BORDEAUX 2025 EN PRIMEUR NOTES – FIRST TASTE Clos Cantenac & Séraphine
2025 was a hot vintage, with just the right amount of rain and welcome cool nights. These are the perfect conditions for making great red wines. Let’s hope that when the prices emerge, they are fair and the market sees some action. While people’s cellars are fit to bursting with decent, and in many cases overpriced, wines, the world is poised to see if the Bordelais can attract attention during this campaign, as the quality of the wines is unlikely to be enough. That said, there are always wines that catch my eye, and here are some beauties for your consideration.
These wines are available from Private Cellar (www.privatecellar.co.uk)
2025 Petit Cantenac, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru (approx. £198 in bond per 12 bottles; £200 in bond per 6 magnums; £78 in bond per double magnum; £155 in bond per imperial)
80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc; 13% alc.; 12000 bottles produced
As you know, I always search for wines that combine excellence with value for money, and in this vintage, there are likely to be many wines that pass muster on taste, but tracking down those that balance great flavours with fair pricing will be much harder. So, if you would like to secure some stock of a wine that ticks both boxes and is relatively forward and open, Petit Cantenac is a stellar candidate. Teasing, bright, and red-fruited, with a fresh, clean, medium-bodied stance, this is an alert, plummy, and pristine wine with the merest whisper of fine-grained tannins that will keep it upright and focused for a further decade. It is also devastating value for money. 17.5/20 (Drink 2028 – 2038)
2025 Clos Cantenac, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru (approx. £325 in bond per 12 bottles; £335 in bond per 6 magnums; £120 in bond per double magnum; £240 in bond per imperial)
100% Merlot; 13.25% alc.; 6000 bottles produced
And when you step up to the Grand Vin, you wonder what more could be added to the Petit Cantenac model to make it even more alluring! The answer is a much lower engine thrum of fruit flavours, with a more centred and serious aura throughout. Again, this is a fabulously fresh wine, with fit tannins and a sense of toned, perfectly ripe fruit. Instead of scale and impact, there is intricacy and detail. With each passing year, this wine becomes more irresistible and essential. It now plays with the big-named wines, but without a big-named price. Do not miss out. 18.5/20 (Drink 2042 – 2050)
2025 L’Innocence de Séraphine, Pomerol (approx. £160 in bond per 6 bottles; £170 in bond per 3 magnums; £125 in bond per double magnum; £250 in bond per imperial)
70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc; 13.5% alc.; 2100 bottles produced
This wine is a game of two halves. At once, the nose is more overtly luxurious and succulent than the notes you find on the Clos Cantenac pair; however, the finish slams shut with fabulous, rigid tannins and an impressive sense of coolness and reserve. While this is a second wine, it has the poise and presence of a Grand Vin, and this means you must treat it as such. Do not dive in too early, no matter how innocent it initially appears. It is far more serious than many, and it will track a similar lifespan, too! 17.5+/20 (Drink 2040 – 2048)
2025 Château Séraphine, Pomerol (approx. £520 in bond per 6 bottles; £535 in bond per 3 magnums; £375 in bond per double magnum; £750 in bond per imperial)
90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc; 13.5% alc.; 4400 bottles produced
And then we come to the pinnacle of the quartet, and it was not what I was expecting. In fact, it takes the model of its second wine and builds immeasurably in two main areas. Firstly, the perfume is even more floral and ethereal, making it utterly fascinating. And then the palate is even more regimented and savoury, leading to a formal, mineral-soaked finish. This will easily be the longest-lived wine under this label, and with admirable refinement and control, I anticipate it unfurling into a stunning creation over the next two decades. 18.5+/20 (Drink 2042 – 2052)