I’m a great fan of these two appellations in Bordeaux. They provide good value red wines, of increasing finesse, capable of ageing. Over the years, I’ve bought a fair bit of Château Fourcas Dupré, Château Fourcas Hosten, Château Chasse Spleen, Château Maucaillou and, in particular, Château Poujeaux. All these properties have produced impressive wine in 2025, and I’d expect all of them to offer good value for money. They have plenty of fruit and extract and are well-structured and they manage the tannin density well. The palates are sappy and textured, rather than dry and extracted, which might have been a valid criticism of these wines in the past. Again, more modern winemaking and less extractive methods in the cellar, allied to improved viticultural understanding, have improved these wines immeasurably.

Nothing to complain about here! Pauillac has made an impressive set of wines in 2025. All the wines tasted at the UGCB in Bordeaux back in April looked very good indeed and had all the elements you’d expect. There is plenty of purity and freshness but also lots of density and extract too. The picks at the top-quality level were outstanding efforts from Château Lynch-Bages and Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Château Duhart Milon is laser focused and Château Batailley looks like great value. Château Clerc Milon has made attractive, complex Pauillac and Château Haut-Batailley is layered and fresh. Again, these are all wines that will need a certain amount of time in bottle, but 2025 is a very good vintage indeed for the wines of Pauillac.

St Julien has turned in a super set of wines in 2025. These are somewhat classic vins de garde in the sense that they will all need a bit of time in bottle, but a great future seems assured. These are structured and intense wines with lots of extract and density. The overall quality level is very high. The picks for me amongst a very impressive bunch at the UGCB were Château Gruaud Larose, Château Léoville Barton and Château Léoville Poyferré but super wines have also been made at Château Saint-Pierre and Château Talbot. Château Lagrange and Château Langoa Barton are also impressive but need a decade in the cellar at least I reckon. Château Beychevelle was less coquettish than usual but has a good seam of fruit with freshness and will settle during élevage.

Fifteen or twenty years ago, Margaux was Bordeaux’s most inconsistent great wine commune. There were always splendid highlights, but there were a fair degree of disappointments. There will always be variety in Margaux. It is a relatively large appellation that covers a lot of diverse terroir, but in recent vintages there has been much more consistency here. The movement away from extractive winemaking has helped no doubt, and a number of wines that were formally hard and unnecessarily chewy seemed to have cleaned up their act. I won’t name names, but there is such a lot more refinement to the wines these days. Margaux certainly comes into its own in 2025. This may be one of its most classical years since 2015. Though quite different in style, there was just as much excitement for me tasting these wines as there was back during 2015 primeurs, a decade ago. I don’t think anyone has really put a foot wrong in 2025 here but what are the top Margaux picks?