5% range, with some prominent examples even lower. Correspondingly, pH levels tend to sit in a more classical range, lending a sense of freshness and structural discipline when managed carefully.
However, the reduction in alcohol was not achieved through restraint alone. Dilution was a significant factor, and dilution works indiscriminately. While lower alcohol may be aesthetically appealing, the accompanying increase in berry volume also dilutes acids, phenolics, colour compounds and aromatic precursors. For illustration, a parcel sitting at 24° Brix (approximately 14.4% potential alcohol) that experiences a 15% increase in berry volume following rain will see sugar concentration fall to around 20.4° Brix, equating to roughly 12.2–12.5% potential alcohol—a drop of more than 1% ABV without any loss of total sugar per berry. The downside is that other structural components are similarly diluted. Where extraction and picking decisions did not adjust accordingly, some wines can feel flat or lacking in lift, with softened fruit definition and attenuated tension on the palate.
This helps explain why 2025 is far from a homogeneous success. The strongest wines strike a fine balance between moderated alcohol and preserved concentration, integrating freshness without sacrificing depth. Less successful examples reveal dilution’s limitations: wines that are technically correct but lack energy, mid palate drive or aromatic precision—particularly where harvesting followed significant rainfall without sufficient recalibration in the cellar.
The contrast between varieties further reinforces this point. Merlot appears less consistently successful than Cabernet Sauvignon, especially on the Right Bank. As an earlier ripening variety, Merlot was more exposed to mid season hydric stress and more vulnerable to dilution once the rains arrived. While top sites with old vines on clay limestone performed well, many Merlot dominant wines show broader fruit, softer definition and reduced precision. Cabernet Sauvignon, by contrast, benefited from its later ripening cycle, tougher skins and greater resilience to drought. Restarted by the late August rain, Cabernet reached phenolic maturity at lower sugar levels, producing wines with clearer aromatic definition, firmer structure and better overall tension—particularly on the Left Bank, which stands out as the most consistent set of appellations in 2025.
Ultimately, 2025 is a vintage defined by timing and judgement. The weather delivered both the challenge and the solution. Where producers treated dilution as a variable to manage rather than a solution in itself—adjusting harvest timing, extraction and blending—the results are poised and compelling. Where they did not, the wines can feel resolved on paper but less convincing in the glass.
There are several genuinely head turning wines that we would like to offer, having been impressed by both their quality and style. That said, it remains to be seen whether a compelling fair value case can be made. Our intention would not be to present a wide range, but rather a tight selection focused on the strongest performers. We will, of course, do our best to guide you on value, though the final decision to purchase ultimately rests with you.
It is also worth highlighting a group of wines from smaller, lesser known châteaux that have navigated the vintage particularly well and whose releases rarely appear at ambitious price levels. Advances in winemaking techniques at these estates, combined with a noticeably riper fruit profile, mean they should offer attractive value for those seeking pleasure rather than prestige. Importantly, their pricing has limited scope to adjust downward, having been released at relatively modest levels from the outset
Simon Larkin MW
