The 2025 Bordeaux En Primeur campaign has generated more questions than any vintage in recent memory—about quality, pricing, tariffs, and whether to buy now or wait. Here are the answers to the questions we're hearing most from collectors, with links to the full analysis where relevant.
I don't think Bordeaux 2025 compares to anything else, from the growing season to the En Primeur campaign. Harvests were as early as they've been since 1989 and yields were as low as they were in 1961. The solar vintage seemed to hint at 2022, but the result is something far more restrained. It's with these thoughts that I'd advise throwing all other vintage comparisons out the window and consider 2025 like this: there are a lot of remarkable wines that are very refreshing in style, complex in structure, and at prices that range from sharp to can't miss.
When speaking of Bordeaux, Graves and Pessac-Léognan are often left out of the conversation when discussing the Left Bank/Right Bank divide. This is a glaring omission. Some of the region's best wines and values can be found here—and in 2025, the appellation delivered at every level, from the grand crus to the everyday drinking wines, and from the reds to what may be the finest dry whites of the entire campaign.
2025 Bordeaux is one of the strongest vintages in recent memory, released at prices that may not last. The campaign is winding down, larger formats are going first, and the best allocations are already moving. Here is how to make sure you don't miss it.
Where the Left Bank impressed with structure and precision, the Right Bank was about texture. We spent the first half of our trip across the Médoc and Pessac-Léognan, and the wines were stunning. But the moment we crossed to the Right Bank, the whole character of the vintage shifted under our feet. Where the usual suspects of the Haut-Médoc and the Graves showed depth and promise, the Merlot- and Cabernet Franc-dominated wines of Saint-Émilion and Pomerol gave us something more generous—silky, expressive wines layered with minerality.
The 2025 Left Bank delivered across all four major appellations—but not uniformly, and not in the way recent vintages have prepared us for. Pauillac produced wines of extraordinary density off half the usual crop. Saint-Julien was the steadiest appellation of the entire campaign, top to bottom. Margaux, rescued by sixty millimeters of rain at exactly the right moment, was the appellation of the vintage. And Saint-Estèphe's clay gave the commune a tension the south had to chase. Here is what we found.
If you asked me to describe my perfect Bordeaux vintage, I'd say good concentration, purity, freshness, with moderate levels of alcohol. Balance and full ripeness, but with a sense of weightlessness and texture. That is very nearly exactly what 2025 delivered.
This is a fascinating time for Bordeaux. The wines are as good as they have ever been, and pricing for many releases has fallen to levels that remind us of campaigns from a decade ago. Few regions in the world can offer this combination of pedigree, quality, ageability, and value.
The Kyoto Distillery isn’t just the birthplace of Japanese craft gin—it’s the beating heart of a new spirits movement. Founded by Marcin Miller, David Croll, and Noriko Kakuda Croll, this pioneering distillery blends deep roots in the whisky world with an adventurous spirit and a love for Kyoto’s timeless culture.
Read MoreWe have such an incredibly diverse set of offerings in this auction, but as we were putting it together there were some bottles that stood out–sometimes because of what was in the bottle, and sometimes because what was outside the bottle! Here is our top 10 list, in no particular order (and apologies to the other 300+ bottles that didn’t make this list).
Read MoreWe’re thrilled to announce the next chapter in our auction journey—K&L Spirits Auctions, launching on May 1! We’ve spent the last 15 years refining our fine wine auction platform, focusing on curation and bringing compelling lots to the most heavily visited online retail and auction site in the U.S. Now we’re applying that experience to collectible spirits.
Read MoreThe wonderful Writer’s Tears brand has become a staple on our shelves by blending Irish Single Malt and Single Pot Whiskies. The distinction is the use of un-malted barley in the mash for the Single Pot, where as the Single Malts use exclusively 100% malted Barley. The Walsh Whiskey Company was revolutionary by building the first distillery to manually produce all three styles of Irish whiskey (grain being the third) under one roof. Rosemary and Bernard Walsh have since divested of the distillery they built but kept the wonderful brands they’ve created and continue to produce exceptional and affordable Irish whiskey for the a modern palate.
Read MoreThe recent explosion of Irish whiskey has been fueled almost exclusively by one distillery: Midleton. The old plant in Cork is at the crux of an exciting turning point in Irish whiskey heritage. The New Midleton distillery has shepherded Irish whiskey from near distinction to the complete renaissance that we’re currently in the throes of. Thanks to their dedication to the spirit’s heritage as well as their embrace of modern technology, this distillery is producing some of the best current examples of Irish whiskey in the market—and, fortunately for us, we can get these at insane prices.
Read MoreThis week, we’re officially kicking off our Thanksgiving planning. Halloween is in the rearview mirror; Hannukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa are just far enough away that we don’t have to wrap our brains around gifting quite yet… No elves on the shelves, but our rally bird is out in Redwood City—it’s the perfect time to talk turkey.
Read MoreOur spirits inventory has seen a tidal wave of new arrivals, and not just in the familiar categories. Of course, Scotch is on fire lately with a treasure trove of spectacular bottlings from Redacted Bros. (aka Thompson Bros.) and Dramfool, but we've also just taken in a jaw-dropping line-up of rare Armagnacs, and a long-anticipated trio of stunning craft gins from Sweden.
Read MoreGetting Hernö from Sweden’s rugged High Coast onto K&L’s shelves has been years in the making. Their story with K&L begins with our relationship with Four Pillars—the phenomenal Yarra Valley, Australia, gin producer who stole our hearts back in 2016. Four Pillars has been at the core of our gin lineup and a customer favorite since its first day on our shelves. We have even collaborated in the production of K&L’s most popular gin; Four Pillars - Faultline Gin. During our collaborations, we were able to sample some gins that otherwise had never made it to the United States. Enter Hernö.
Read MoreSimply put, the Claverie family, who owns Domaine de Baraillon, is sitting on the absolute finest brandy-producing land in the world.
Read MoreDramfool has been bottling independent casks since 2015. Across scores of bottlings, they’ve earned a phenomenal reputation for quality and for their ability to bottle unique casks that simply cannot be had from any other source.
Read MoreToday's Newsletter is a quick dash through the spirit realm to bring you up to speed on what our intrepid buying team has been putting together in time for Father's Day. New containers of K&L Exclusive Casks have our single-malt Scotch inventory bursting at the seams, while our cutting-edge craft bourbon category just gets better and better with some fantastic new releases, as well as a few old favorites at incredible pricing. Finally, a pair of curveballs come your way that will broaden your spirits horizons in unexpected ways.
Read MoreToday's Newsletter is the final installment of 2022, and we're ringing out the year with a bang. Our buyers have all pitched in to compile a wide-ranging selection of holiday winners for every palate, price tier, and festive occasion. Without further ado, we'd like to wish you Happy Holidays and all the best over the next few weeks and into the New Year.
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