Updated April 2026. We're in Bordeaux this week tasting the 2025 vintage across 200 wines - Pessac-Léognan, Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Margaux, Pauillac, Saint-Julien. Our full notes and buying recommendations will be published here as the campaign opens. Follow the trip live on Instagram. Fine Wine Library →
Bordeaux 2025:
The 2025 vintage will be remembered as one of the most demanding growing seasons in recent Bordeaux history — and one of the most surprising in terms of what ended up in the glass.
The season started unusually early. A mild winter triggered budbreak around 25 March, nearly two weeks ahead of the historical average — the earliest since 1989. Flowering followed in mid-May, fast and uniform, with minimal berry loss. From the outset, 2025 was running ahead of schedule.
Then came the heat. June was the second-hottest month ever recorded in France since 1900, with weeks above 35°C. August added ten consecutive days above that threshold, peaking above 40°C in parts of the Médoc. Rainfall was scarce from early June until late August — nearly six weeks of significant drought across the region.
On paper, this sounds like a recipe for overripe, heavy wines. In practice, the opposite happened.
Two factors saved the vintage. First, overnight temperatures remained consistently cool throughout August, creating a wide diurnal range that preserved acidity and aromatic freshness — a critical difference from 2022, which experienced warm summer evenings and produced a very different style. Second, a well-timed dose of rain arrived at the end of August (90–100mm across much of the Left Bank), easing vine stress and completing ripening without dilution on the better-drained terroirs.
The result: finished wines with average pH readings of 3.3 on limestone soils and 3.6 on clay — firmly on the fresh, structured end of the spectrum. Alcohol levels have come in at 12.5–13.5% across most estates, notably moderate for a warm year.
The catch is quantity. Total production in the Gironde is estimated at around 3.6 million hectolitres — roughly 15% below the five-year average. Many estates report yields of 28–40 hl/ha. Some white wine plots are down by as much as 50%. This is a consequence of the previous year's conditions: bunch numbers were simply low from the start, and the drought prevented significant berry development.
What this means for collectors: smaller volumes at the top estates, wines of genuine precision and age-worthiness, and a stylistic profile that sits somewhere between the freshness of 2023 and the concentration of 2022. The châteaux that managed their canopy carefully through the hottest weeks — and who farm soils with clay or limestone content that retained some moisture — produced something exceptional. Those on sandier, shallower gravel suffered more.
Early barrel samples show expressive aromatics, ripe but structured tannins, and real fruit precision without heaviness. The style favours elegance over power. For collectors who value classic Bordeaux character — wines that develop rather than simply endure — 2025 looks highly compelling.
Whether the campaign delivers depends on pricing. Smaller yields give châteaux a commercial argument for higher prices. The market's counter-argument is that 2024 already tested buyer patience, and demand will be selective again if releases feel opportunistic. The châteaux who price 2025 honestly relative to back vintages will sell. Those who don't will find the market has a long memory.
Our appellation-by-appellation notes and buying recommendations will be added here as we complete our tastings during En Primeur week.
