Bordeaux En Primeur 2025

Let’s uncork this mystery: Bordeaux 2025 (En Primeur 2024 vintage) is turning out to be one of the most compelling campaigns in recent memory—not for blinged-out First Growth fireworks, but for a rare, poetic harmony of quality and value. I’ve walked the rows, sniffed the barrels, swirled the samples, and listened to the murmurs in the chai. Here’s the straight pour: if you’ve been waiting for a smart time to buy Bordeaux, this is it.

A Vintage Forged in Adversity

The 2024 growing season tested the mettle of even Bordeaux's most experienced vignerons. A cool, wet spring triggered severe mildew pressure, while coulure during flowering further trimmed yields. By midsummer, a run of warm, dry weather brought much-needed reprieve. But September's rains complicated ripening, especially for early-harvested Merlot. Precision and timing in the vineyard made all the difference. The result? A vintage of contrast, with pockets of brilliance in a more classic, restrained frame.

Quality? Patchy but Promising.

This isn’t 2016 or 2022. It’s a vintage where nature forced producers to work. The top estates did, and the payoff is in the glass: lower alcohol, higher acid, aromatic lift, and drinkability. It's not uniform across the board, but where terroir and technique aligned, the results are beautiful. Think modern-classic Bordeaux, with clarity and restraint.

Standouts?

• Pauillac: Strong showings from Lynch-Bages, Grand-Puy-Lacoste, and Batailley. Cabernet shone here thanks to later ripening.

• Saint-Julien: Consistently poised. Branaire-Ducru and Gloria are polished and precise.

• Pessac-Léognan: Domaine de Chevalier and Smith Haut Lafitte hit high marks with aromatic, textured reds.

• Saint-Émilion: Patchy, but limestone-based estates like Canon and La Gaffelière delivered delicacy and energy.

• Pomerol: More variable. Some struggled with dilution, but Lafleur and La Conseillante rose above.

White Bordeaux? Quiet triumph. Cool vintage acidity gave us citrus, salinity, and age-worthy structure from the likes of Haut-Brion Blanc and Domaine de Chevalier Blanc.

Pricing: The Real Drama

The 2024 vintage lands in a fragile market. Burgundy's heat has cooled. China is cautious. The UK and US are wary. Bordeaux has responded with one of its most aggressively priced campaigns in a decade.

We’re seeing price cuts of 20–40% compared to 2022 releases, and for many First and Second Growths, it’s the lowest En Primeur pricing since 2014. This is not just a marketing play—it's necessity meeting opportunity. If you missed the golden window last time, this is your second shot.

Comments on First & Second Growths

Here’s the big news: the First Growths have blinked. Lafite Rothschild came out swinging with a release price nearly 30% lower than last year’s. The wine itself is classically built, with graphite, violets, and an almost old-school austerity that promises evolution.

Mouton Rothschild is the flamboyant sibling this year, showing spice, richness, and serious depth—but priced smartly. Margaux is a perfumed dream; ethereal and precise. Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion are cerebral and architectural—wines to watch age beautifully.

Among the Seconds, Pichon Baron and Pichon Lalande are two of the most complete wines of the campaign—seductive yet structured. Montrose in Saint-Estèphe is a powerhouse, built for the long haul. Ducru-Beaucaillou is dark and silky, one of the top buys in Saint-Julien.

With these kinds of cuts and this level of quality, the First and Second Growths are not vanity purchases this year—they’re strategic ones.

Top Value Buys to Watch

Here’s where you should be putting your money:

• Château d'Armailhac: Always a Pauillac bargain, but this year it’s next-level. Classic pencil shavings, cassis and grip. Age-worthy.

• Château Branaire-Ducru: Sleek, perfumed, and precise. Underpriced for its Saint-Julien class.

• Domaine de Chevalier Rouge: Gravitas and grace. One of the most consistent performers in Pessac.

• Château Capbern: Owned by Calon Ségur. Serious Saint-Estèphe for a song.

• Château Gloria: Textbook Saint-Julien polish with real flesh and flair.

• Château Laroque: Limestone-driven Saint-Émilion purity. Transparent and vibrant.

White wines?

• Château Carbonnieux Blanc: Zesty, tropical, and a joy to drink early.

• Domaine de Chevalier Blanc: One of the greatest white wines in France, full stop. This vintage is layered and age-worthy.

Who Should Be Buying?

Collectors looking to stock the cellar with wines that will drink beautifully in 7–15 years. Sommeliers who need freshness and versatility. Even casual drinkers ready to step into the Bordeaux world without burning a hole in the wallet.

This is not a trophy-hunter’s vintage—it’s for those who love wine. If 2022 was the peacock, 2024 is the falcon: lean, elegant, razor-sharp.

Final Thoughts

En Primeur can be a gamble. But when pricing aligns with quality, that’s the moment to pounce. And 2024 Bordeaux is that moment. Smart buyers will look past the hype cycle and into the glass—because what’s in there, this year, is quietly brilliant.

Bordeaux has taken a deep breath. The wines are balanced. The prices are realistic. And if you’ve been circling the market, waiting for the winds to shift? The time is now.

Get in early. These birds won’t stay in the barrel forever.