### 2025 Bordeaux En Primeur: Le Freak

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BY ANTONIO GALLONI | APRIL 28, 2026

Left Bank: [Saint-Estèphe](https://vinous.com/wines?term=SaintEst%C3%A8pheAGBdxEPMay2026) | [Pauillac](https://vinous.com/wines?term=PauillacAGBdxEPMay2026) | [Saint-Julien](https://vinous.com/wines?term=SaintJulienAGBdxEPMay2026) | [Margaux](https://vinous.com/wines?term=MargauxAGBdxEPMay2026) | [Moulis and Listrac](https://vinous.com/wines?term=MoulisandListracAGBdxEPMay2026) | [Pessac-Léognan and Graves](https://vinous.com/wines?term=PessacL%C3%A9ognanGravesAGBdxEPMay2026) | [Left Bank Satellites](https://vinous.com/wines?term=LeftBankSatellitesAGBdxEPMay2026) | [Sauternes](https://vinous.com/wines?term=SauternesAGBdxEPMay2026)

Right Bank: [Pomerol](https://vinous.com/wines?term=PomerolAGBdxEPMay2026) | [Saint-Émilion](https://vinous.com/wines?term=Saint%C3%89milionAGBdxEPMay2026) | [Right Bank Satellites](https://vinous.com/wines?term=RightBankSatellitesAGBdxEPMay2026)

After a problematic vintage in 2024, Bordeaux bounces back with the 2025s. It’s too soon to know where 2025 will land relative to most highly regarded recent vintages, but the finest 2025s are nothing short of thrilling. There is some inconsistency, which is to be expected in a large appellation and in a year with challenges that led to different approaches and decisions. While top names tend to get most of the attention this time of year, readers will find countless gems among Bordeaux’s lesser-known châteaux.

Margaux is the star of the vintage, although Pauillac is not far behind. Of course, it’s hard to say how much of the performance of an appellation is attributable to the vintage itself as opposed to properties that are raising the bar in terms of quality. I also tasted several truly extraordinary wines on Saint-Émilion’s famed clay/limestone plateau. Pomerol is the most uneven appellation, as I will explain later in this report.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1777384902396-Lafite_Vinous.jpg)

_Saskia de Rothschild and Technical Director Eric Kohler at Lafite-Rothschild._

Two thousand twenty-five is a year marked by intense heat and drought. One of the most fascinating aspects of the vintage is that alcohols are lower than normal, and quite a bit lower than the norm these days in very hot, dry years. This is especially true on the Left Bank, where many wines come in at around 13% in alcohol. The differences from other hot dry years appear a bit less marked on the Right Bank. Even so, the signature of the finest 2025s is intense flavor and richness married with brisk acids. Many wines are also extremely aromatic. Tannins are generally silky. This last point is a key to understanding the vintage. While there was clearly some heat stress and slowing of ripening because of intense heat, the wines suggest that stress was moderate. Sugar ripening slowed at certain periods throughout the year, but physiological ripeness did not. That’s nothing short of a minor miracle, given that intense heat and drought almost always yield wines with huge tannins that did not fully ripen on the vine. Reading between the lines, it’s also clear some properties pulled back production by concentrating on their historic parcels and letting other satellite parcels that had been part of previous expansions fall by the wayside.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1780424256227-Becot_Vinous.jpg)

_Proprietors Julien Barthe and Juliette Bécot, along with Technical Director Jean de Cournuaud, made one of the wines of the vintage at Beau-Séjour Bécot._

I suspect that more thoughtful farming (including the use of cover crops and canopy management), better sorting and greater experience in dealing with hot, dry conditions overall are all factors that also inform the 2025s. Many wineries are now equipped with smaller tanks that allow for smaller picks and that are especially well-suited to a vintage where yields were down at many properties. The combination of soaring aromatics, intense fruit, full, rich flavors, brisk acids and modest alcohols is something I have never seen in the red wines of Bordeaux.

Whites are surprisingly good for a warm, dry year, although whites are harder to judge than reds en primeur because the wines are often inherently less stable. The new Médoc Blanc appellation makes its debut with the 2025 vintage. It is no secret that consumer tastes increasingly favor white wine. Producers are responding with a bevy of new offerings. The best of these are distinctive and worth following, but some have little reason to exist, especially at a time when the market is becoming more selective. The Sauternes I tasted point to a good vintage, perhaps not exceptional, but solid. As always, my colleague Neal Martin will have a more comprehensive look at these wines.



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