Nearly there now, here we have listed 16 towering wines scoring 97 points, which will live long in the memory, two of which were in my top five wines last year - the Lafite 1996 and Cheval Blanc 1985 - what a privilege to try them again in 2025. There are four Lafites in this list among 11 Bordeaux accounting for more than two thirds of the total, confirming Bordeaux's dominance. While the 1996 Lafite is one of the greatest wines ever made, it is still a long way from being ready, and you are much better off drinking the 2000 now, which has the structure but also the accessibility to drink with enormous pleasure.
Piedmont finishes strongly with three wines in this list, with one each from Northern and Southern Rhone. The most emotional wine in this list is the Noel Verset Cornas 1995, and by far the best example of several tried over the years, a beguiling, fine-boned, ethereal bottle, better than another one in Bath in February, and even eclipsing the Verset 1998 served at that same lunch (and rated 96 pts in the previous list).
Perhaps the most thrilling wine on this list is the La Mission Haut Brion 1975, a wine I finally got to taste and it didn't disappoint, putting on a pyrotechnic display, and dominating the other - generally excellent - 1975 clarets at that dinner in March. Among the 1985 firsts growths at our dinner in November it was a photo finish between the two Rothschilds and Cheval Blanc, but on this occasion Mouton just got the nod - the best ever bottle of this wine.
Margaux 1985 was a bit below par at that dinner but at another one six months earlier in May it was imperious and hence is included in this list. At the November 1985 dinner my bottle of Latour put in a really impressive performance too (96 pts), and it reminded me of a stunning double magnum in April opened by Jono for his 40th and released from the chateau a few weeks earlier. This big format was pristine and absolutely in the perfect spot with the poise, majesty, gravitas and imprimatur of a fully mature Latour.
However the 1985 claret that thrilled me the most in 2025 was La Conseillante, at a mini vertical dinner in September; a kaleidoscopic wine, which put on a masterclass, and which still has considerable verve and energy. At our 1995 dinner a week before the 1985 dinner, Lafite was head and shoulders above all the other first growths, though Mouton impressed again on its third showing in 2025 (96 pts, previous list).
The wine I listed for the wine-pages wine of the year was a Giacosa Fratelli Barolo 1982, which I picked up for a song at auction, and had everything that is mesmerising and enthralling about seriously aged Barolo. Not to be confused with Bruno Giacosa...I am a unrelenting advocate for the 2018 Piedmont vintage and the straight Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto is the best example and just a dream come true. You could pick it up very cheaply in 2025.
At our Burlotto extravaganza back in early March, the 2020 vintage shone brightest, with the Monvigliero coming out tops, just as good as his Castelletto 2020 in 2024, these are extraordinary fleet-footed and diaphanous wines, and it is hard to fathom how they can improve, only evolve. The Chateau d'Yquem 2001 was tasted next to the 1990. They were similar, but the 2001 was superior, but staggeringly was not the best Yquem I tried in 2025 (watch this space).
Lastly a thrilling evening in the middle of nowhere in Normandy in mid-October, Michelin star dining with some sensational mushroom dishes from the surrounding forest, Chateau Rayas 2011 did not disappoint, with the fireworks starting immediately, it was a decadent but at the same time beguiling and soulful wine, easily worth the entry price.
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