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.

2019 is a wonderful vintage in Pauillac. Whilst Château Latour, Château Mouton Rothschild and Château Grand Puy Lacoste were missing from the MW Institutes line-up, the range included most of the other top properties. Château Lafite Rothschild was sublime. It had terrific purity, precise blackcurrant fruit profiles and wonderful balance. This quality was also mirrored in two epic wines from the Pichons. If Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande fractionally topped Château Pichon Baron in early primeurs tastings, then maybe Baron is now fractionally head by a whisker, but that is more to do with how they are currently drinking. Both are show-stoppers, and both must surely rank amongst the very top wines of the vintage. Château Lynch-Bages is full-throttle but currently a lot rawer and needs another three of four years [it will age well for decades]. Château Duhart Milon has made classic Pauillac along with Château Batailley, and Château Clerc-Milon looks to be one of the best wines here in the last decade. It has great purity and balance.

Now returning to my 2018 MW Institute tasting notes from a while back. Cabernet Sauvignon arguably reaches its apogee in the Pauillac appellation. There were two great efforts [from the Pichons] in 2018 here, however I feel that overall the wines here are fractionally less consistent than in 2016 and 2019. Château Pichon Baron has produced a thrilling wine, which has great power and depth. Château Pichon Lalande has more delicacy but is nevertheless its equal. Behind these was a strong effort from Château Pontet Canet, a property that has been on a biodynamic footing for at least a decade now. Though some recent vintages have had a few critics complaining about Pauillac typicity here, this 2018 Pontet Canet is full of finesse and classicism. I’m a great fan of Château Grand Puy Lacoste and the 2018 is forward and attractive, though way off their fabulous 2016. Château Lynch Bages is big and bold. It is for the long haul but you get a lot of bang for your bucks here and I expect that to improve a lot in bottle. It needs a decade.

Pauillac has had a very good vintage in 2015, though there is some variability. The best wines have considerable depth and beautiful fruit tones. The acidity is good and the tannins are wonderfully ripe. In some cases heavy September rain showers knocked the edge of things a bit here relative to other appellations. In some cases 2014 felt a more powerful vintage in Pauillac. That is also the case in neighbouring St Estèphe. That said, the general delicacy of the wines and the delicious fruit tones make 2015 Pauillac a very attractive vintage for a great many châteaux here.