Fine wine and spirits 2025 > Bordeaux

 

Bordeaux in 2025

Published: 13th December 2024

LONGER READ

 

There is a perception that things are set in stone in Bordeaux, but things are changing. Lots of wineries have undergone a renaissance: brand-new winery facilities, certainly, but also new people, new ideas and new ambitions. This has shaken up the established order – and the wines are all the better for it.

 

Key developments in Bordeaux

 

Precision

The top châteaux have a deeper, more scientific understanding of their vineyards than ever before. In the past, an experienced vigneron might know instinctively that one plot performs better than another, without knowing why. Between soil studies, collaboration with universities and in-house research-and-development teams, the best estates now truly understand the composition of their vineyards – and how to make the most of them. Bordeaux’s estates are typically larger than those in regions like Burgundy or Piedmont, but the best are managed at the level of individual plots and sub-plots. This ensures that the right grape varieties are planted in the right places and given the requisite care and attention during the growing season. This ever more precise work in the vines in turn gives the winemaker a broad palette of raw materials to work with in the winery.

 

Investment

Bordeaux’s leading estates have invested heavily in the both the vineyard and winery. The construction of state-of-the-art cellars is not a new phenomenon in the Gironde and, in fact, it is now slowing down. See recent transformation at châteaux like Troplong Mondot, Lynch-Bages and Figeac. An earlier phase of development at the likes of Cheval Blanc, Beychevelle and Margaux has now come to fruition, with those wineries able to work more precisely than ever before. It is a great time to be making – and collecting – high-end Bordeaux.

 

01: Barrels and vat room at Figeac
02: Cheval Blanc, one of St Emilion’s standouts

 

Strict selection

Perhaps an inevitable consequence of working more precisely and with better facilities, some top estates have gotten stricter on what makes the grade for their wines. Fruit or plots previously destined for the grand vin may be deselected and instead used for the second wine or another blend. Montrose has taken this to the extreme of using only fruit from the historic core of the vineyard for the first wine; the result is a turbo-charged expression. Look also to Haut-Bailly; if you compare that estate’s 2012 with its recently released 2023, you’ll see a huge step up.

 

Style

Arguably, Bordeaux did itself no favours in the Robert Parker-inspired era of heavily extracted reds with over-the-top fruit, overpowering oak and formidable tannins. This style has largely fallen out of favour among both producers and collectors, giving way to a more accessible kind of Bordeaux. Lots of these wines are now drinkable much younger than before, and can appeal to a far broader audience. These are friendlier wines with more inviting fruit profiles and are enjoyable after just a few years in bottle.

 

Bordeaux: what to do in 2025

 

Watch out for rising stars

We know Bordeaux very, very well, and we spend a great deal of our time either physically on the ground or in contact with the region’s winemakers, courtiers and négociants. Max Lalondrelle and our Buyers have a keen eye for rising-star estates. As recently as 15 years ago, Ch. Les Carmes Haut-Brion was a relatively unknown name; today it’s perhaps the hottest property in Bordeaux. Things change at comparatively more well-known names, too. We’re always on the lookout for a bold new winemaker at the helm or a change in strategic direction. Josephine Duffau-Lagarrosse has been making waves at Ch. Beauséjour in St Emilion, for example; and Nicolas Glumineau has taken Ch. Pichon Comtesse de Lalande in Pauillac to new heights. You can trust us when we make a recommendation for somebody to watch.

 

03: Ch. Les Carmes Haut-Brion. ©phlabegueri
04: Ch. Beausejour, a property on the rise

 

Get ready for Bordeaux 2024 En Primeur

We’ll be launching our Bordeaux 2024 En Primeur offer in spring 2025. Much has been written about Bordeaux’s quite particular method of distributing its wines, but this remains a key commercial event for the region – when its leading wineries offer the new vintage for sale to the world. The most recent offer, for the 2023 vintage, saw year-on-year reductions in price; the wines were, overall, cheaper than we had expected. This was something of a necessary correction, and we hope that it sets a precedent for future vintages. As ever, our team will visit the region to taste in situ – forming our own opinions and recommending wines accordingly. The access that we have to the very finest wines here is hard to beat. We receive significant allocations from the First Growths and other top wineries, so we can offer you the best of Bordeaux. En Primeur is also a great time to buy large formats, like magnums and double magnums. These bigger bottles represent good value for money, too, often with a smaller markup per bottle than you can expect to pay for wines from other regions.

Explore back-vintage Bordeaux

Maybe you haven’t yet started to build a Bordeaux collection. Or you have, but you’re waiting for your En Primeur wines to mature. Either way, you can explore a wealth of back-vintage Bordeaux with BBX, our fine wine exchange. If you’re looking for aged Bordeaux to drink now, look to the 2008, 2011 or 2012 vintages – each of which is nicely hitting its stride. The 2016 and 2019 vintages are great choices to buy now and lay down further; both are very, very high quality with a bright future ahead.