Going through my notes you can easily see the patterns. Colour, minerality, intensity, structure, tannin, freshness and classicism are all descriptors that would lead the 2025 word cloud. Overall, it is a consistent vintage when taken together for the reds. Yes, there is some variation but generally the wines had a lot in common. It is an exciting vintage for sure. And there is a distinct style – 2025 reds are typically concentrated, intense, mineral wines with evident structures, fresh fruit qualities and plenty of tannin. Early drinking doesn’t spring to mind in many cases. As I said in my first thoughts, there are also a few wines at the lesser levels that feel a bit dry and puckering, where the phenolics were not ripe owing to the heat and drought of the growing season, and where the selection wasn’t as strict. But these are the exceptions. For the whites, I tasted less comprehensively. Generally, these were better than I expected given vintage conditions which on paper may not have favoured them. I will look at Sauternes and Barsac later. So far, early release prices for the reds have been competitive and encouraging, especially given the amount of recent Bordeaux on the market cheaper than initial release prices. You should certainly consider buying a fair bit of 2025 on a qualitative level. But if you do so now you want to believe you are paying less than you will later. I think this was only last true with 2019 en primeur pricing. So, fingers crossed the prices are right for 2025 and that you’ve enough space in the cellar [or can afford some storage for a few years]. If so, what where the standouts?

Again the emphasis in St Emilion 2024 overall is freshness. The best exhibit vivid blue fruit characters and are appetising and moreish. There is heterogeneity though. If some are bracingly fresh and lively, others are solid and a bit unexciting. Others feel a bit green, and some are gentle, forward and probably early developing. Generally, the winemaking in the cellar feels sensitive enough, going with the material rather than against the grain. There are a few that feel a bit out of whack at present, either overly sappy or a bit drying. My experience is that these wines usually come good after élevage. Obviously 2024 doesn’t have the wow factor of the sunny, solar years here, like 2018 or 2022, the latter so seductive during primeurs. Still, it’s a journey, not a sprint and I’d be keen to see all these wines further down the track once they are bottled in twelve to eighteen months time as they will all probably pick up I expect.

I’m still in the process of requesting samples from Bordeaux but I wanted to publish some overall thoughts and picks on the sixty wines sent by the Grand Cercle. These are mostly wines from the right bank, including a number of top St Emilion Grand Cru Classés, but also a fair number of Crus Bourgeois from the left bank’s Médoc and Haut-Médoc appellations. The highlights have been amongst the wines from St Emilion, but the few Pomerol’s I’ve had also look fresh and enticing. There are also promising wines from Blaye, Castillon and Fronsac too. I’ve been generally impressed by the harmony and freshness of wines on the left bank, with some attractive and vigorous wines from the Médoc. Overall, these are wines lower in alcohol than the recent stellar vintages in 2018, 2019 and 2022, owing to the vagaries of the 2024 growing season which was often humid threatening rot, wet at the wrong times, and lacking in sun. Nevertheless, despite the unpromising conditions, attention in the vineyard, strict selection and wise choices in the cellar have enabled the best and most diligent properties to pull a rabbit out of the proverbial hat. Below are the immediate picks from members of the Grand Cercle.

There were only six wines from Pomerol in 2019 on tasting at the MW Institute’s annual Bordeaux tasting last year. Their collective quality made up for the lack of numbers. Château l’Evangile was sublime. It has wonderfully pure plummy Merlot tones and wonderful freshness. Château Clinet is as seductive as ever. It has deep, layered aromatics and a caressing palate which also retains freshness. Château Petit Village was also very impressive with fabulously glossy qualities and plenty of depth and poise. Château Vray Croix de Gay was inky and textured and reminiscent of Château Gazin [not on show]. Château Beauregard also looked good at the more affordable end of the Pomerol price ladder. Sadly the Moueix properties weren’t on show this year [Château Hosanna, Château Trotanoy or Château La Fleur-Pétrus], though they have been in past tastings.