Nicolas and Cyrille Thienpont are amongst the most thoughtful and nuanced winemakers in Bordeaux. Year in, year out they make class wines at their properties in Castillon and the Côtes de Francs. They also make the wine and manage Château Pavie Macquin, the top tier St Emilion, on behalf of the Corre-Macquin family, a relationship that began in 1994. All of their properties are united in having vines deep in limestone and clay limestone terroirs. It is no surprise then that they have succeeded admirably in 2025. These are an impressive set of wines across the board. They think they may have made the best yet Château Puygueraud [now back in its old label]. Excellent wines have been made at Château La Prade and Château Alcée. All these are likely to be great values. Château Pavie Macquin itself is a marvel. Release prices here are usually sensible in relation to existing wine on the market. Here are my detailed thoughts.

Château Pavie Macquin has had a splendid run of form across the past decade and a half. This is a powerful wine of great depth and much of the work that the Thienpont’s have been doing is to reign in that power and express the finesse here. Incredible wines were made in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. 2025 continues this great run [2024 was actually no slouch in what was a difficult vintage for everyone].

There is no doubt in my mind that Pavie Macquin ’25 will need a decade to start showing its best [other than by spending six to twenty-four hours in a closed decanter]. Currently it is super concentrated and intense, with extraordinary depth. This is super impressive St Emilion which retains freshness and delicacy on the finish. It is usually released at a fair price for the quality.

For those of you, perhaps a little like me, with less cash sloshing around, do look no further than the Thienpont’s Côtes de Francs properties. Château Puygueraud is well known and well distributed in the UK. I’ve been buying it each year en primeur from the UK’s wonderful Wine Society. I’ve a blog piece I did on the property recently here. Puygueraud looks to be very good in 2025 – maybe their best ever, Cyrille Thienpont thinks. The whites are also terrific here. Château Les Charmes Godard is super in 2025.

The following wines were tasted on Tuesday 21^st April, 2026 at Château Pavie Macquin. Pavie Macquin was tasted twice [with consistent notes] at the property and at the UGCB tasting.

Château Puygueraud, Francs – Côtes de Bordeaux, 2025

Deep and saturated; good colour; dense in the middle; some chalk; ripe merlot; this works well; attractive sweet aromatics; soft and supple wine but with intensity; grip and structure; chalky structure; density here and of the vintage. Works very well indeed. Super Puygueraud. Interesting to compare this with the 2022. [80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 14.3% alcohol, yield 32hl/ha, vineyard 33ha]. Tasted 21/4/26. Drink 2029-2040. 91-93+

Château La Prade, Francs – Côtes de Bordeaux, 2025

Deep and dark; chalky mineral note with some black fruits beneath; more chalk and minerals on the palate; terroir here has a small layer of clay over the chalk; attractive fruit; quite intense and nicely done on the mid palate; quite intense on the back end. Quite chunky style and plenty here. [30% Cabernet Franc,70% Merlot, 14.1% alcohol, yields 33hl/ha, vineyard 6.5ha].  Tasted 19/4/26. Drink 2029-2037. 90-91+

Château Alcée, Castillon – Côtes de Bordeaux, 2025

Deep and attractive; spicy and fresh and fruit driven; spicy and intense palate; spicy; nice; more grippy; has quite a dry sensation on the very end which adds punctuation. [85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 13.9% alcohol, 20hl/ha, 14.2ha vineyard]. Tasted 21/4/26. Drink 2028-2037. 91-93

Château Pavie Macquin, St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé, 2025

Deep and dense; opaque at centre; colour tight to rim; really tarry and intense with lots of pent up fruit and power; a wine for the ages; gum, tar and camphor; liquorice but this feels all terroir based; graphite; tight but intense on the palate; textured; plenty of extract and fruit but it has gloss and polish; spices. Works really well. Super depth and concentration; very impressive; lots of depth and intensity. Super powerful. [78% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.1% alcohol, 3.23 pH, yield 30hl/ha]. Tasted 21/4/26. Drink 2033-2055. 96-98+

Whites

Château Charmes Godard, Francs – Côtes de Bordeaux, 2025

Brilliant silver; very attractive looking; good aromatics, pear drops; candy; has weight and sweet ripe fruit on the palate; has zap and energy too. Bravo! [65% Sémillon, 20% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Sauvignon Gris, yield 40hl/ha, organic certified]. Tasted 21/4/26 at Château Pavie Macquin. Drink 2026-2034. 92+

Château Puygueraud, Francs – Côtes de Bordeaux, 2025

Brilliant in the glass; aromatics are fresh and grassy; also candy and pear drops; nice and attractive on the palate with the pear drops and some lanolin notes too; fresh but quite broad. Works well.  [80% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Sauvignon Gris, 50hl/ha, organic certified]. Tasted 21/4/26 at Château Pavie Macquin. Drink 2026-2030. 91+