Where Does Bordeaux Go in 2025?
I think this is going to be an incredible, tenuous, fascinating, and challenging year for Bordeaux. I’ll say it again... the wines seem better than ever, but now it’s time to make that matter in a big way. Here are some of the major events I’m looking forward to this year—potentially big inflection points in Bordeaux and the greater wine market.
Early Returns on the 2022 Vintage
I can’t wait to taste these 2022s at UGC in San Francisco on January 23rd. It is a towering vintage of wines that are massive in scale, incredibly appealing, and somehow balanced and thrilling when they’re at their best. They were also released at the height of the market, making them one of the most expensive vintages ever. I don’t have any buyer’s regret for getting in on some of my favorites, but as a new high watermark, there’s a lot to live up to.
That being the case, getting another post-EP perspective will be fascinating. These are going to be wines that will be divisive, exciting, and at times singular. I have a feeling that there will be some impossible-to-resist wines, and even at the going rates, there will be plenty we’ll want to double down on for the years to come. The big trick is that prices can’t go up from here (already very expensive on release), but it also seems they can’t go down (without undercutting the futures campaign). I’ll look forward to reporting back again after the tasting and am certainly excited to see how this vintage develops over the years.
Navigating the Challenging 2024 Vintage
Early results are in, and 2024 was challenging, to say the least. Between a wet winter, early-season mildew pressure, spots of hail, and a cool spring, it was a year that kept growers on their toes. A short mid-summer reprieve gave hope, but August cooled, and then September brought rain. The result is broad harvest windows, lower alcohol levels, and what is expected to be a heterogeneous vintage that will require selection.
The good news? Properties in Bordeaux are more exacting than ever, market pricing will demand value, and variety is the spice of life. This will be a useful vintage, perhaps one with its share of surprises. But those looking for the next "vintage of the century" will probably need to go back to 2023, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2016... you get the idea.
Let’s Talk About Tariffs
Are the new administration’s threats of broad tariffs against the EU going to be realized? Many people think it is inevitable, more a matter of degree than a yes-or-no issue. Whether or not I think this is sound economic policy is rather beside the point. It’s more about how we’re going to navigate the situation, making sure that we’re doing everything in our power to protect our customers and provide engaging, dynamic, and irreplaceable products from across the globe.
I would argue that the paralysis of not knowing what we’re dealing with (rates, timing, exceptions) is as challenging as the tariffs themselves. Hopefully, this is an issue that affects enough people—from small-town restaurants that can’t lose the business to a broad-scale industry that’s under new pressure daily—to bring about a shared solution. Plus, with our three-tier system, every $1 we spend in Europe creates $4.50 in the U.S. economy. That is a success story we hopefully can champion in the coming months. Tariffs or not, let’s keep wine and spirits out of it.
Bordeaux Remains Elastic
Bordeaux prices, in a relatively coordinated fashion, go up and down over the years. Sure, it’s no grand statement on the surface. But aside from the secondary market in other categories, where else does this hold true? It is important for regions to ride the highs and lows of the times, to capture the interest when it is there and meet the market when it is not.
This seems vital in 2025, whether to weather the storm or ride it. Unfortunately, there are always going to be struggles when things are this volatile, and that’s the story of the past five years. It could also very well be the new normal, and it’ll be interesting to see the shape of the market as we hit what feels like the stomach-clenching part of this roller coaster ride.
A Good Year, Those 5’s
Every time the calendar turns, it’s retrospective time for the decades past, and this will be a really fun one. There are three decades of "5’s" that will be revisited across tastings, publications, and releases—1995, 2005, and 2015.
1995 is a classic, structured vintage that needed all of those 30 years and will certainly provide a lot of compelling wines at this stage in the game. Those 2005s... has it really been 20 years?! I guess I’m getting old when I have to ask. But all indications are that the structure, ripeness, and acidity have many of these wines going strong, while also revealing an accessibility that makes them all-too-easy to adore.
And 2015, one of my first big campaigns as part of K&L, has a lot of personal touchpoints for me. I actually think it’s vastly underrated these days: a well-priced vintage with strengths in the Right Bank, Pessac, Margaux, and a style that is approachable yet speaks to a sense of place.