As grapes are being picked across Bordeaux, the early word on the 2025 vintage is encouraging: quality looks strong, even if quantity is still catching up.

This year’s growing season brought warm, mostly dry conditions, which helped the vines stay healthy and allowed grapes to ripen evenly. Red varieties in particular are showing great color and structure, and early tastings suggest concentrated flavors with balanced tannins. Whites, too, are looking promising, especially those picked early enough to retain freshness and acidity.

But while the vines delivered, the volumes haven’t fully bounced back. Yields remain about 15% below the five-year average—partly due to heat and drought stress, but also because of vineyard reductions as Bordeaux continues to restructure production.

Adding to the pressure, U.S. tariffs are casting a shadow over the export outlook. A new 15% tariff on French wine and spirits, introduced in August, threatens to make Bordeaux wines more expensive for American buyers—just as producers were hoping to rebound from smaller vintages and global slowdowns. The U.S. is Bordeaux’s largest export market outside the EU, so the financial impact could be significant, especially for mid-range producers who rely on volume sales.

In short, the 2025 Bordeaux vintage is shaping up to be a "quality-over-quantity" year—a silver lining for wine lovers, but a complicated one for the people who make and sell the wine.

Bottom line for drinkers? Keep an eye on this vintage - it could be one to cellar. Just don’t be surprised if prices inch up, especially on U.S. shelves.