ON THE ROAD | Bordeaux En Primeur

19 May 2026

The 67 Pall Mall team were in Bordeaux in force for the annual En Primeur week in April, visiting a string of top producers across the region to taste the nascent 2025 vintage. 

Among the producers the team visited were Châteaux Lafite, Latour, Lynch Bages, Pichon Lalande and Mouton Rothschild in Pauillac; Lascombes, Rauzan-Ségla, D’Issan, Palmer and Château Margaux in Margaux; Haut-Bailly, Carbonnieux, Smith-Haut-Lafitte, La Mission Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion and Domaine de Chevalier in Pessac-Léognan; Angélus, Figeac, Beauséjour, Pavie and Cheval Blanc in St-Emilion; and Lafleur and Vieux Château Certan in Pomerol. 

What did they find? An attractive vintage for sure – graceful power on the Left Bank, generous precision on the Right Bank. ‘Overall, the wines were very well balanced for such a hot, dry vintage,’ said Chris. ‘And while the conditions were similar to 2022, these are very different wines, defined by elegance and freshness – and very small yields, particularly on the Left Bank.’ 

‘The standout wines show lift and aromatic precision, with violet and rose notes pointing to careful extraction and well-managed ripeness rather than sheer power,’ said Paul. ‘These are wines with more energy than weight, more elegance than opulence, layered but not dense, with a fine-boned structure and tactile freshness that should translate into classical, ageworthy wines rather than blockbusters.’

Everything, then, that we are told the market wants – and in keeping with a week that showed the modern face of Bordeaux – fresh, approachable and accessible. Those same qualities shone through too in the exchanges the team had away from the tastings – whether it was sharing fries from a food truck with Saskia de Rothschild (CEO of Domaines Baron de Rothschild (Lafite)); Léoville-Barton’s Irish-pub-themed 200^th birthday party; or dancing the night away to DJ Martin Solveig at the Commanderie du Bontemps closing party. 

And, most significantly of course, at our Club – as embryonic as the 2025 wines, but taking shape nicely in the city centre. There, across two relaxed soirées, the Bordeaux team hosted close to 100 wine professionals over fizz, beer and canapés, offering a first glimpse of what is to come later in the year. We even placed the first 100 bottles in the Tour du Vin, with 7,400 more to follow in the coming months – laying down a marker as we cement our presence in the region.