Bordeaux En Primeur 2025 — A Vintage of Fire and Freshness
A previous article noted that “the 2025 vintage in Bordeaux is shaping up to be remarkable for its concentration, balance and expression of terroir, despite challenges linked to heat, drought and low yields.” (https://ftt-link.fr/MDCave-BdxTechnic2025)
Early feedback from producers, critics and official bodies already suggested that the best wines combine the power and structure of 2022 with the freshness and balance of great classical vintages such as 2010 and 2009. Disease pressure was minimal, and advances in precision viticulture and sustainable practices enabled estates to manage the climatic extremes.
After tasting more than 500 wines, the Maître de Cave team fully confirms these expectations. The overall level is high, with many excellent wines and several true standouts. Ripeness, freshness and refined extraction reflect the responsiveness of the teams: early harvesting, gentle extraction, and cooler fermentation choices. More than 400 wines were included in our tasting notes. Our Overview presents the number of wines that reached one of the three quality levels we attribute: Exceptional (96–100) and Outstanding (90–95)
This first article focuses on the wines rated Exceptional. A second article will present the Outstanding wines. The number of exceptional wines is also greater. The 2025 vintage offers radiant, sun‑kissed wines that are often more immediately appealing than the 2024s. At their best, they combine ripeness, power, elegance and freshness, a rare balance in such a demanding climatic context.
2025: A Vintage of Heat… and a Few Timely Rains
Many château representatives acknowledged the importance of the August rains, which provided much‑needed relief during a scorching summer. This blessing, however, did not reach all appellations equally.
The Maître de Cave team is confident that each estate adapted skilfully to its conditions, drawing the best from its vines and terroirs through careful management of ripeness and measured technical decisions.
Exceptional Dry White Wines
Maitre de Cave team is glad to share with you the exceptional white , dry and sweet wines at Bordeaux Primeurs April 2026 during the Bordeaux Primeurs exhibition.
98/100
Château Haut-Brion Blanc, Pessac-Léognan – Grand Cru Classé de Graves 98/100 Sauvignon Blanc 53% Sémillon 47%
Brilliant in the glass with green highlights. On the nose, the Sauvignon Blanc bursts with vibrant exotic fruit and a smooth, perfectly polished minerality. The attack is fresh and juicy, marked by ripe pear. The mid‑palate is lively and precise, carrying the wine toward a vibrant saline finish. Its intensity and complexity reflect the concentrated flavors of a hot, dry, sun‑drenched vintage. Without a doubt, it was the finest white we tasted.
2025 Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, Pessac-Léognan 98/100 Sauvignon Blanc 35.5% Sémillon 64.5%
Crystalline in the glass, with green hues and silver flashes hinting at the brilliance to come. The Sémillon‑driven profile brings a rich, rounded intensity, giving the palate a deeper, more contemplative weight. Comice pear and melon shine on both nose and palate, delivering generosity, length, and a vibrant sense of balance. This wine will age beautifully, gaining even more nuance in the cellar. Another exceptional creation from La Mission Haut-Brion.
97 Points/100
2025 Château Les Charmes Godard Blanc, Francs-Côtes-de-Bordeaux 97/100 Sauvignon Blanc 25% Sémillon 60% Sauvignon Gris 15%
From limestone‑rich soils in the little‑known appellation Francs–Côtes‑de‑Bordeaux, this wine is precisely the kind of bottle that will help put the region on the map. Fermented in 10% new 500‑liter demi‑muids and aged six months on stirred lees, it shows both clarity and depth. Brilliant and crystalline in the glass, the robe is pale straw with subtle green reflections. The nose opens with whispers of dried herbs, white flowers, and a fine saline minerality, all touched by quiet exotic fruit nuances. The palate is elegant and silky, carrying dried herbs and white‑and‑yellow fruit with a gentle lees‑driven creaminess. The finish is long, saline, and beautifully shaped, leaving an impression of purity and character. A memorable white wine – distinctive, textural, quietly unforgettable, and a true price performer.
2025 Château Margaux, Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux, Bordeaux 97/100 Sauvignon Blanc 100%
Château Margaux faced the same intense heat, sun, and drought conditions as the rest of Bordeaux in 2025. The late‑August rains offered only basic relief and helped the fruit reach a more even and complete maturity. The estate waited patiently for full ripeness, especially phenolic maturity, before harvesting. They picked Sauvignon Blanc for Pavillon Blanc between 18 and 22 August, of which only 45% of harvest was selected for the final blend, for a final yield of only 16 hl/ha. The final product is brilliant in the glass, pale straw with the faintest green hues. The nose is deep and refined, combining spring flowers, white peach, vanilla wafer, and toasted almond with the subtle herbaceous lift of Sauvignon Blanc. The palate is crisp and fresh yet amply textured, layered with Comice pear, peach, and exotic citrus. A long, saline finish binds the wine with clarity and precision. We have tasted beautifully aged Pavillon Blanc in the past, and this 2025 has all the structure, purity, and intensity to join them — a white built for decades.
2025 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, Pessac-Léognan 97/100 Sauvignon Blanc 90% Sémillon 5% Sauvignon Gris 5%
Water management guided every major decision in the vineyard in 2025. It became clear early in 2025 that maintaining vine health and protecting the fruit would be essential to producing top quality wine. At harvest, each parcel was vinified and aged separately to preserve the individuality of its terroir before any blending. In the glass, the wine is brilliant and crystalline, pale gold with silver reflections. The nose is vibrant and complex, opening with white and green flowers, pink grapefruit, yuzu, apricot, and passion fruit. Oak remains discreet, contributing only the faintest notes of crème brûlée and anise. The palate is fresh and ample, beautifully balanced, and layered with apricot, lime zest, and a subtle sweetness from the 50% new oak. Vivid acidity carries the wine through a long, pure, and richly textured finish. Already delicious, this is a white of superb aging potential — precise, expressive, and built to evolve gracefully.
96 Points/100
2025 Château Saint Robert Blanc, Graves 96/100 Sauvignon Blanc 87% Sémillon 13%
The first official reference to Château Saint‑Robert dates to the late 17th century, though winegrowing in this part of Graves reaches back to ancient times. Crystalline brilliance highlights the pale yellow robe, touched with subtle green tones and silver reflections. The nose blossoms with the graceful scent of honeysuckle and pollen, wildflower honey, and young pineapple, lifted by whispers of white pepper and a hint of vanilla cream. On the palate, the wine is already ready to drink, offering a silky texture and a fresh, gently rich oakiness. Round and harmonious, it unfolds with quiet complexity and a chic, mouthwatering character that borders on the gastronomic. The persistence is impressive, carrying fresh fruit and subtle spice long after the sip. This is a vibrant, polished white with enough body and character to cellar confidently for three to five years.
2025 Château Suduiraut, Blanc “Vieilles Vignes”, Bordeaux 96/100 Sauvignon Blanc 34% Sémillon 66%
The wine is produced from a precise selection of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc parcels, sourced from vines averaging 45 years of age. At this stage of maturity, the vines offer the purest expression of their varietal character and the clearest definition of their terroir. In the glass, the wine is crystalline, pale straw with subtle green reflections. The nose is intense and aromatic, evoking fresh grape juice with the zest of lemon and lime, all lifted by a crisp, mouthwatering acidity. The palate is long and vinous, carrying a layered complexity that unfolds gradually. Fresh fruit notes persist through the finish, which is bright, clean, and remarkably sustained. A vibrant, terroir‑driven white with purity, length, and a refreshing sense of precision.
2025 Cos d’Estournel Blanc, Bordeaux 96/100 Sauvignon Blanc 56% Sémillon 44%
This was the earliest harvest for Cos d’Estournel Blanc since its creation in 2005. In 2025, Sémillon makes up 44% of the blend, bringing depth and texture, while the parcels rooted in limestone terroirs contribute remarkable freshness and tension. In the glass, the wine is brilliant and crystalline, its silver‑tinged robe shimmering under the light. The nose is complex and expressive, layering yellow fruit, honey, and fresh wax with bright lemon, dried thyme, and the faintest touch of vanilla from the subtle oak. The palate is long and elegant, almost chic in its composure. Beneath the roundness of the Sémillon, minerality drives the wine, supported by vivid freshness and a refined tension that energizes each sip. Apricot, citrus zest, and delicate sweet‑spice notes unfold with clarity, while the modest 6% new oak provides precisely the nuance the wine requires. A sophisticated and finely detailed Cos Blanc — vibrant, mineral, and quietly thrilling — with the structure and precision to age beautifully.
Exceptional Sweet White Wines
97 Points/100
2025 Château Sigalas Rabaud, Bommes, Sauternes – Premier Cru Classé 97/100 Sémillon 100%
Sigalas Rabaud’s decision to craft their 2025 Sauternes from 100% Sémillon brings a sense of intensity, floral lift, and unmistakable honeyed richness. In the glass, the wine is brilliant, its pale‑gold robe deepens noticeably toward the center with touches of visible viscosity. The nose is striking with candied lemon rind, apricot jam, and warm baking spices that combine freshness with depth. On the palate, subtle botrytis adds a subtle smokiness and a viscous texture. At present the fruit profile leans toward late‑harvest character, yet, the candied fruit, fig, and richer, jammy character are already showing through. Still very young, the wine displays exceptional balance and definition, its sweetness carried by a vibrant underlying structure. It is a Sauternes showing clear promise, poised for a long and luminous evolution.
96 Points/100
2025 Château Doisy-Daëne, Barsac, Barsac – Deuxième Cru Classé 96/100 Sauvignon Blanc 12% Sémillon 88%
At Doisy-Daëne the art of oak fermentation adds nuances of vanilla and a structured complexity to the unctuous richness of the young wines. It is a flavor that prepares the palate to enjoy a fine dessert. The 2025 is brilliant in the glass showing a pale yellow that deepens to pale gold at the center, with a rich body and delicate viscosity. The nose is immediately expressive, offering pear, peach, and nectarine, with a jammy character accented by touches of fig and date. The nose and palate are both lifted by a fine freshness and subtle notes of nutmeg and clove. On the palate, it is fresh, rich, and sweet, with layers of complexity emerging beneath the sweetness. High acidity brings a tantalizing intensity and keeps the wine vibrant throughout the long succulent finish, while fresh fruit melds seamlessly with dried and gently cooked notes. Already poised and elegant, it promises to gain further richness and depth as it matures.
2025 Château Doisy-Védrines, Barsac, Barsac – Deuxième Cru Classé 96/100Sauvignon Blanc 10% Sémillon 80% Sauvignon Gris 5% Muscadelle 5%
Perched on the croupe of Haut‑Barsac, the vineyards of Doisy‑Védrines rest on the asteries limestone plateau that gives the estate its signature style: a lifted freshness, heightened tension, and aromatics that set it apart from the broader, richer Sauternes to the south. The 2025 is brilliant in the glass, pale straw with a deeper yellow center and a touch of visible viscosity. The nose is refined and expressive, combining fine botrytis with a gently smoked spiciness, exotic fruit, hints of pineapple, and a trace of wild‑flower honey. The palate is elegant and juicy, carried by precise acidity and a sweetness already well integrated. Pear and peach lead the fruit profile, supported by mineral freshness and a harmonious interplay of almond, fig, and date. The wine shows clarity, balance, and a poised structure that promises further depth as it evolves. A beautifully defined Barsac – fresh, mineral, and quietly powerful – with more to come.
2025 Château Suduiraut, Preignac, Sauternes – Premier Cru Classé 96/100 Sémillon 100%
Suduiraut’s choice of 100% Sémillon brings a characteristic intensity, with complexity shaped by white‑flower aromatics and a natural honeyed richness. These qualities are further refined through “élevage” in 50% new barriques. The 2025 shows a pale gold that deepens toward the center, crystalline at the rim with clear viscosity. The nose is intense, combining fresh and dried apricot with floral honey. On the palate, the wine is rich yet elegant, balanced by fresh acidity, with baking spices threading through from start to finish. Fresh fruit melds seamlessly with dried and gently cooked notes. The sweetness already shows poise, and another year in oak will add nuance and greater complexity.
Exceptional Red Wines at Bordeaux Primeurs April 2026 96-100/100
Maitre de Cave team is glad to share with you the exceptional wines at Bordeaux Primeurs , April 2026 during the Bordeaux Primeurs exhibition.
99 POINTS /100
2025 Château Figeac, Saint-Émilion – Premier Grand Cru Classé A 99/100 Cabernet Sauvignon 32% Merlot 38% Cabernet Franc 30%
A beautiful, intensely violet robe. The nose is already complex, with red and black wild berries, herbal tones, and spice. The attack on the palate is straightforward and direct, bringing subtle woody notes. These evolve into harmonious accents of cocoa and toast. The fruit is ripe, with hints of licorice emerging over finely grained tannins. The finish is long and well‑balanced. The use of a cold room for the ripe grapes has certainly contributed to a wine that marries maturity and freshness with superb finesse. A signature 2025 !2025 Château Palmer, Margaux – Grand Cru Classé – Troisième Cru 99/100 Cabernet Sauvignon 41% Merlot 55% Petit Verdot 4%
An particularly dark robe. The nose is highly aromatic, floral, and lifted by fruity notes. The palate unfolds slowly, revealing chalky nuances that define its terroir. Elegant intensity and length combine in true harmony and balance. Fresh and structured this wine defines Margaux in 2025.
2025 Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac – Grand Cru Classé – Cinquième Cru 99/100 Cabernet Sauvignon 56% Merlot 39% Cabernet Franc 4% Petit Verdot 1%
An early harvest completed on 23 September delivered ripe, luminous fruit and remarkably supple tannins. The wine shows a deep purple hue, shaped by an extended 4–6 week post‑fermentation maceration with the cap fully immersed, and by the gentle precision of pump‑overs alone during fermentation. Élevage combines 50% new oak, 15% one‑year barrels, and 35% concrete amphorae, bringing both structure and a finely polished texture. The result is a poised, elegant Pontet‑Canet, carried by a vibrant, refreshing juiciness that lifts the entire finish.
98 POINTS / 100
2025 Château Ausone, Saint-Émilion 98/100 Cabernet Sauvignon 5% Merlot 30% Cabernet Franc 65%
Brilliance reveals an intense purple that deepens to a black‑ink core. Sweet baking spices and dried herbs add nuance to the luscious blackberry richness and fresh cassis. Well‑cured, sweet oak amplifies the palate’s generosity, while silken tannins glide into a clean, composed finish. The wine delivers intensity without excess, and excellence without pretension. Château Ausone delivers another exceptional wine in 2025.
2025 Château La Conseillante, Pomerol 98/100 Cabernet Sauvignon 3% Merlot 87% Cabernet Franc 10%
According to La Conseillante’s co-owner, Dr. Bertrand Nicolas, the estate’s battle against 2025’s intense sunshine, heat, and worsening drought required genuinely creative solutions. In the vineyard, they turned to kaolinite — Chinese porcelain clay — to reflect light and protect the ripening fruit from sunburn, while in the cellar they adapted their usual fermentation approach to avoid reduction and over‑concentration. Preserving freshness and finesse was essential, and it shows in the wine. The results are exceptional: a brilliant, intense violet that deepens to a purple core, with Cabernet Sauvignon delivering power on both nose and palate, and perfectly ripe Cabernet Franc adding a striking green‑peppercorn complexity beneath the olallieberry richness. Silky tannins shape a voluptuous mouthfeel, leading to an elegant, well‑balanced, fruit‑filled finish. The tasting was illuminating; the wine itself left me speechless.
2025 Château Margaux, Margaux – Grand Cru Classé – Premier Grand Cru Classé 98/100 Cabernet Sauvignon 89% Merlot 6% Cabernet Franc 4% Petit Verdot 1%
The quality of the 2025 fruit from their finest parcels was so extraordinary that the team chose to exclude additional high‑quality lots rather than dilute the magic they saw emerging in the Grand Vin assemblage. In the name of purity and precision, those parcels were left out. As a result, the Grand Vin production was just over half of a normal year — a sacrifice that shows unmistakably in the wine’s excellence. It is radiant in the glass, an intense purple that darkens to black at the core. Aromas of rose petals and violets concentrate into blackberry richness, wrapped in well‑groomed sweet oak and lifted by aromatic spices. The palate is intense, layered with luscious fruit supported by firm, sweet oak and a supple, finely shaped tannin structure. This is a wine built for the ages.
2025 Château Pavie, Saint-Émilion – Premier Grand Cru Classé A 98/100 Cabernet Sauvignon 10% Merlot 30% Cabernet Franc 60%
In 2025, Cabernet Franc attained exceptional quality at Château Pavie. It leads to the blend for the first time at 60%, bringing a fresher, more harmonious balance to the estate’s trademark power. Pavie’s three terroirs (limestone plateau, deep clay slopes, and sandy‑clay foothills) contribute their individual complexity to the final selection. The 2025 Pavie shows brilliant with an intense purple, violet tones, and cherry reflections. It opens with concentrated black fruit and a vivid cassis attack. Dried herbs and sweet oak offer complexity and aromatic spice. The palate is rich yet supple, with soft, polished tannins and a jammy, dark‑fruited core lifted by the Cabernet Franc’s freshness. Aged entirely in new oak, the wine gains depth, precision, and formidable aging potential. It is the Cabernet Franc that directs the wine and delivers its exceptional quality.
2025 Château Pavie-Macquin, Saint-Émilion – Premier Grand Cru Classé 98/100 Cabernet Sauvignon 2% Merlot 78% Cabernet Franc 20%
Perched at the top of a narrow switchback road, Château Pavie‑Macquin sits on the northern edge of the same limestone plateau that underpins Pavie to the south. The soils may be similar, but the style is distinctly their own, shaped by an independent approach in both vineyard and cellar. Brilliant in the glass, the wine shows an intense purple with ruby edges and a deep black core. The slightly closed nose reveals well‑cured exotic oak, milled green peppercorn, and ground clove threads that weave a delicate fabric of wax, honeysuckle, peony, and iris, and red cherry laced with blackberry. The palate is striking : supple, softly textured tannins, mouth‑filling black fruit, and a voluptuous yet poised profile. The balance is already impressive, and the long finish promises even greater refinement with time.
Palmares to continue with the 97/100 points, exceptional wines.
97 Points/100
2025 Château Angélus, Saint-Émilion 97/100 Merlot 50% Cabernet Franc 50%
The Boüard de La Forest family traces its origins to before the 16th century and has been rooted in Saint‑Émilion since 1795, when Catherine Sophie de Boüard de Laforest upon marrying Charles Souffrain de Lavergne settled at his Mazerat estate – today’s Château Angélus. It is a long and noble history. As is said time remains the surest judge of excellence, and we found excellence in the 2025 Château Angélus. Brilliant and intense in the glass, the wine shows a deep purple hue with a black‑ink center. The nose opens on intense blackberry and blueberry, lifted by soft dried thyme and enriched by sweet, spicy oak. The palate is elegant and fresh, carried by round, vibrant spices and crunchy black fruit. Velvet‑textured tannins frame the wine, while the beautifully toasted 100% new oak brings balance and definition, giving the wine its precise, finely chiseled character. The finish is long, polished, and irresistibly persistent. Already delicious, this is a wine with the structure and harmony to cellar confidently.
2025 Château Beychevelle, Saint-Julien – Grand Cru Classé – Quatrième Cru 97/100 Cabernet Sauvignon 52% Merlot 43% Petit Verdot 5%
For Château Beychevelle, preserving the identity and fidelity of their wines is essential. They describe their 2025 as concentrated, balanced, powerful, harmonious, and faithful to the estate’s signature style. We found the wine not only faithful, but exemplary of a fine Beychevelle. In the glass, it presents an intense purple robe, luminous and inviting. The nose is equally expressive, opening on ripe blackberries and black cherries layered with dried herbs and a subtle thread of baking spice that lends both lift and depth. On the palate, the attack is generous, built around a core of intense, ample, and delicious black fruit that spreads across the mouth with effortless richness. The tannins are already supple, almost melted, giving the wine a seamless, flowing texture. The oak is well integrated, its deep, rich char adding a refined mineral edge and a touch of graphite that guides the wine toward a long, savory, and thoroughly satisfying finish. A wine of clarity and confidence — already harmonious yet clearly poised to gain additional nuance with time.
2025 Château Calon Ségur, Saint-Estèphe, – Grand Cru Classé – Troisième Cru 97/100 Cabernet Sauvignon 80% Merlot 17% Cabernet Franc 2% Petit Verdot 1%
Calon Segur team, observes that Cabernet Sauvignon as the backbone of the vintage, and in warm, dry years as in 2025, their Cabernet Sauvignon often excels. 2025 is an intense violet robe announces the wine’s depth from the very first glance. The nose rises with beautifully perfumed black fruit, pure and fresh, lifted by delicate exotic spice that brings both intrigue and precision. On the palate, the wine unfurls with the juicy succulence that defines the finest expressions of the 2025 vintage. The fruit is vivid, generous, and impeccably clean, finishing with a lovely mineral punctuation that adds clarity and lift. Supple yet firm tannins glide across the mouth, offering a velvety feel while providing the structural backbone that is unmistakably Calon Ségur. Indulgent yet disciplined, this is a superb Calon Ségur – already seductive yet clearly endowed with remarkable ageing potential. A wine that marries charm and architecture with effortless grace. Calon Ségur seems to have mastered the balance between generosity and tension.
2025 Château de Ferrand, Saint-Émilion – Grand Cru 97/100 Cabernet Sauvignon 10% Merlot 75% Cabernet Franc 15%
Château de Ferrand did not escape the challenges imposed by the 2025 growing season, with heat, dryness, and vine stress shaping the rhythm of the year. Yet in spite of these difficulties, the estate has crafted a sun‑soaked, fully ripe, and impressively refined wine. It is brilliant in the glass and shows an extreme purple robe with a black center, great depth and concentration. The nose opens on fresh baking spice that seasons a core of ripe black fruit, while well‑cured oak and dried herbs broaden the aromatic profile and add complexity. The palate begins with black fruit and spice on the attack, followed by a mid‑palate and finish enriched with aromatic herbs and sweet, well‑seasoned oak. The tannins are long and supple, contributing both luxurious texture and a firm structural backbone. The wine is dramatically intense and impressively long, yet it retains a sense of freshness that keeps the power in perfect balance. This is a Ferrand of stature and presence – bold, harmonious, and built for the future, with the depth and energy to age gracefully for many years.