Bordeaux 2025: Châteaux : L’Eglise Clinet, Ducru Beaucaillou, Troplong Mondot, Beau Séjour Bécot, Clos Fourtet and Pavie Macquin

BIG HITTERS

Unlike the recent Lord’s Test Match, we’ve got plenty of big hitters in today’s line-up. We open with a flamboyant left/right partnership of Ducru Beaucaillou and L’Eglise Clinet. Both are powerful, elegant, textbook examples, built to play a long innings.

Our top order also boasts two potential centurions in Troplong Mondot and Beau Sejour Becot. These play with power and finesse in equal measure. William Kelley described Troplong as “one of the wines of the vintage”, whilst Antonio Galloni says of Beau Sejour Becot, “The purity here is just off the charts… There are good wines, exceptional wines, and then emotional wines. Beau-Séjour Bécot falls into the third category. Unforgettable.”

Our middle order is bolstered by two formidable St Emilions: Clos Fourtet and Pavie Macquin. The former possesses exceptional limestone terroir atop the St Emilion plateau; the 2025 version has released its shackles and plays in a more expressive, less structured way. Antonio Galloni describes it as “positively stellar”! Nicolas Thienpont’s Pavie Macquin is also a class act. In the past this has been a bit unorthodox, but we’re pleased to report, this season it has rediscovered its top form.

CRITICS' NOTES

“The 2025 L'Eglise-Clinet was picked on 4 and 5 September for the Merlot and the same days plus 12 September for the Cabernet Franc; this vintage matured in 75% new oak. The aromatics are timid at first, but unfurl in the glass, revealing enticing scents of raspberry, wild strawberry, truffle oil and cedar. The oak is beautifully integrated, and it gains delineation with each swirl. The palate is medium-bodied, with fine tannins, one of the most mineral-driven L'Eglise-Clinet wines that I have tasted from barrel, gaining cohesion and poise, with perfectly judged acidity and a gentle but insistent grip on the finish. There is a verticality to this Pomerol that gives it a more cerebral slant compared to the 2022, but it is still quite delicious. That said, I would still give it a few years in bottle. 2033 – 2060”

96-98/100 Neal Martin, vinous.com

“The 2025 Ducru-Beaucaillou is fabulous. Vibrant red/purplish fruit, rose petal, lavender, mint and blood orange are all beautifully sculpted. The purity of the fruit is just remarkable. New oak is 100%, but lower toast levels and a more dialed-in approach here are palpable. Gorgeous floral and savory Cabernet top notes lift the finish. Superb, and one of the highlights of the year, Ducru is absolutely stunning in 2025. 2035-2065.”

96-99/100 Antonio Galloni, vinous.com

“Picked between August 28 and September 25 (surely one of the broadest ranges in Bordeaux this year, but logical considering the estate's different altitudes and aspects), the 2025 Troplong Mondot is one of the wines of the vintage. Exhibiting a deep bouquet of blackberries and plums complemented by floral accents of lilac, iris and subtle spices, it's full-bodied, deep and dense, with a brooding core of fruit girdled by bright acids and sweet but abundant tannins. A blend of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, it will rival the 2022, though in vintage signature the two years are very different.”

98-100/100 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate

“The 2025 Beau-Séjour Bécot continues this estate's brilliant run of vintages with what will surely number among their finest to date. A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, this compelling wine opens in the glass with a pure and incipiently complex bouquet of dark berries and plums mingled with floral accents of iris and lilac. Medium- to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a concentrated core of fruit, sweet tannin and a bright spine of animating acidity, it concludes with a long, mineral finish. Beau-Séjour Bécot's limestone terroir is front and center in the glass.”

97-99/100 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate

“The 2025 Beau-Séjour Bécot has all the requisites to take its place alongside the 2022 and the other extraordinary wines of 2025. Aromatic and layered, with striking presence, the 2025 is majestic. Deep, dark red fruit, pomegranate, mint, chalk, white pepper, rose petal and lavender soar from the glass. Bright saline notes drive through the mid-palate and into a finish marked by intense fruit and vibrant minerality. The purity here is just off the charts. Yields were 32 hectoliters per hectare. The 2025 saw a cold soak of 15 days followed by another 27 days or so on the skins, on the longer side for Bordeaux. Blending is done before the wines see oak. There are good wines, exceptional wines, and then emotional wines. Beau-Séjour Bécot falls into the third category. Unforgettable. Tasted two times. 2033-2065”

98-100/100 Antonio Galloni, vinous.com

“The 2025 Clos Fourtet is elegant, polished and super refined. Bracing mineral notes cut through a core of dark red and blue-toned fruit. Spice, mocha, new leather and licorice all meld together. Seamless and profoundly elegant, the 2025 impresses with its sensual personality, soft contours and magnificent balance. Time in the glass brings out touches of blood orange and white pepper that lend explosive brilliance through to the gorgeous, sustained finish. The team opted for cool fermentations in the cellar. Most lots saw 21-26 days on skins, which is on the shorter side. Clos Fourtet has recently shifted to doing malolactic fermentation in tank instead of in barrel, which has naturally lowered the wines' oak imprint, highlighted fruit purity and softened their contours. The 2025 is positively stellar. Tasted two times. Grand Vin.”

95-97/100 Antonio Galloni, vinous.com

“The 2025 Pavie Macquin is a powerful, structured wine. In most vintages, Pavie Macquin is sensual and silky, but the 2025 is quite tannic in this tasting. Dark-fleshed fruit, chocolate, menthol, licorice, sage and lavender add to an impression of brooding density and pure power. Floral top notes lift the close. I can't wait to see how this ages. Tasted two times.”

95-97/100 Antonio Galloni, vinous.com