Bordeaux 2025 Vintage Report

The Bordeaux 2025 vintage has produced wines of exceptional quality, making it one of the great vintages of modern times.

Yields are substantially lower at around 34 hl/ha, with small, concentrated grapes reinforcing the quality. Scores are likely to be high and prices should be reasonable, as Châteaux look to reinvigorate demand for Bordeaux en primeur.

This is a classic style Bordeaux vintage, with alcohol levels at around 13%, a nod to traditional Claret, yet with all the benefits of outstanding modern winemaking. We call this marriage of the two a new modern style Bordeaux.

“Nature did 99% of the work”

Grégoire Bucaille, Château Haut-Brion

The vintage is full of excitement. Quality wines, lower volumes and stable, fair prices should enthuse the market and create a great opportunity for buyers.

Key Factors

The Growing Season

The growing season was close to perfect, with successful flowering and very little disease pressure. It was hot, warm and dry, with just enough rainfall when it was most needed before the harvest.

The vines were stressed, but not too much, producing small, concentrated berries in one of the earliest harvests ever recorded. Cool nights helped preserve freshness and natural acidity, which is one of the most important features of the vintage.

Yields

Most Châteaux reported yields between 25 and 40 hl/ha, the lowest for at least the last 30 years. This is an important positive qualitative factor, giving concentration, structure and intensity to the wines.

Red Wines

The red wines are spectacular, with richness from the heat, freshness from the cool nights, ripeness, natural acidity and intense tannins.

These are elegant and structured wines that should be approachable when young, but will also age beautifully. A modern Bordeaux vintage of great quality, but with the restraint and balance of classic Claret.

White Wines

The dry whites have great aromatic complexity, especially where estates picked early to maintain acidity. The best examples should show freshness, precision and real energy.

Left Bank and Right Bank

Both Left Bank and Right Bank have produced exceptional wines at all levels.

The Cabernets are complex and concentrated, particularly on the Left Bank, while the Merlots are ripe and fresh, having been picked first and at just the right moment.

The Market

The Bordeaux market is slowly recovering after two to three years of declining prices. The top Châteaux reduced their prices significantly in both 2023 and 2024, making their wines far less expensive than their counterparts in Burgundy.

2025 is a better and smaller vintage than both 2023 and 2024. Rumours suggest that most Châteaux will see this as an opportunity to recapture the full attention of buyers, with en primeur purchases potentially representing savings of up to 30% against future market prices.

The Wines to Watch and Buy

This will depend on scores and prices, but the early signs are encouraging.

The first wine to be released that we follow is Château Angludet 2025, at the same price as 2024, with no increase. This is a positive start to the campaign. The yield was only 20 hl/ha and the alcohol is 13%, which neatly reflects the character of the vintage.

The Top Tier

The First Growths, star wines and Super Seconds have reduced their prices more than most over the last two vintages, giving them a low starting point. They are expected to be very much in demand, especially those with scores of 98 to 100.

The Middle Tier

This has been the hardest part of the market in recent vintages and will need sensible pricing and strong scores to perform well.

The Lower Tier

These should provide marvellous drinking wines and already offer good value. We expect them to do so again in 2025.

Register Your Interest

More will follow as scores and prices are announced over the next one to three weeks.

Please register your interest for any wines you do not want to miss as soon as possible. Offers will come thick and fast and we will, as always, do our best to secure stock for everyone where possible.

Here’s to a great Bordeaux 2025 en primeur campaign.

Esme Johnstone
30/4/26

For any questions or to discuss specific wines, please contact Esme Johnstone at
esme@noblerotfinewine.com.

Post Release Update

Since publication, a number of further releases have come to market.

Château Pontet-Canet 2025 has been released and is expected to attract strong interest, given its reputation and consistency in recent vintages.

Château Batailley 2025 also offers good value within the Pauillac appellation, continuing to perform well at its level.

Château Cissac 2025 is another to note, providing reliable quality and value from the Haut-Médoc.