Decided to do a little appreciation post of some of the wines that have stuck with me the most throughout 2025. To be fair, it was quite hard narrowing it down to eight wines, so I'll also do a few honorable mentions.
In no specific order / ranking:
1) Belluard / Ganevat Eponyme 2020
A wine that carries so much emotion. Not only because it comes from the late and great Belluard in Savoie, who tragically isn't with us anymore, but also because this 2020 vintage was "rescued" and finished by no other than the equally great JF Ganevat. Glacial, alpine air, elegance, fine tuned reduction, minerality in spades, a fine long finish. Had my wine buddy in tears. Just beautiful! Proves that great wine doesn't have to be "big wine".
2) Patrick Desplats Epona 2022
I usually refer to Patrick Desplats as the very embodiment of natural wine. Go look up Aaron Ayscough's or Troppo Giovanes covering and amazing photos of Desplats' winery, if you're not yet familiar with him. Epona 2022 is Pat doing his field blend magic, resulting in a bright, structured, serious, and yet juicy light red that carries electric notes of crunchy red berries, mild VA, wild herbs, bell pepper, and earthiness. Natural wine at its raw, stunning core.
3) La Tournelle Savagnin de Voile 2012
Pheeew, this wine really has stuck with me ever since tasting it this summer, not knowing what to really expect as l'm not a die hard fan of oxidative whites. But oh boy, what a wine. Probably the most elegant and well-balanced white Jura I had this year, without losing that tension and ever lasting finish we all love. Softly oxidative notes of walnut, crushed sea shells, ginger, fresh green pear, pomelo, salted lemon. Being a 13 year old wine, this was as fresh as a daisy and could age for another decade!
4) Hirotake Ooka Cornas 2015
Hirotake Ooka is a natural wine legend at this point, having run his famous domaine La Grande Colline in the Rhone up until 2017. He now recides and makes wine as well as Amanatsu in Japan. This Cornas 2015 was an insane take on a Cornas, being one of the most complex and dazzlingly great reds of the year. Wild and soily black currant, brined raspberry, freshly ground black pepper, earthiness, stems, green olive, smoke, a subtle kiss of leather (brett). Absolute madness of a Syrah, with everything just in its right (wild) place.
5) Labet En Chalasse V2 2020
I'm guessing most in this forum know Labet's intense and big wines, so I'll just dive right in. En Chalasse V2 was oh so young, yet you could already sense what an imperious wine it already is. Felt like two wines were put into one bottle! Fresh white peaches, cherry plum, salted lemon, limestone, lemon curd, grapefruit, homemade butter. High acidity, high viscosity. Saline and slightly creamy finish. This wine will be a monster in 5 – 7 years.
6) Olivier Lejeune – Poiesis 24 mois 2020
Since doing his first vintage of Poiesis in 2017, Lejeune has caught quite a bit of attention. This wine comes from the neighbouring plot of Richard Leroy's Les Noëls de Montbenault. Stunning from the very first sip, this 2020 version of Poiesis, which is aged an extra 12 months in oak without topping up, is ready to go with a complex mix of textural finesse, stony minerality, delicate oxidation, as well as the custard apple signature of Chenin Blanc. Elegant, yet very energetic. On the day of tasting, it beat Ganevat's 2015 vintage of Les Gryphees, which is only a testament to Olivier's undeniable talent.
7) L'Arbre Blanc Les Orgues 2018 (18/20)
The region of Auvergne has slowly but surely cemented itself as one to remember, with Fred Gounan, Patrick Bouju, Aurelièn Lefort and a few more putting out volcanic wines with a lot to say. In this case, Gounan has produced a Pinot full of volcanic energy. In an enticing fusion between wildness and beauty, Les Orgues is brimming of roses in bloom, flinty spice, crunchy raspberries, vanilla pods and homemade strawberry sauce. So much energy and a fine, stemmy structure curled into a long finish. Like a naturally made Chambolle Musigny from volcanic soil!
8) Alexandre Chaillon Vitrail (18/19)
It's incredible to think that Alexandre Chaillon made his first vintage in 2018, along with this specific wine being a sort of an "entry level" bottling. Very far from anything resembling entry level, Vitrail delivers luxurious notes of freshly baked brioche, cream, crunchy and baked red apples, yellow pear, wet stones, delicate earthiness. Fine mousse, yet full bodied and so persistent on the palate. Can't wait to taste more of Chaillon's champagnes.
Very honorable mentions:
1) Stephane Bernaudeau Les Ongles 2020
2) Benoit Rosenberger Loup des Vignes 2019
3) Andreas Tscheppe Grüne Libelle 2020
4) Domaine de Saint Pierre Les Gaudrettes 2022
5) Corentin Houillon Force of Nature 2021
6) Strohmeier Weiss No. 12 Trauben, Liebe und Zeit NV
7) Domaine Lajibe Serres Seques 2019
8) L'Arbre Blanc Les Fesses 2018 / L'Arbre Blanc Les Orgues 2021
9) Ganevat Montferrand Chardonnay 2015 / Ganevat Les Gryphees VV 2015
10) Patrick Desplats Fleur 2022
What were your favourite wines of 2025?
by moonvibe1
4 Comments
Completely agree with Eponyme being an emotional wine in more ways than one. I have a few more bottles of that, in addition to Dom’s 2018 Les Perles du Mont Blanc, which is drinking so fucking well right now. Have you had the chance to try that? Also, strongly recommend Domaine Montessuit for further explorations of Gringet. Both the Jonquille and Ayze grand cru MT.
I think both Eponyme and Les Perles from Belluard were on my list, in addition to Lahaye Millesime 2014, Mark Angeli La Lune 2022, and Rutissons Verdesse 2023. I think others deserve to be mentioned, but that’s all I can think of in this moment.
Ooka’s Cornas is on my absolute hit list. Envious!
Eponyme is outrageous at the moment.
1. Claude Bernard, A la Godare 2015
1. Renaud Boyer, Saint Romain 2018
Apart from that I had a nice white emidio Pepe, really enjoyed the trousseau carbonic from Tissot and Francois de Nicolay savigny les beaune 2020.
Nice! I had another cuvée of Chaillon, which I really loved. Too bad his wines are hard to find.
Here’s my top 5:
1. Mizuiro 2013 – Kenjiro Kagami
Incredible wine that still felt young in a way. It’s multidimensional and a true wine of emotion. I had high expectations for the bottle and expected to be disappointed, but it ended up being the best wine I’ve ever had.
2. Loup des Vignes 2019 – Benoit Rosenberger
Benoit makes Gamay on a whole different level. It’s probably one of my favorite red wines (so much so, I bought 12 bottles) with such purity of fruit and that lovely smokiness that is so particular to the Auvergne terroir.
3. Puits Saint-Pierre 2022 by Philippe Chatillon
Electric and huge Savagnin. This needs another 5/10 years. I had the chance to drink this at the domaine while doing a tasting, and it definitely stood out. Even Philippe said this 2022 was amongst his best works.
4. Bourgogne Aligoté 2021 by Renaud Boyer
This is also because of the setting, as I was sipping on this on a warm day, watching the sunset over the ocean. But it’s such a precise and super drinkable aligoté. I’ve had many of Renaud’s wines, but the aligoté is just as awesome as many of his other cuvées.
5. Terres Blanches 2021 by Stephane Bernaudeau
I’m a huge Bernaudeau fan, and his Terres Blanches is certainly my favorite cuvée (despite Nourrissons being the higher level one). It’s so floral, fresh, and vibrant.
Special mentions:
Pierres Noires 2024 by Jean Maupertuis
It’s always impressive when a winemaker makes a huge wine out of a tough vintage, but that’s exactly what Jean was able to do. It’s got the signature smokiness while being super fresh and bright. For 18 euros, it’s certainly one of the best values on the market.
Els Jelipins
Whether it’s the red wine or the rosé, these wines are stunning. Gloria keeps surprising me, vintage after vintage. I’ll never have enough in the cellar.