A mixture of notes and thoughts here on wines from the Médoc and the Haut-Médoc in 2025. Generally, the same patterns are true here as with the wines in other appellations in this vintage. The colours are strong, the wines show plenty of fruit and structure and there is freshness and zap too. In the Médoc, I was particularly impressed by Château Loudenne which has depth and ambition. Château La Cardonne and Château Ramafort were also sturdy and fresh. Classic Médoc. The Haut-Médocs were generally very impressive. Amongst the picks were an intense Château Belgrave, a vivid Château de Camensac and a typically well-proportioned Château Coufran. Stand-out wines have been made at Château Cantemerle and Château La Tour Carnet, which have produced some of their best ever wines in my opinion. At Château La Lagune, some of the Cabernet Sauvignon was drought affected and not up to scratch, but the unusually Merlot dominant blend in 2025 is very enticing. Lots to enjoy here and they are sure to be at competitive prices for the quality.

There’s always a lot to enjoy in the best wines of the Médoc appellation. These usually provide good value for the regular Bordeaux drinker. As you would expect the 2024 vintage has rendered wines that are fresh, aromatic and sappy in the main. These should provide lively, satisfying Médoc in the short and medium term. This set of notes is limited to those châteaux that are members of the Grand Cercle. There were pretty consistent in quality. Obviously 2024 is not a big ripe year like 2018, 2019 or 2022, but there is real typicity here with the feel being more akin to 2012, 2014, 2017 or 2023. Amongst those tasted, Château Griviére, Château La Cardonne, Château Loudenne, Château Ramafort and Château Tour Seran all showed well. I’ve not had the chance to taste other leading Médoc properties such as Château Potensac, Château La Tour de By, Château Tour St Bonnet and Goulée. Hopefully I will fill these gaps soon.

Final blog post for the moment on the reds of Bordeaux in 2020. I’ve grouped together notes taken on wines from the Médoc and Haut-Médoc in this post, as well as some specific communes like Margaux, Moulis, Listrac, St Julien, Pauillac and St Estèphe. All of these are based on samples sent by the Grand Cercle. I’ve yet to taste members of the Union des Grand Crus and there are a number of properties that I usually get to taste which I didn’t manage to organise this year. I hope to update these omissions soon. From what I have tasted the reds are fresh in the Médoc in 2020, although there is not the richness of 2019 or 2018 for me. In some there is a certain austerity and angularity. Wines tasted from the Haut-Médoc have good depth and colour, with freshness and zap, but again some can feel a little angular. A handful of wines tasted from St Estèphe look promising, with good colours and nice textures, and there were some nicely perfumed, fresh wines from Margaux. The few bottles I tasted from St Julien and Pauillac showed finesse, but were not quite up with the quality and concentration of the previous two vintages. Overall my tastings in these communes were not as comprehensive as those on the right bank this year. If you want detailed reports on the left bank wines I’d defer to others whose writing on Bordeaux I admire [Jane Anson, James Lawther, Chris Kissack, Neal Martin & Jeb Dunnuck all cover Bordeaux extremely well]. Nevertheless, I hope you find the notes on the following 24 wines useful.

Final post for now on the red wines of Bordeaux in 2019. Half a dozen wines tasted from the Médoc again showed a very strong vintage here. There is plenty of colour, vibrancy and extract in the wines for sure. I’ve already written on Goulée, which is very silky in 2019, but I was also impressed by Château Les Grands Chênes, Château Loudenne [a great effort], Château La Cardonne and Château Ramafort. In the Haut-Médoc appellation Château Lanessan, Château Malescasse and Château La Tour Carnet have all produced excellent wine. Amongst the other applications, in Moulis I was excited by both Château Poujeaux and Château Dutruch Grand Poujeaux [super refined]. I hope to augment these notes below with additional reviews of the wines of other properties over the coming months, most notably wines from the Margaux appellation.