April 30, 2026

Porseleinberg 2023 - 100 Pointed Release

Porseleinberg 2023 - South African 1st Growth

We’ve been eagerly awaiting this allocation for a while…!

The top-scoring wine and the only one to receive a perfect 100 points in Tim Atkin’s latest South Africa report. Winemaker Callie Louw, who makes this wine iconic, will depart after the 2025 vintage. Could this be one of the finest wines of his two-decade tenure? Do both yourself and Callie proud by adding it to your collection.

100 Points - Tim Atkin MW

“Fermented with 90% whole clusters, with 70% of the wine using thesubmerged cap technique, it's one of the most sublime Porseleinbergs yet, pairing aromas of incense, thyme and black pepper with firm, age-worthy tannins, blackberry, red berry and liquorice flavours and a stony, mineral core. Truly world class”

Perched on the rugged slopes of the Porseleinberg mountain in the Swartland, Porseleinberg is one of South Africa’s most compelling Syrah estates. Founded by Boekenhoutskloof and guided by winemaker Callie Louw, the focus is on a single, windswept vineyard of schist soils. Farming is meticulous and low-intervention, with whole-bunch fermentation and restrained élevage. The result is Syrah of striking purity, structure and mineral precision, capturing both place and vintage with remarkable clarity.

The 2023 Porseleinberg is a powerful yet finely tuned expression of Swartland Syrah, shaped by a dry, challenging season that delivered small, concentrated berries. Fermented largely with whole clusters and aged in large-format oak, it shows incense, black pepper and wild herbs layered over dark berry fruit. The palate is structured and mineral, with firm, age-worthy tannins and a focused, energetic finish that promises excellent development in bottle.

Scoring a perfect 100 points from Tim Atkin, the 2023 Porseleinberg was the only wine to achieve this mark in his latest South Africa report, placing it firmly as the standout wine of the vintage. A remarkable endorsement that reflects both the precision of the winemaking and the unique character of this exceptional site.

The only other vintage of Porseleinberg to receive the perfect 100-Point score was the 2018, which, according to wine-searcher, is not available any more in Europe.

Porseleinberg is a must-have for any serious South African wine collector. Don’t miss this iconic vintage.

“Let’s keep it simple: it’s one of the Cape’s best Syrah wines, and you need to have it in your cellar, preferably allowing several years of maturation in bottle” - Neal Martin, Vinous

Porseleinberg 2023

€57.50* In Bond per bottle

Buy Porseleinberg 2023

100 Points | Tim Atkin MW

The 2023 growing season was "dry and difficult", according to Callie Louw, at least in this wild and starkly beautiful corner of the Swartland, but you wouldn’t know it from the quality of this superlative Syrah. Picked late, right up to March 8th, it has the concentration and intensity of a small crop. Fermented with 90% whole clusters, with 70% of the wine using thesubmerged cap technique, it's one of the most sublime Porseleinbergs yet, pairing aromas of incense, thyme and black pepper with firm, age-worthy tannins, blackberry, red berry and liquorice flavours and a stony, mineral core. Truly world class. 2027-35

95 Points | Vinous, Neal Martin

The 2023 Porseleinberg was made by Callie Louw, although it was announced that he will depart after the 2025 vintage for a new venture. See my producer profile for details. This vintage utilised 100% whole bunch and is raised for 12 months in 90% Stockinger 2,500-litre foudre and 10% concrete egg. It has an outstanding nose with fragrant raspberry, wild strawberry, rooibos and light bay leaf scents that blossom in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiselled tannins, a dash of cracked black pepper intermixed with Five Spice and used tea leaves. Quite feisty yet focused on the finish, this is a wonderful Porseleinberg that will benefit from several years in bottle, as usual.

*Prices are accurate as of the blog publication date and may be subject to change.

Buy Porseleinberg wines | Buy South Afrian Wines

April 30, 2026

Chateau Batailley 2025 - The Bargain of the vintage?

2025 Batailley Release En Primeur

Released at a price below expectations and last year’s release price, Batailley offers standout value. Classic Pauillac in style, with blackcurrant fruit, freshness and balance. It represents one of the smartest buys of the vintage.

95-97 Points - Antonio Galloni

“The 2025 Batailley marries power with finesse. Crème de cassis, new leather, spice, menthol and lavender caress the palate. The 2025 is quite deep and has great balance. This brooding, potent Pauillac has so much to offer. All it needs is time for the tannins to soften”

Few Pauillac estates command quiet authority quite like Batailley. Classified as a Fifth Growth in 1855 yet routinely punching far above that designation, this Casteja family estate sits on some of the finest gravel ridges in the appellation, its vines drawing from soils that nurture the quintessential iron-fisted-yet-elegant character that makes Pauillac so singular among the world's great red wine communes.

The 2025 Batailley is being hailed as a benchmark expression of a remarkable vintage. Built on a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot, it opens with crème de cassis, cigar box, tobacco and lavender - a brooding, deep wine of great balance and precision. Finesse and power coexist beautifully, with a creamy, lingering finish that promises exceptional cellaring potential through to 2065.

Over the past decade, the Castéja family’s investment has significantly elevated the estate, delivering wines that consistently punch above their weight for the price-to-quality ratio in Pauillac. Greater attention in the vineyard and a more precise approach in the cellar have brought added definition and polish, resulting in a style that feels more refined, structured and confidently expressive than ever.

Releasing at a very reasonable €27.40* In Bond per bottle with a high Galloni score of 95-97 Points, Batailley is a bit of a no-brainer purchase this En Primeur campaign.

Château Batailley 2025

Chateau Batailley 2025

€27.40*In Bond per bottle

Buy Batailley 2025

95-97 Points | Vinous, Antonio Galloni

The 2025 Batailley marries power with finesse. Creme de cassis, new leather, spice, menthol and lavender caress the palate. The 2025 is quite deep and has great balance. This brooding, potent Pauillac has so much to offer. All it needs is time for the tannins to soften.

95-97 Points | The Wine Cellar Insider, Jeff Leve

Cigar box, tobacco, smoke, flowers, and currants define the aromatic profile. On the palate, the wine is vibrant, juicy, fresh, and fruity. The creamy finish lingers, allowing you to savor the elegance and freshness of the sweet fruits. Give it a few years before opening a bottle, and enjoy over the following 2-3 decades.

95-96 Points | James Suckling

A focused and refined red with a linear profile, showing the precision that the acidity and fine-grained tannins bring to this cabernet blend. There is rigor but also underlying juiciness and sophistication. 78% cabernet sauvignon, 19% merlot and 3% petit verdot.

*Prices are accurate as of the blog publication date and may be subject to change.

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Bordeaux 2025 Vintage Report → | Buy 2025 Wines → | En Primeur Explained →

Explore our full range of Buy Batailley wines available in bond and for immediate delivery

April 29, 2026

Pontet-Canet 2025 - One of Pauillac's Best Wines

2025 Pontet-Canet releases!

En Primeur kicked off this week with Pontet-Canet 2025, and we loved it when we tasted it in Pauillac, where it stood out as one of the highlights of the appellation. William Kelley of The Wine Advocate has now released his report, awarding it a potential 100 points (98-100), underlining just how strong this vintage is. Early scores from Antonio Galloni and James Suckling further support this view.

Only the 2009 and 2010 vintages have previously achieved a perfect 100 points from The Wine Advocate, known for its strict scoring. The 2025 Pontet-Canet was praised as one of the finest wines the estate has produced, and one of the wines of the vintage.

Released this morning at €72* IB per bottle, broadly in line with the 2024 price, the key difference this year is the significantly higher quality, making this a far more compelling release. The 2025 vintage is one where price will be mentioned a lot, and we think it is fair here. With the wine now available at an En Primeur price, the question is how long it remains at this level. For us, this is an essential addition to any collection this campaign, and we strongly recommend it.

We have 3x75cl and 6x75cl OWC available on the website, as well as magnums in 1x150cl OWC. There is usually a significant bottling fee for larger formats, but we have managed to waive this on these. A price comparison table is included below.

“Pauillac is jam-packed with great wines in 2025. There are perhaps fewer surprises than in Margaux, as most of the top wines live up to their billing, including all the famous names. Lafite-Rothschild and Pontet-Canet are especially compelling.”

- Antonio Galloni, Vinous

Situated next door to the esteemed Château Mouton Rothschild, Pontet-Canet has earned a reputation as one of Bordeaux’s smartest buys, consistently delivering wines of Second, or even First Growth, quality at a remarkably accessible price point. Officially a Fifth Growth, it regularly performs well beyond its classification. Known for its bold vision, this iconic Pauillac estate is also a trailblazer in sustainability, becoming the first major Bordeaux château to fully adopt biodynamic practices. Certified by Biodyvin in 2010 and Demeter in 2014, Pontet-Canet exemplifies a commitment to harmonious, terroir-driven viticulture, setting a new benchmark for the region.

2025 is shaping up to be a fantastic vintage in Bordeaux, and in his report released yesterday, Antonio Galloni described the finest wines as “nothing short of thrilling.” With big scores from Galloni, Falstaff and James Suckling releases so far, there is no doubt that the wine is fantastic.

The 2025 Pontet-Canet is a beautifully precise and refined Pauillac, combining purity of fruit with polished, silky tannins that give a seductive, caressing mouthfeel. Medium-bodied yet structured, it layers black cherry, violet and subtle spice with a mineral edge. There is a real sense of harmony and finesse here, with freshness lifting the wine and a long, elegant finish pointing to excellent ageing potential.

Now… onto the price, which will be a big topic of conversation this year…

Pontet has chosen to keep pricing broadly in line with last year, releasing at €72* In Bond per bottle. Based on early scores from Antonio Galloni and James Suckling, the 2025 sits among the estate’s higher-scoring vintages, matching highly regarded years such as 2022, yet coming to market at a more attractive price point.

We have loose bottles and cases of 3x75cl & 6x75cl live on the website. If you’re after large formats, pop us an email, and we can request some for you.

Chateau Pontet-Canet 2025

Chateau Pontet-Canet 2018

€72* In Bond per bottle

Buy Pontet-Canet 2025 En Primeur

98-100 Points | Wine Advocate, William Kelley
A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot that weighs in at 13.3% alcohol, the 2025 Pontet-Canet is one of the finest wines this estate has produced. Wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet cassis, wild berries and plums mingled with notions of violet and burning embers, it's full-bodied, ample and velvety, with a degree of structural polish and sensuality that is rare in the Médoc, ripe acids and a long, penetrating finish. Over the last handful of years, technical director Mathieu Bessonnet and his team have revitalized Pontet-Canet's vineyards with well-timed soil work and precise phytosanitary treatments; and since 2023, the careful use of "pieds de cuve" in the winery, along with early blending, more refined barrel choices and cooler temperatures in the chai—plus more precise bottling practices—have conspired to take this estate to new heights of quality and consistency. In 2025, the team formed lower-than-usual "ponts" (whereby the canopies of adjacent vines are braided together in an arch) to retain denser foliage to protect the fruiting zone from sunshine, and they waited to pick late in pursuit of full maturity in Cabernet Sauvignon, finishing on September 23. The result is one of the wines of the vintage.

98-100 Points | Fine Wine Library

Super refined. Mineral nose with a hint of graphite, menthol, rose, blackberry, cedar and wood spice. Hint of cassis. Fine and robust tannins, well integrated. Powdery tannins. Fruit not too dominant. Pure, velvety with great texture. Harmonious and everything in the right place. With age in the bottle and a little extra development, this could be a perfect wine. Tasted Em Primeur April 2026.

97-99 Points | James Suckling

A precise and beautiful wine with total integration of the fruit and polished tannins that give a caressing and seductive mouthfeel. It’s medium-bodied with lovely fruit, a gentle nature and an overall softness and gorgeousness. Yet structured.

98 Points | Falstaff, Peter Moser

Deep dark ruby garnet, opaque core, violet reflections, delicate edge brightening. Delicate notes of candied violets, black cherries, some nougat, inviting hint of precious wood, multi-faceted bouquet. Juicy, elegant, ripe heart cherries, fine extract sweetness, ripe, silky tannins, freshly structured, mineral, blackberry confit in the finish, finesse-rich, harmonious style.

96-98+ Points | Vinous - Antonio Galloni

The 2025 Pontet-Canet is a wine of exquisite class. Silky, aromatic and vibrant, the 2025 is all finesse. Crushed red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal and a gentle hint of spice are all wonderfully knit together. Pontet-Canet is one of the more refined, sublimely beautiful wines of the year. This could turn out even better than my note suggests. Tasted two times.

96 Points | Jane Anson

Inky but vivid bright plum colour, tannins at the front of the mouth, a ton of energy, if reserved at this early stage. Expect graphite and crayon, lovely lift and floral Cabernet Sauvignon character; low yields like much of Pauillac and small berries ensuring the tannins are plentiful. Walks the line of fresh and juicy flavours alongside a brooding concentrated architecture, huge ageing potential with cold ash and gunsmoke nuance. Although there was some rain at end of June and July, this was still a dry vintage, and vineyard work including braiding the vines for shade and applying chamomile as sunscreen, so they coped better than in 2022 overall. Harvest September 2 to 23, indigenous yeasts that are specific to the vintage, 40% new oak, 35% clay amphoras, 15% one year old barrels. Extended maceration, low SO2 with zero added until after fermentation.

*Prices are accurate as of the blog publication date and may be subject to change.

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Bordeaux 2025 Vintage Report → | Buy 2025 Wines → | En Primeur Explained →

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April 25, 2026

Bordeaux 2025 Vintage Report: One of the Great Modern Vintages

Scores and vintage report by Benjamin Vuorinen, Buying Director at the Fine Wine Library. Based on tastings of over 200 wines and visits to more than 50 chateaux, April 2026.

The verdict, upfront

We do not usually score wines - we prefer to leave that to the critics and remain impartial. But 2025 pushed us. Many of the wines we tasted, we rated 98-100 points. That tells you everything about how good this vintage is.

Across the board, 2025 is a homogeneous vintage with great quality overall. Reds, whites and Sauternes all fared strongly. The best wines had fine, integrated tannins - often chalky and coating the mouth in a beautiful manner. Not all wines were like this; some had harsher tannins and more edges, which were a miss for us. But the proportion of wines that hit the highest level was extraordinary.

Browse and buy Bordeaux 2025 En Primeur →

The vintage in brief

After tasting over 200 wines and visiting more than 50 chateaux, we have built a strong understanding of the vintage. The unique weather conditions have shaped equally distinctive wines, which in our view are phenomenal. We usually leave the scoring to the wine critics to remain impartial, but we rated many wines 98-100 points - more on our recommendations later.

In short, the summer was hot and expectations initially pointed toward a style similar to 2022. However, a wider diurnal range in 2025 - meaning cooler nights following warm days - helped retain freshness. A small amount of rain at the end of August, following two months of drought, brought balance to the wines, with small berries contributing to structure and concentration. Unlike most years, September then cooled significantly, preventing excessive ripeness and preserving energy (and a lower ABV).

The result is a vintage with impressive structure and concentration, lifted by freshness and marked by real aromatic complexity, driven by a long, slow growing season. None of the wines showed excessive oak - they absorbed it and kept great balance. Every winemaker we spoke to quoted a low pH, meaning good freshness.

The best wines had fine, integrated tannins, often chalky and coating the mouth in a beautiful manner. Not all wines were like this; some had harsher tannins creating more edges that were a bit of a miss for us.

Cabernet Franc fared incredibly well in 2025, whether on the Right or Left Bank. Chateaux that might usually have 2-3% in their blend upped it to around 8% as the quality was really good. It is a tricky grape, so not every year is fantastic for the Franc.

Across the board, we would say it was a homogeneous vintage with great quality overall. Reds, whites and Sauternes all fared strongly. We loved the wines and are going out on a limb putting scores on what we thought the wines deserve. Many of these, for us, were close to perfection, showing just how good the 2025 vintage is. What the critics think will come out in due course.

First Release: Pontet-Canet 2025

Pontet-Canet 2025 is going to be the first release, coming out on Wednesday, 29th April. In the 2019 vintage, they came out with a strong and low price that helped set the standard and momentum for the vintage. In 2024, their price was not the most fantastic for the quality.

We are always optimistic, so we hope that the price is going to be fair in 2025 and set the tone for a strong campaign. For us, the wine was fantastic - one of Pauillac's many highlights - and we scored it 98-100 points ourselves. It had everything in the right place and has fantastic potential (see our full note in the Left Bank section below).

We suspect the release will come out without scores, as critics will be catching up on their note-taking after a long few weeks of tasting. We will be adding it to our own collection regardless of critic scores.

Right Bank

Our first day of tasting on the Right Bank proved how good the wines were. Anything grown on limestone, like the Saint-Emilions, was fantastic. As limestone retains water better, this really helped during the drought months, helping producers craft outstanding wines.

Ausone 2025

98-100 Points

Winemaker Edouard Vauthier called it a "classic + vintage", and we found it hard to disagree. Picking was one of the earliest ever at Ausone. They did not make a second wine in 2025 as everything went into the Grand Vin, showing just how good it was. Hugely complex, red and dark fruit, hint of raspberry on the finish, blackcurrant, floral, spicy, 100% new oak that does not show, all perfectly balanced. So fresh with super fine tannins. 65% Cabernet Franc.

The other wines from the Ausone portfolio were also fantastic. Haut-Simard, which is usually from 20ha, has been refined to only the best 4ha, so quality has drastically improved for this cuvee.

Buy Ausone →

Cheval Blanc 2025

98-100 Points

Like Ausone, they did not make a second wine as the quality was so good that everything went into the Grand Vin. A complex nose, so much concentration but in a polished manner, light on its feet, silky, sexy, loaded with mineral and liquorice, red and dark fruit, long finish. Fantastic structure to bring it all together. Wow, what a wine.

Buy Cheval Blanc →

Figeac 2025

98-100 Points

We have always loved Figeac and 2025 comes strongly recommended. Low pH of 3.64 and an alcohol of 13% have created a very sensual, floral, spicy wine, perfectly balanced with fruit and some toasty oak. Fantastic tension and a white pepper note that is a signature of the 2025 vintage. It has so much potential to give. Oak, mineral and spicy are all beautifully intertwined.

Buy Figeac →

Troplong Mondot 2025

97-99 Points

Restrained power, great energy and drive that felt like the wine wanted to burst out of the seams. Incredible purity, body on the bolder side of the Right Bank wines, which comes from its terroir. Amazing structure, fine tannins, aromas of rose, 40% new oak. Silky texture but great length.

The second wine, Mondot, also showed incredibly well. It will come around sooner, and for us was one of the best second wines on the Right Bank.

Buy Troplong Mondot →

Canon 2025

97-99 Points

On the bolder side. Great structure and potential from Canon, which was 74% Merlot in 2025. Great concentration with the "freshness of 2016." Great weight, fruit on the darker side, mineral, oak and spice. Round, long textured finish. "Serenity" was the winemaking team's word for 2025, and we agree.

Buy Canon →

La Conseillante 2025

98-100 Points

Tough to choose a wine of the vintage on the Right Bank, but for us, Conseillante or VCC just nipped ahead of what was a fantastic showing. Beautiful nose, purple floral violet aromas, gentle oak, spice, a hint of graphite that was not expected. Super aromatic, white pepper. Incredibly silky with a hint of freshly picked raspberry on the finish. Well balanced, long finish and super fine tannins.

Buy La Conseillante →

Vieux Chateau Certan 2025

98-100 Points

We are lucky that we get to try some of the world's best wines all in the same day and VCC was next level and one of our favourites. Alexandre Thienpont reckons the 2025 is a 50/50 blend of the characteristics of 2020 and 2022 - both fantastic wines. The vine age for VCC is usually 25+ years, but they added some younger vines into the mix this year as the quality proved good enough. Amazing power, concentration, but again balanced by freshness. Floral, peppery, dark fruit and juicy acidity.

Buy Vieux Chateau Certan →

Beausejour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) 2025

95-97 Points

A very different style from some of the expressions above, Beauséjour is all about elegance - more red than dark fruit, with floral aromas of rose and peonies. More elegant in body with chalky grip and a long refined finish. Fantastic to see just how pure the wines are. Bright with good energy and lift. Salty finish.

Buy Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse →

Left Bank

It was hard to choose which Left Bank region did best as all were very highly rated. Pauillac and Margaux were the most consistent with next-level wines, while Saint-Julien, Saint-Estephe and Pessac were more about choosing the right producers.

Saint-Estephe

Montrose 2025

98-100 Points

We said it last year and will say it again in 2025: if there is one wine to buy from the campaign, make sure it is Montrose. Wow, what a wine. Amazing purity, very precise and not overly big. Great structure, length and balance. An intoxicating nose of spice and floral aromas. On the palate, everything was there - fruit, spice, floral, cedar on the mid palate, and a long salty finish, which is a trademark of Montrose in very good vintages. For us, this was a perfect wine, and we would score it as such. Montrose itself compared it to the fantastic 2016, which was a 3x 100-point vintage.

Buy Montrose →

Cos d'Estournel 2025

97-99 Points

Classic Cos exoticness on the nose, lots of spice and black cherry. Delicate floral notes with a salty finish. Serious structure with super fine tannins. Opulent but not over the top. A little tight right now, but so much potential to develop. Can't wait to taste in bottle.

Buy Cos d'Estournel →

Pauillac

Mouton Rothschild 2025

98-100 Points

After 2024 was a bit on the lighter side, Mouton 2025 is back to being hedonistic with great structure and lots of body. Classic nose of blackberry, damson, cassis, cedar, floral and graphite. Lots of tension with a little tobacco leaf and mineral finish.

Buy Mouton Rothschild →

Lafite Rothschild 2025

97-99 Points

Lafite can be difficult to taste En Primeur, but it was showing well on the day. Blackberry and wild berries intermingled with a liquorice finish. Chalky fine tannins that coat the mouth beautifully with a silky texture, super fine tannins, and a little cedarwood. Everything in the right place to age beautifully. Good energy, ethereal but bold and quite a sexy wine overall with a long finish.

Buy Lafite Rothschild →

Latour 2025

98-100 Points

Bearing in mind that we tasted Latour after Mouton, Lafite and the Pichons, the best way to describe Latour is that it turned the dial up on every aspect of the wine, but in a balanced manner. More body and power, more structure, more purity, more complexity. Deep and aromatic, floral with a long, long finish. The only sad news is that you will need to wait around ten years for release, as Latour left the En Primeur system. Could this be a reincarnation of 2016?

Buy Latour →

Pontet-Canet 2025

98-100 Points

Buy Pontet-Canet →

Pichon Baron 2025

97-99 Points

When you go to taste at Pichon Baron this year, they are so confident in the 2025 that they let you taste the 2023, 2022 and 2020 beforehand. The 2025 still came out on top. Exceptional. Amazing structure and power that is restrained and balanced. Chalky tannins that coat the mouth with a long, structured finish that makes you go "wow." Loved it.

Buy Pichon Baron →

Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2025

97-99 Points

We have always loved this wine, and in 2025, it shows its trademark sexy and velvety body with good concentration and silky tannins. Blackberry, good use of oak and wood spice and so much potential here. Needs time to shine. A very thought-provoking wine.

Buy Pichon Lalande →

Grand Puy Lacoste 2025

96-98 Points

A big overperformer this year. Nicely ripe, blackberry, classic, hint of graphite. Silky texture, fine tannins and good structure. Very savoury. A bit like Goldilocks - not too much, not too little. Elegant and refined with a salty mineral finish. The new winery they built is certainly helping to bring the quality up. Always good value.

Buy Grand Puy Lacoste →

Margaux

Chateau Margaux 2025

98-100 Points

The standout of Margaux this year. They were one of the latest pickers, opting for ripeness, but they only used 37% of the harvest, meaning strict selection. Only the best of the best made it into the wine, and it shows. Wine of the vintage in Margaux without question. 84% Cabernet Sauvignon with a deep, inviting nose, slightly intoxicating. Ripe but restrained, more red fruit and floral - both rose and violet. Super fine tannins and a long finish. Perfumed overall. Elegant but textured.

Buy Chateau Margaux →

Rauzan-Segla 2025

97-99 Points

Unlike other wineries that pour you a pre-selected sample, Rauzan-Segla lets you choose the barrel you want to taste, with the emphasis that they have nothing to hide. The final blend is 60% new oak and 40% old. Beautifully concentrated with aromas of crushed flowers and crushed rocks. Silky but with lots of concentration and a saline liquorice finish. This could be one of the best Rauzan-Seglas we have ever tasted. Incredible energy and drive. It is going to age for decades. Floral notes lean more toward violets than roses this vintage. Also comes from Terrace 4.

Buy Rauzan-Segla →

Palmer 2025

97-99 Points

The most powerful of the Margaux wines from Terrace 4. Muscular with fine tannins, true to the Palmer style. Lots of flair and complexity. Chalky tannins that coat the mouth, beautiful texture and length. Loved it. Highly recommended.

Buy Palmer →

Brane-Cantenac 2025

96-98 Points

Comes from Terrace 4, the same as Palmer and Rauzan-Segla, which makes a more powerful style of wine. Of the three, Brane-Cantenac is the most refined. Almost a Pauillac-esque nose. Nicely ripe, cassis, floral with super silky tannins and mouthfeel. Usually affordable, so great value for the quality. A bit of an underdog this vintage.

Buy Brane-Cantenac →

Giscours 2025

96-98 Points

Of all the Margaux wines, which are known to be aromatic in style, Giscours took the crown as the most aromatic of the day. It just jumped out of the glass right into your face. Really quite intoxicating, and you kept wanting to go back for more. Floral with peonies, fine tannins, quite savoury on the palate with a long salty finish. Serious structure.

Buy Giscours →

What the critics think

Our scores and notes are published now. Full critical scores from Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, Jancis Robinson and Decanter will follow as the campaign progresses. We will update this page as scores are released.

Browse and buy Bordeaux 2025 En Primeur →

Allocations and pricing are being added as chateaux release. Sign up below for first access.

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April 16, 2026

Why Chateau Latour Left En Primeur

In September 2012, Frédéric Engerer — then president of Chateau Latour — announced that the estate would no longer participate in the Bordeaux En Primeur system. It was, at the time, the most significant departure from Bordeaux convention in living memory.

No other First Growth had done it. No estate of comparable standing had done it. And yet Latour, one of the five most important properties in the world, walked away from the system that had defined how Bordeaux is sold for the better part of a century.

More than a decade on, it is worth understanding exactly why they did it, what the decision changed, and why — for serious collectors — it has arguably strengthened Latour's position rather than weakened it.

What En Primeur Actually Is

En Primeur is the system by which Bordeaux châteaux release wines for sale approximately eighteen months after harvest, before they have been bottled. Buyers pay at the point of release and wait, sometimes for several years, for the wine to arrive. Merchants like Fine Wine Library buy allocations through La Place de Bordeaux and pass them to collectors.

The appeal for châteaux has historically been clear: guaranteed cashflow early in the wine's life, broad market exposure, and a way to distribute wine across a global network of merchants before a single bottle has been filled.

The appeal for collectors has also been real: access to the finest wines at the earliest prices, the widest selection of formats, and the security of a guaranteed allocation.

But the system has an inherent tension built into it. The wine being sold is a barrel sample — an educated estimate of what the finished wine will eventually become. Critics taste in the spring following harvest and assign scores. Those scores drive prices. And prices are set before the wine is complete.

Why Latour Walked Away

Engerer's stated reasoning was simple, and in hindsight, hard to argue with. Latour's wines need time. Real time — not the two or three years between release and delivery, but ten, fifteen, twenty years or more before the Grand Vin begins to show its full character.

Selling a wine that needs two decades in bottle at a price set by an eighteen-month-old barrel sample creates an inherent distortion. The wine being assessed is not the wine the collector will eventually drink. And the price being paid reflects the critic's projection of what that wine might become, rather than the certainty of what it is.

From Latour's perspective, this created a problem. Their wine — the one they had spent generations perfecting, investing in, and protecting — was being valued on incomplete information. And once released into the market, the estate had no further control over provenance, storage, or how the wine reached its eventual owner.

The solution was radical: hold the wine back entirely. Release it only when it is ready to drink — or at least approaching a point where it can be meaningfully assessed in bottle — and sell it directly into the market at that point.

What Changed After 2012

The practical consequences were significant. Latour's wines — from the 2012 vintage onwards — disappeared from the annual En Primeur campaign. Merchants who had historically received allocations found themselves without a Latour line to offer.

The first post-system release came in 2018, when Latour released the 2006 vintage. It was priced considerably higher than it would have been if sold en primeur back in 2008 — but it came with something that barrel samples cannot offer: certainty. The wine was in bottle, assessed in its finished state, and available with impeccable provenance direct from the château.

Subsequent releases have followed the same logic: wines are released when Latour judges them ready, typically ten to fifteen years after harvest. The 2012, 2013, and 2014 vintages were released together in 2021. The 2015 followed. More recently, the 2016 — widely considered one of the greatest Latours ever produced — was released in 2025, nearly a decade after harvest.

The Effect on Price and Collectability

The decision has not hurt Latour commercially. If anything, the opposite is true.

By controlling the timing of release, the estate has reframed how the market thinks about Latour. Rather than being one of five First Growths competing for attention during the spring En Primeur window, Latour now arrives on its own terms — announced, assessed, and available in a way that generates its own moment of market attention.

Secondary market prices for Latour have remained strong. The combination of finite supply, impeccable provenance (the estate can trace the full chain of custody for every bottle), and the cachet of a château that operates entirely outside Bordeaux's conventional rules has, if anything, increased the wine's mystique.

For collectors, the key implications are these. Latour is no longer available at release prices eighteen months after harvest. It arrives later, priced at what the market will bear at that point, with no early-access discount. But what you receive in exchange is a wine in bottle, with full provenance documentation, at or near a drinking window that has been validated by the estate itself.

What This Means if You Want to Buy Latour

Purchasing Latour today means buying released back vintages rather than futures. Fine Wine Library maintains access to Latour across a range of vintages — including recent releases from the Pinault era — all held in bond, excise duty free, with complete provenance.

For collectors building a serious Pauillac position, Latour's post-En Primeur releases represent a different kind of proposition from its peers. No early entry price, but no barrel-sample uncertainty either. You know what you are buying. You know where it has been. And you know it comes from one of the most precisely managed cellars in Bordeaux.

Whether that trade-off suits your collecting strategy depends on your time horizon and how much you value the certainty of a château-released, fully documented bottle over the early access that En Primeur provides.

For most serious collectors, the answer has been clear. Latour's secondary market tells you everything.

Explore Chateau Latour → Buy Chateau Latour wines

Understand En Primeur → The complete guide to Bordeaux En Primeur

Best Vintages → Best Vintages of Chateau Latour to Buy

Compare the First Growths → Bordeaux First Growths: the complete guide

April 16, 2026

Best Vintages of Chateau Latour to Buy

Chateau Latour is one of the most consistent estates in Bordeaux. Its deep gravel terroir in Pauillac, the discipline of the Enclos selection, and the estate's willingness to declassify in difficult years all mean that even in vintages that challenged others, Latour tends to produce something of serious quality.

But consistency is not uniformity. Across the modern era, certain vintages stand conspicuously apart — wines where the combination of exceptional growing conditions and Latour's particular style of winemaking produced results that belong in a different conversation from the standard of an already outstanding estate.

These are those vintages: what makes each one special, where they sit in their ageing arc, and how to think about adding them to your cellar.

Chateau Latour 2016 — The Benchmark

The 2016 is, by most serious accounts, one of the greatest Latours ever produced. It received multiple 100-point scores across major critics and has been described in terms usually reserved for a handful of wines per generation. What makes it extraordinary is not just its power — Latour is always powerful — but the precision and tension that sits beneath it.

The 2016 growing season delivered a cool, slow ripening period that allowed Cabernet Sauvignon to develop concentration without losing freshness. The result is a wine of almost architectural tension: dark, graphite-edged, with tannins that are formidable but finely delineated, and a finish that seems to extend without limit. It is emphatically not ready. It will not be ready for many years. But for collectors buying for the long term, the 2016 is as close to a certainty as Bordeaux produces.

When to drink: 2035–2060+ Buy it if: You are building a twenty-year-plus cellar position.

Chateau Latour 2019 — Power Meets Freshness

The 2019 is the most recently released back vintage from Latour and has been widely celebrated as one of the great modern expressions of the estate. It received 100 points and was released by the château in 2026, nearly seven years after harvest — which, by Latour's standards, is still relatively early.

What distinguishes the 2019 from the 2016 is a slightly more open, generous quality — still unmistakably Latour in its structure and concentration, but with a lift and freshness that makes it marginally more approachable in the shorter term. This is partly vintage — 2019 was a warm, generous year — and partly a reflection of the precision with which the estate now manages each parcel.

For collectors who find the 2016 almost intimidatingly closed, the 2019 offers an equally serious proposition with a slightly shorter patience requirement.

When to drink: 2030–2055+ Buy it if: You want a 100-point Latour with an earlier projected drinking window than the 2016.

Chateau Latour 2010 — Monumental

The 2010 is one of the great Bordeaux of the modern era, and Latour's version is among the finest wines the estate has produced in the past thirty years. The vintage delivered exceptional concentration across the Left Bank, and Latour's response was a wine of almost overwhelming structure: dense, inky, with tannins that remain remarkably unyielding more than fifteen years after harvest.

It is not quite there yet, even now. Those who have opened bottles in the last two or three years report something extraordinary beginning to emerge — graphite, dark fruit, truffle, a depth that seems to grow rather than fade — but most serious tasters advise continued patience. In ten years it will be superb. In twenty, it will be one of the great bottles.

The 2010 is harder to find than the 2016 or 2019 given its age and the fact that it was released through the En Primeur system before the estate's 2012 departure. Provenance matters here: buy from merchants who can document the storage chain.

When to drink: 2028–2060+ Buy it if: You want the most powerful Latour of the modern era and are prepared for a long wait.

Chateau Latour 2000 — Entering its Window

The 2000 is now approaching something close to its peak, and those who have held bottles from release are beginning to be rewarded for their patience. The millennial vintage was hyped on release and delivered: a wine of classical Pauillac character, with the cedary, cigar-box complexity that defines great Latour at maturity beginning to emerge clearly.

At over twenty years of age, the 2000 has the additional advantage of being more easily assessed than younger vintages — you can buy it knowing, with reasonable confidence, what you are getting and when it will be at its best. Secondary market availability is reasonable, though again, provenance matters enormously at this age.

When to drink: 2025–2045 Buy it if: You want a Latour you can open in the next five to ten years with full confidence.

Chateau Latour 1996 — The Classic Left Bank Benchmark

In any discussion of classic Pauillac, the 1996 eventually comes up. It was a year that suited the Left Bank's Cabernet Sauvignon more than almost any other vintage of the 1990s: a long, cool ripening season that produced wines of brilliant structural precision. Latour's version is one of the finest in its peer group.

The 1996 has been slow to open — this is Latour, so that is expected — but at nearly thirty years of age it is now delivering what patient collectors waited for: cedar, graphite, dark cherries, tobacco, and a mineral spine that never entirely softened but has integrated beautifully into the whole. It is drinking well now, will continue to drink well for another fifteen to twenty years, and represents one of the finest expressions of what traditional Bordeaux winemaking and great terroir can produce together.

Availability on the secondary market is limited and price reflects the vintage's reputation. Provenance is critical at this age.

When to drink: Now–2040 Buy it if: You want a great Latour to drink in the near term, or to mark an occasion requiring a wine with genuine historical weight.

What About Lesser Vintages?

One of Latour's defining qualities is its performance in difficult years. The Enclos's deep drainage and vine maturity give the estate a buffer against climatic extremes that younger vineyards, and shallower soils, do not have. In years like 2011, 2012, and 2014 — all of which challenged many Médoc properties — Latour still produced wines of considerable quality, albeit at a lower price point and with a shorter ageing arc.

For collectors who want to explore Latour without the commitment of a significant fine-vintage purchase, these lesser years offer a genuine entry point to understanding the estate's style.

Buying Latour: Practical Considerations

Since leaving En Primeur in 2012, Latour releases its wines directly from the château in bottle. This means there are no futures to buy — all available stock is either from back vintages bought at En Primeur before 2012, or from château releases since then.

Provenance is more important for Latour than for almost any other wine. The estate has gone to considerable lengths to control its own distribution since 2012, and releases come with documentation. For older vintages bought on the secondary market, storage history matters — a poorly stored 1996 is a very different proposition from one that has spent its life in a temperature-controlled bonded warehouse.

Fine Wine Library holds Latour stock in bond — excise duty free — with documented provenance on every case.

View available Chateau Latour vintages → Buy Chateau Latour

Why Latour left En Primeur → Why Chateau Latour Left En Primeur

Latour vs Lafite vs Mouton → How they compare

All five Bordeaux First Growths → Bordeaux First Growths: the complete guide

Explore all Pauillac wines

Latour 2016 — a perfect vintage benchmark

Latour 2019 — 100 point precision

April 16, 2026

Chateau Latour vs Lafite Rothschild vs Mouton Rothschild

Three of the five Bordeaux First Growths sit within a few kilometres of each other in Pauillac. They are all classified at the very top of the 1855 system. They are all made predominantly from Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in new French oak, and built to last for decades. And yet anyone who has tasted all three seriously knows that Latour, Lafite, and Mouton are unmistakably different wines, different in character, in philosophy, and in what they offer the collector.

This comparison is not about ranking them. All three deserve their status. It is about understanding the differences clearly enough to know which belongs in your cellar, and why.

The Shared Foundation

Before exploring what separates them, it is worth acknowledging what they share, because the common ground is substantial.

All three estates sit on the deep gravel and clay soils of Pauillac, where the Garonne's ancient deposits create ideal conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon. All three benefit from proximity to the Gironde estuary, which moderates temperature and extends the growing season. All three have been under single, focused ownership through the modern era, Pinault at Latour, the Rothschild families at Lafite and Mouton respectively, with the kind of long-term institutional investment that First Growth terroir demands.

And all three are wines that reward patience above almost anything else in Bordeaux. None of them is at their best young.

The differences, then, are real but subtle in origin, rooted in variations of soil, vine age, blending philosophy, and above all in the aesthetic vision of the people making them.

Chateau Latour, Structure and Certainty

Chateau Latour is the most architectural of the three. Its wines are built, first and foremost, on the Enclos, a 47-hectare block at the southern tip of Pauillac whose soils are among the deepest and most gravelly in the Médoc. The result is a wine of uncommon structure: dark, tightly wound in youth, with tannins that take years to begin softening and a core of concentration that seems almost inexhaustible.

In great vintages, 2010, 2016, 2019, Latour produces wines that will outlast almost everything else in the cellar. The 1961, the 1970, and the 1982 are the canonical examples of what it eventually becomes: graphite, cedar, tobacco, dark fruit of extraordinary density, with a mineral backbone that never fully dissolves. It is, in short, a wine about time.

Latour is also the only one of the three that has left the En Primeur system, releasing wines in bottle when the estate judges them ready. This shapes the buying experience profoundly, you pay more at the point of purchase, but you receive a wine with complete provenance and in a state the château has validated.

The Latour collector tends to be the most patient. You are buying for twenty years hence, not five. Latour rarely flatters at ten years old. At twenty, in a great vintage, it becomes one of the most compelling things in Bordeaux.

Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Precision and Refinement

Where Latour leads with structure, Chateau Lafite Rothschild leads with finesse. The soils at Lafite, gently sloping gravel ridges over limestone and clay, produce a wine of extraordinary aromatic complexity and linear precision. This is the most refined of the Pauillac First Growths, and consistently the most aromatic.

Lafite in its youth shows a characteristic pencil shaving and cassis profile, delicate rather than dense, with a silkiness to its tannin structure that marks it apart from Latour's austerity. The oak is present but measured, the goal at Lafite has never been to overwhelm, but to support. Over fifteen to twenty years in a great vintage, it develops extraordinary length and layered complexity: cedar, graphite, floral notes, a finely tuned freshness that never quite fades.

The 1982, 1996, 2003, and 2010 are canonical Lafite vintages, each showing the estate's capacity for both power and precision at the same time. The 2016 is among the most celebrated recent releases.

Lafite is also the most internationally traded of the three, its name is perhaps the most recognisable in fine wine globally, which has historically supported strong secondary market pricing, particularly in Asian markets.

The Lafite collector values aromatic complexity and elegance over raw structure. If Latour is architecture, Lafite is music, a wine that rewards attention to detail more than it rewards sheer patience.

Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Opulence and Identity

Chateau Mouton Rothschild is the most individual of the three, in every sense. It is bolder and richer in style, with a generosity of fruit that makes it the most approachable of the Pauillac First Growths in relative youth. Where Latour demands patience and Lafite rewards careful attention, Mouton announces itself.

This partly reflects blending philosophy. Mouton typically maintains a higher proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon than the others, often in the high eighties or above, and the style seeks concentration and opulence over the tensile precision of Lafite or the austerity of Latour. The oak treatment is also bold: 100 percent new oak, which in Mouton's greatest vintages integrates into something seamless, but in lesser years can make the wine feel heavy before it has had time to settle.

Mouton also carries the most distinctive cultural identity of any wine on earth. Since 1945, the estate has commissioned a different artist for each vintage label, Picasso, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, and dozens more. It is a tradition that makes Mouton's bottles immediately recognisable and contributes something genuine to the wine's collectability: no two vintages look alike, and certain labels (the 1945 in particular) have become genuinely iconic cultural objects.

And then there is the history: Mouton was the only estate elevated within the 1855 Classification, moving from Second to First Growth in 1973 after years of lobbying by Baron Philippe de Rothschild. It remains the only reclassification in the system's 170-year history.

The Mouton collector often values the combination of bold flavour, cultural identity, and the wine's relative approachability. Mouton at twelve to fifteen years old is more rewarding than Latour at the same age. For collectors who want a First Growth that can be drunk with pleasure in a shorter window, Mouton is the natural choice.

Head to Head: Key Differences

In terms of style, Latour is structured, austere, and monumental, the most powerful and long-lived of the three. Lafite is refined, aromatic, and precise, the most elegant and linearly complex. Mouton is opulent, bold, and richly fruited, the most immediately expressive and approachable.

On drinking windows, Latour is the most demanding: expect to wait fifteen to twenty years before it begins to open, with a peak window running from twenty to fifty years or beyond. Lafite is slightly more generous, drinking well from around twelve to eighteen years with a peak window of eighteen to forty years. Mouton is the earliest of the three, often rewarding from ten to fifteen years of age and peaking somewhere between fifteen and thirty-five years.

On buying, Lafite and Mouton are both available through the En Primeur system, giving collectors early access at release pricing. Latour is not, it releases wines in bottle only, typically ten to fifteen years after harvest, at prices that reflect the wine's maturity and provenance.

Each estate also produces a second wine that offers a more accessible entry point to the same terroir. Latour's is Les Forts de Latour, Lafite's is Carruades de Lafite, and Mouton's is Le Petit Mouton.

Which Should You Buy?

There is no right answer, only the right answer for your cellar and your time horizon.

If you are building a collection that will not be opened for twenty years or more, and you want wines that will outlast almost anything else, Latour is the choice. It is uncompromising in its youth and extraordinary in its maturity.

If you value aromatic complexity and want the most internationally recognised name in fine wine, the one with the deepest and most liquid secondary market, Lafite is the natural cornerstone.

If you want a First Growth with cultural identity, bolder flavour in a shorter timeframe, and a wine that rewards collectors who enjoy the story as much as the glass, Mouton is compelling and unique.

Most serious collectors, over time, will have all three. The Pauillac First Growths are not really competing, they are complementary, and owning them side by side is how you come to understand what Pauillac, and Bordeaux, can really achieve.

Browse all three:

Chateau Latour Chateau Lafite Rothschild Chateau Mouton Rothschild

April 9, 2026

100-Pointed Ornellaia 2023 Release

Ornellaia 2023 - Hot new release:

Ornellaia 2023 marks another benchmark release from Ornellaia, a wine that captures the precision and finesse of Bolgheri’s coastal terroir. For those looking to secure a case, you can explore Ornellaia 2023 here.

Scoring a perfect 100 points from Jane Anson, the only vintage she has ever awarded this mark to, alongside an impressive 98 points from the Wine Advocate, the 2023 Ornellaia stands firmly among the leading wines of the vintage. It places itself among the highest-scoring releases in the estate’s history and marks itself as a clear must-have for collectors.

100 Points - Jane Anson

“Moreish, confident and well judged, this is smoky yet ethereal, muscular yet light, wonderfully juicy and fragrant, with a perfectly judged blend of lightness of touch set against an unmistakable punch of damson, loganberry and red cherry fruits”

Widely considered a Tuscan 'First Growth', Ornellaia’s vineyards are nestled in the prestigious Bolgheri region. This terroir benefits from a unique combination of maritime influences, diverse soil compositions, and a temperate climate that fosters optimal grape maturation. Ornellaia is a shining example of the Super Tuscan category, which defies traditional Italian winemaking norms by incorporating international grape varieties and innovative techniques.

The 2023 vintage in Tuscany and Bolgheri was shaped by a challenging and uneven growing season, with heavy rains and disease pressure demanding rigorous work in the vineyard. The best producers succeeded through strict selection, crafting wines with freshness, aromatic clarity and balance. While slightly lighter in structure than the top vintages, the leading wines offer immediacy, purity of fruit and refined, elegant profiles.

The Ornellaia 2023 is a beautifully judged expression of the vintage, combining richness with restraint. A blend led by Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it reveals dark cherry, damson and red berry fruit layered with Mediterranean herbs, spice and subtle oak. The palate is polished and seamless, with a velvety texture and freshness that brings lift, capturing Bolgheri’s coastal influence with precision and finesse.

Scoring a perfect 100 points from Jane Anson, the only vintage she has ever awarded this mark to, alongside an impressive 98 points from the Wine Advocate, the 2023 Ornellaia stands firmly among the leading wines of the vintage.

It captures the shift towards finesse and balance, while retaining the depth and character expected of this iconic estate, placing it among the highest-scoring releases in its history and marking it out as a clear must-have for collectors.

At €175* In Bond per bottle, it represents a compelling opportunity to secure a modern Bolgheri classic.

Ornellaia 2023

€175* In Bond per bottle

Buy Ornellaia 2023

100 Points | Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux

Moreish, confident and well judged, this is smoky yet ethereal, muscular yet light, wonderfully juicy and fragrant, with a perfectly judged blend of lightness of touch set against an unmistakable punch of damson, loganberry and red cherry fruits. Liquorice, tapenade and slate ensure the texture is slow and steady, and this is just a fabulous wine. Marco Balsimelli director, 65% new oak for ageing.

98 Points | Wine Advocate, Monica Larner

The Ornellaia 2023 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot, and it is worth noting that Merlot remains present at nearly the same percentage as previous years, despite the greater challenges faced by early-ripening varieties in this mildew-prone vintage. Careful fruit selection made the difference. The wine shows impressive richness and concentration with a bouquet that leans botanical and complex, marked by dark fruit, Mediterranean thyme and rosemary. The nose was slightly closed when I tasted the wine, but it will open. The texture is velvety and polished, delivering beautiful richness with a sense of succulence that feels expansive on the palate. According to proprietor Lamberto Frescobaldi, the goal is to establish a clear through line focused on freshness and balancing fruit and spice while avoiding excess ripeness. This is a meticulously made Ornellaia that captures the vintage with remarkable elegance. The wine was bottled in July 2025 and is scheduled for release in March 2026.

96 Points | Vinous, Antonio Galloni

The 2023 Ornellaia is elegant and supremely finessed right out of the gate. Dark cherry, plum, mocha, dried herbs, licorice and lavender all meld together in the glass. There are no hard edges or awkward contours. Readers will find an Ornellaia that speaks to understatement and finesse more than power. This is impressive.

*Prices are accurate as of the blog publication date and may be subject to change. T&C

Buy Ornellaia wines

April 6, 2026

How Bordeaux En Primeur Pricing Is Determined

Every spring, as the Bordeaux campaign opens, the same question dominates collector conversations: Is this wine priced fairly?

It sounds simple. It isn't. En Primeur pricing is the result of several overlapping forces — vintage quality, market positioning, currency dynamics, critic influence, and commercial strategy — all operating simultaneously. Understanding how pricing works is the difference between buying with confidence and guessing.

The starting point: vintage quality at barrel tasting

Pricing begins in April, when merchants, critics and négociants taste the new vintage from barrel. At this stage the wines are unfinished — blending decisions may not yet be finalised — but their fundamental character is already legible to an experienced taster. Structure, tannin quality, acidity, fruit concentration and balance all reveal themselves clearly enough to make a reasonable assessment of quality and ageing potential.

This assessment forms the commercial foundation for the entire campaign. A vintage that shows exceptional precision and depth at barrel tasting will be positioned differently — and priced differently — than one that shows competent but unexciting fruit. The châteaux know what the trade has tasted. They know what the early critical reactions are. Pricing follows from there.

What this means in practice: the first releases of the campaign, which tend to come from the most prominent Right Bank estates, function almost as pricing signals for everything that follows. Where Pétrus, Cheval Blanc and Angélus open the campaign sets an expectation — and the Médoc First Growths subsequently price relative to that context.

How châteaux compare to back vintages

The single most important pricing variable — more than vintage quality itself — is how the new release compares to available back vintages of similar or higher quality.

Buyers are constantly running this calculation. If 2025 is being released at a price that makes 2019 look cheap on the secondary market, demand for 2025 will be selective. If 2025 is priced attractively relative to 2022 or 2023, it will move quickly. Châteaux understand this, and their commercial teams spend significant time modelling these comparisons before setting opening prices.

The 2019 vintage is the clearest recent illustration of this working well. Châteaux priced it realistically relative to 2018 — which had been well-received but felt expensive to some buyers — and the market responded with genuine enthusiasm. Demand was strong, allocations moved fast, and the vintage has appreciated meaningfully since bottling. The pricing decision reinforced the vintage's reputation rather than undermining it.

The 2022 vintage showed the opposite dynamic at the top end. Several First Growths and prominent Right Bank estates opened at prices that felt difficult to justify relative to 2019 and 2020 sitting on the secondary market. The market pushed back. Uptake was selective. Some wines were subsequently discounted through the négociant system. The lesson was noted — and visibly influenced how 2024 was approached, with meaningful price reductions across the top end.

The role of critic scores

Critic scores don't determine pricing — châteaux set prices before most scores are published — but they have an enormous influence on demand once prices are announced.

The mechanism works like this: a château releases at a given price, early critic scores land within days, and the market either validates or questions the pricing. A First Growth that releases at €500 per bottle and receives near-universal 98–100 point scores will sell immediately regardless of whether the price feels high. The same wine with scores in the low-to-mid 90s will face a much more critical reception.

This is why the major critical voices — Robert Parker's successors at Wine Advocate, James Suckling, Jancis Robinson, Neal Martin — publish their notes as quickly as possible after tasting week. Speed matters. Early high scores create momentum; early equivocal notes create hesitation. Châteaux track this carefully, and estates that consistently receive high critical praise have considerably more pricing flexibility than those with uneven track records.

For collectors, the practical implication is this: in a campaign where a wine receives exceptional scores, the window between release and sell-out can be very short. Waiting for a second or third opinion before committing is a reasonable strategy for wines with average critical reception. For the most decorated wines in a celebrated vintage, hesitation costs you the allocation.

robert parker wine critic

Supply, scarcity and yield

Quantity available directly affects pricing power — but not always in the direction you might expect.

In low-yield vintages like 2025, where total Gironde production is estimated at around 15% below the five-year average, châteaux have a legitimate commercial argument for higher prices: there is simply less wine to sell. Whether they exercise that option is a separate question, and the market will determine whether it was wise.

The more nuanced version of this is appellation-level scarcity. Pomerol is always small. The Right Bank's top estates — Pétrus, Le Pin, Lafleur — produce quantities measured in hundreds of cases rather than thousands. For these wines, scarcity is a permanent condition rather than a vintage-specific one, which is why their pricing trajectory has been consistently upward over time regardless of campaign conditions.

On the Left Bank, where production volumes are larger, scarcity matters less at the château level and more at the allocation level. The question is not whether the wine exists — it's whether your merchant has an allocation, and how much of it is available to you.

Currency and global demand

Bordeaux prices are set in euros, but demand is global. Currency movements create real-time arbitrage opportunities that shape which markets are most active in any given campaign.

When the dollar or pound is strong relative to the euro, Bordeaux becomes more attractively priced for US and UK buyers, and demand from those markets rises. When Asian currencies are performing well, demand from Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China increases. Châteaux are aware of these dynamics and factor them into timing and pricing decisions — there's little point releasing at a price point that feels expensive to your three largest buyer markets simultaneously.

The 2020 pandemic campaign, conducted remotely with critics tasting samples sent from Bordeaux, illustrated how global demand dynamics can support prices even in extraordinary circumstances. Buyers who had been locked down for months engaged actively with the campaign, demand was strong, and many wines performed better than expected given the context.

The négociant system and release tranches

Bordeaux doesn't release En Primeur all at once. The campaign runs over six to eight weeks in tranches, and the sequencing is deliberate.

Early releases — typically from prominent Right Bank estates and some Médoc second labels — test market appetite and establish a pricing reference point. If early releases sell strongly, subsequent châteaux gain confidence to hold or increase their pricing. If early releases are met with hesitation, later-releasing estates tend to be more conservative.

The négociant layer adds another dimension. Fine Wine Library buys through La Place de Bordeaux — the established system of Bordeaux négociants who act as intermediaries between châteaux and international merchants. Négociants take a margin, merchants take a margin, and the price you pay reflects both. The advantage of this system is transparency: La Place pricing is consistent across the market, and the provenance chain from château to bonded warehouse is clear and documented.

What "fair pricing" actually means

After all of this, how do you assess whether a wine is priced fairly?

The most reliable framework is comparative: how does this wine's release price compare to the same château's previous vintages, currently available on the secondary market? If 2025 Léoville-Las Cases is releasing at a price significantly above 2019 Léoville-Las Cases — a vintage with outstanding critical scores, now bottled and fully assessed — you need a compelling reason to prefer the futures. If it's releasing at a discount or at parity, the En Primeur proposition becomes much more interesting.

The second test is scarcity: will this wine be widely available after bottling, or does the estate produce in quantities that make it genuinely difficult to find? For wines with tight allocations and consistent demand — the Pomerol grands vins, certain Pessac-Léognan estates, the cult Right Bank producers — En Primeur pricing is almost always competitive with what you'll pay later, because "later" often means the secondary market at a significant premium.

The third test is quality relative to price tier. En Primeur is not only a First Growth game. Some of the most compelling value in any campaign comes from classified growths — Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth — that have outperformed their classification in a particular vintage but whose pricing hasn't caught up with their quality. The 2025 campaign, like every campaign, will have wines that punch significantly above their price point. Finding them is what separates opportunistic cellar building from simply collecting names.

Ready to buy Bordeaux 2025 En Primeur? Browse our current allocations →

New to En Primeur? Read our complete guide to how it works →

March 27, 2026

New Release: Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5 2020

For those that don't know, there are 3 top names in Ribera. Vega Sicilia, Pinugs and Dominio del Aguila.

96 Points - Tim Atkin MW

"Floral and elegant, partly because of the 100mm of rain in September, it's a focused, comparatively forward red with bramble, red cherry and blackberry fruit, scented oak spices, a hint of rocket and a refined, tapering finish"

95 Points - Wine Advocate

"It matured in barrel and oak vats during the first year, and in the second one, it aged exclusively in oak vats of different sizes, 8,500 and 21,000 liters. In 2020, the wine is finer-boned, more fluid and only medium-bodied, perhaps because of the dilution from the rain; the tannins are fine-grained and polished, but there's less juiciness in the wine. It calls for food. With time in the glass, the wine opens up and becomes more aromatic, and it even seems to gain juiciness and change texture"

Few names in the world of wine command the reverence of Vega Sicilia. Widely seen as Spain’s “First Growth,” it helped define Ribera del Duero’s global reputation, blending Bordeaux techniques with Spanish terroir to produce age-worthy, iconic wines. Tradition, patience, and precision remain the pillars of this legendary estate.

Valbuena 5° is the purest expression of Tinto Fino at Vega Sicilia, drawn from estate vineyards set on limestone and alluvial soils near the Duero River. Aged over five years across oak, vats and bottle, it balances structure with finesse. The 2020 highlights the estate’s precision, delivering a refined and expressive style that favours clarity, detail and elegance, while retaining the depth and ageing capacity that define Vega Sicilia.

The 2020 Valbuena 5° is a beautifully composed wine, shaped by careful selection and thoughtful winemaking. A blend of 97% Tinto Fino and 3% Merlot, it reveals blackcurrant, cedar and balsamic notes, layered with herbs, tea and dark chocolate. Medium-bodied and polished, with fine tannins and integrated oak, it opens gracefully in the glass, offering purity, balance and the promise of long, elegant ageing.

We have some beautiful cases of 3x75cl available this week at a great price.

Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5 2020 3x75cl

3x75cl Cases

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97 Points | Jeb Dunnuck, Virginie Boone
The 2020 Valbuena 5° ages five years in oak and bottle, which gives it its name. Harvest was challenging due to Covid and rain, requiring due diligence in the field and a faster, earlier harvest than anticipated, the grapes coming from the Vega Sicilia estate’s vines with about 35 years of age. It’s an ethereal, medium-bodied wine of lovely delicacy and elegance, 97% Tempranillo blended with 3% Merlot, then aged 12 months in French and American oak, six months in stainless steel and then 18 months in bottle. Blackcurrant, cedar, and balsamic highlight a citrusy freshness. It will hit its prime in five years and age another 20-25.

96 Points | Decanter
Produced with a selection form the more ethereal parcels that don't deliver the power sought for Unico, Valbuena 5º is however much more than a younger sibling of the iconic wine. The 2020 vintage, a child of a challenging growing season, both due to natural and operational challenges (remember Covid?...), it is a great achievement of nuanced power and detailed complexity, with a luscious fruit core lined with oregano, dried sage and thyme. Dark chocolate and roasted coffee beans build a broody background layer while Assam and Oolong tea leaves add umami depth. Beautiful detail and depth to the tannins.

96 Points | Tim Atkin MW
The 2020 Valbuena all comes from the Vega Sicilia estate and is a blend of Tinto Fino and 3% Merlot from vines close to the river. Gonzalo Iturriaga uses 70% new wood here, 15% of it American, but then switches to older foudres. Floral and elegant, partly because of the 100mm of rain in September, it's a focused, comparatively forward red with bramble, red cherry and blackberry fruit, scented oak spices, a hint of rocket and a refined, tapering finish.

95 Points | Wine Advocate, Luis Gutiérrez
The 2020 Valbuena is from a year marked by COVID-19 and lots of rain before the harvest, which resulted in a more ethereal wine, with 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.9 and 4.45 grams of acidity. It was produced with 97% Tinto Fino and 3% Merlot, cooled down for 24 hours and then fermented with indigenous yeasts from a pied de cuve in stainless steel. It matured in barrel and oak vats during the first year, and in the second one, it aged exclusively in oak vats of different sizes, 8,500 and 21,000 liters. In 2020, the wine is finer-boned, more fluid and only medium-bodied, perhaps because of the dilution from the rain; the tannins are fine-grained and polished, but there's less juiciness in the wine. It calls for food. With time in the glass, the wine opens up and becomes more aromatic, and it even seems to gain juiciness and change texture. This is a production of 186,286 bottles, 5,673 magnums and some larger formats. It was bottled in May 2023.

95 Points | Vinous
The 2020 Valbuena 5º is Tinta del País from Ribera del Duero. Balsamic and herbal aromas mingle with forest, red fruit, cherry, violet and a hint of apple peel on the nose. The palate is intense, with a velvety texture, moderate concentration and enveloping flow. Chalky tannins and a touch of creaminess define the structure. Ample and richly flavored, with subtle oak in the background. A fine example of elegant Ribera.