Cheval Blanc 2025 released en primeur
Cheval Blanc 2025 was released in the fledgling Bordeaux en primeur campaign on Monday (11 May), and was offered by UK merchants at around £2,010 per six bottles in bond (IB).
Rated 96 points by Decanter’s Georgie Hindle, Cheval Blanc 2025 represents one of the smallest vintages on record at the St-Emilion property – which could be a factor for collectors considering whether or not to purchase en primeur.
UK merchant Farr Vintners said it was the smallest Cheval Blanc vintage since 1961, except for 1991 when the wine wasn’t made.
Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, said Cheval Blanc was consequently releasing ‘all produced wine en primeur – Cheval Blanc will not hold back their usual third of production for ageing’.
It said the ex-négociant price on Cheval Blanc 2025 was €336 per bottle, up 20% year-on-year – although last year’s price was the lowest at en primeur since 2008.
Corney & Barrow reported 55,000 bottles of Cheval Blanc 2025 were produced, versus 128,000 in 2023. It added that the 2025 was cheaper than other recent, high-quality vintages, except for 2020.
‘Although the release price falls above our target price range, we believe this high quality wine deserves the attention of followers of the estate.’
Based on recent Decanter analysis of Cheval Blanc back to the 2014 vintage, using Liv-ex Market Price data, the 2025 en primeur offer is below the 11-vintage average price from 2014 to 2014, which was £4,243 at the time of publication.
Early days for the campaign
It remains early days for this year’s Bordeaux en primeur campaign, with only a few wines so far released.
Châteaux must balance a challenging market picture against a highly regarded – yet small – 2025 crop.
It won’t make or break the merchant’s year, but there are clearly still buyers who enjoy purchasing en primeur, he said.
Geraint Carter, of international merchant Bordeaux Index, said Pontet-Canet sold ‘reasonably well’, although he said the price was still on the high side – dampening the potential for wider interest.
L’Evangile and Fieuzal out of the blocks
Pomerol’s L’Evangile, which is part of Domaines Baron de Rothschild (Lafite), also released its 2025 vintage en primeur this week. Liv-ex said the wine was €96 per bottle ex-négociant, which is flat on last year’s release price.
Decanter’s Hindle rated L’Evangile 2025 at 96pts.
UK merchants offered the wine at around £582 (6x75cl IB), and Farr Vintners said that represents the lowest release price since 2014.
‘This [is] a welcome return to realistic pricing for one of the big names of Pomerol,’ it said.
Switching the focus to Pessac Léognan, Château de Fieuzal 2025 could be a value proposition to watch.
Rated 94pts for Decanter by Bordeaux expert Panos Kakaviatos, Château de Fieuzal 2025 red was offered in the UK at around £140 (6x75cl IB).
