2025 Bordeaux: Like Never Before
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.
The 2025 Bordeaux Growing Season
The headline story for 2025 is rain and low yields—but not in the way one might expect. Reduced yields were not driven by hail or widespread disease pressure, but rather as a lingering effect of the challenges of the 2024 vintage. Flowering was uneven, and many vineyards simply produced less fruit.
Spring conditions were largely idyllic, but summer quickly turned hot, producing dense, concentrated fruit and accelerating ripening. Cool evenings helped preserve freshness, but it was the timely rains in late August that ultimately defined the vintage, allowing phenolic ripeness to progress and setting the stage for one of the earliest harvests since 1989.
The resulting wines have a distinctive profile. Both Cabernet and Merlot achieved excellent ripeness, while small berries contributed significant concentration and structure. Winemaking decisions—particularly gentle extraction and lower fermentation temperatures — were critical in preserving balance. The best wines combine impressive flavor intensity and aromatic lift with restraint and freshness.
Despite the warmth of the growing season, this is not a high-alcohol vintage. Most wines fall in the 13% to 13.5% range, contributing to a sense of energy and approachability. Where estates executed well, the wines show both precision and depth, with the structure to age gracefully without being overly austere in youth.
As always in Bordeaux, terroir matters. Some sites handled the heat and late-season conditions better than others, and stylistic choices at certain estates were more apparent than usual. Even so, many of the vintage's standout wines come from appellations where variability was most evident, reinforcing just how high the ceiling is in 2025.
My Favorite Buys of the 2025 Vintage
Simply put, I cannot say if futures are the right or wrong path for any collector, but I do see a 2025 vintage being released at prices that are very rewarding compared to their peers, whether it be in other vintages or around the world. Here are some of my favorite buys of the 2025s, in no particular order:
2025 Montrose, St-Estèphe (Pre-Arrival) $159.99
98-100RP 98-100VN 97-100JD 97-99TWP 97DC 97JA This is one of the first wines we tasted, but it left an impression through the entire week — it was that good. Current-vintage Montrose is always at the top of my list, but none of them are priced this low. They also had low yields and released 70% less than usual this vintage.
2025 Brane-Cantenac, Margaux (Pre-Arrival) $61.99
96-98JD 97DC 97JA 96-97JS 95-97TWP 95-97VN 93-96RP I have happily paid almost twice this much for the otherworldly 2022 vintage, and the 2025 is not far off. For elegant, classic Margaux of the highest caliber, this is a smashing success. With a special label celebrating 100 years of the Lurton family at Brane-Cantenac, this is highly collectible.
2025 Branaire-Ducru, St-Julien (Pre-Arrival) $49.99
96-97JS 94-97TWI 94-96JD 94-96RP 94-96VN 95DC François Xavier Maroteaux is crafting reliably delicious, complex, textured Saint-Juliens of incredible quality over the past decade, and I think a sub-$50 price makes this an automatic buy.
2025 Léoville-Las-Cases, St-Julien (Pre-Arrival) $167.99
97-100JD 98-99JS 98JA 96-98RP 96-98VN Coming in at the top of the vintage in our books, it's a sharp price on what could be a landmark vintage at this address—the first made at their new winemaking facility. Immediately delicious but as complex as you'd expect from a modern-era classic.
2025 La Gaffelière, St-Émilion (Pre-Arrival) $57.99
97-99VN 96-98JD 96JA Where else are you going to find a graceful, terroir-driven wine of this depth and refinement for under $60? A superlative success.
2025 Beau-Séjour Bécot, St-Émilion (Pre-Arrival) $67.99
98-100VN 97-99JD 97-99RP 97-98JS 96-98TWP 96DC 95JA Many people associate this label with a solid mid-tier selection. Instead it should be considered alongside the vintage's elite wines. I was wowed in a way I haven't felt since the 100-point 2022.
2025 Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac (Pre-Arrival) $459.99
99-100JS 98-100JA 97-100CK 97-99JD 97-99RP 96-98TWP 95-98TWI 95-97VN A record-high Cabernet-driven gem and the best Mouton I've tasted en primeur. Long-lived, classic, and very sharply priced for a First Growth of this quality.
2025 Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac (Pre-Arrival) $525.00
99-100JS 98-100TWP 98-100VN 96-98JD 97JA 95-97RP In recent years Lafite has pulled a magic trick, bringing accessibility and joy to the wine at this extremely early stage without losing any of the character that has made Lafite, well, Lafite. Another great chapter in the storied history.
2025 Lafleur, Vin de France (Pre-Arrival) $975.00
97-99JD 97-99VN This is the first vintage of Lafleur's departure from the Pomerol appellation on the bottle, but what's on the inside is one of the greatest wines made at this address. Endlessly complex. An unforgettable wine in all the best ways.
2025 Pichon-Lalande, Pauillac (Pre-Arrival) $149.99
97-99JD 97-98JS 96-98CK 95-97TWP 95-97VN 96JA 94-96RP 93-96TWI A very luxurious, complex, and dynamic rendition that's impossible to resist. The going rate is incredibly reasonable in the scope of great wines at this near-First-Growth estate.
2025 Haut-Bailly, Pessac-Léognan (Pre-Arrival) $99.99
98-100JA 98-99JS 97-99JD 98DC 96-98TWP 96-98VN 95-97CK 93-96TWI Véronique Sanders and her team have gone from strength to strength. Their 2023 was quietly one of the wines of that vintage, and this 2025 has the chance to stake the same claim. There's a ton of collectible value here.
Also Worth Your Attention
A few other best values that have the chance to be revelatory in the years to come:
2025 Phélan-Ségur, St-Estèphe (Pre-Arrival) $49.99
96-97JS 96DC 93-95VN 94JA continued their run of stunning St-Estèphes.
2025 Malescot-St-Exupéry, Margaux (Pre-Arrival) $49.99
95-97TWP 95-96JS 93-95VN 92-94JD 92-94RP is compelling and delicious at a can't-miss price.
2025 Laroque, St-Émilion (Pre-Arrival) $31.99
95-97TWP 96DC 94-96JD 93-95VN continues to rival wines at multiples of the price.
For solid buys in fan-favorite collectibles, the following are really impressive in 2025, both in quality and price:
2025 Pontet-Canet, Pauillac (Pre-Arrival) $89.99
98-100RP 97-98JS 96-98JD 96-98TWP 96-98VN 97DC 96JA
2025 Lynch-Bages, Pauillac (Pre-Arrival) $99.99
97-98JS 96-98JD 96-98VN 95-98TWI 94-97RP 94-96TWP
2025 Léoville-Barton, St-Julien (1.5L) (Pre-Arrival) $169.99
97-99JD 97JA 95-97TWP 95-97VN 95-96JS 93-95RP
2025 Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux (Pre-Arrival) $74.99
96-98JD 97DC 97JA 96-97JS 95-97TWP 95-97VN 94-96RP
2025 Canon, St-Émilion (Pre-Arrival) $114.99
98-100TWP 98-100VN 98-99JS 96-99RP 96-98JD 97DC 97JA
And perhaps Bordeaux's hottest property, 2025 Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan (Pre-Arrival) $114.99 99-100JS 96-98JD 96-98TWP 95-98RP 95-97CK 95-97VN 94-97TWI 96JA once again worked their magic this year.
This is by no means a complete list, but it highlights what I believe is a remarkably consumer-friendly vintage filled with great wines—and more than a few that border on the extraordinary.