The '5' Has Delivered: An Early Look at the 2025 Vintage for Loire Valley Cabernet Franc
No.75 | Regional Reporting
Several meters below the surface, the mood in Bourgueil’s Caves des Perrières was a mix of exhaustion and relief. It is October 17, 2024, and with all the grapes now harvested and the fermentations percolating away in their cuves after an immensely challenging vintage, it was a moment for vignerons François Delaunay, Vincent Grégoire and Thomas Gambier to descend into the depths of the tuffeau cave to take stock of the vintage and debate where 2024 might rank against past vintages by opening some older bottles from the Domaine de la Lande cellar. As François opened bottles, we discussed vintages, good, great, challenging, and everything in between, and I couldn’t help but notice a mixed look of fatigue and optimism on Thomas Gambier’s face. “Don’t worry, Allison,” he says to me as François pours everyone a taste of the domaine’s 1993 Cuvée Préstige, also a challenging vintage, “next year is a 5, and all the 5’s are great vintages.”
As history would have it, Mother Nature has delivered the Central Loire several strong “5” vintages in recent decades with 2015, 2005, 1995 and 1985 all being stellar years for Cabernet Franc from the region. And while it is still early, 2025 appears to be delivering on the promise of another great “5” vintage.
The 2025 Vintage in a Nutshell
The wet conditions that plagued the 2024 vintage continued into early 2025 with January through March seeing average to slightly above average rainfall. The winter was also a little colder than average and this delayed budbreak, which is always helpful when spring weather can be on the unpredictable side.
Thankfully the spring brought with it ideal conditions that continued from budbreak, through flowering and fruit set. Come late-May summer had seemingly arrived ahead of schedule with warmer, drier and sunnier than average conditions that continued more or less right through until harvest.
With the lower rainfall experienced in May and June, coupled with a heatwave at the end of June with several days with temperatures in excess of 40C, there were some initial concerns that vineyards might become drought stressed. But thanks to the wet conditions in 2024 and early 2025, ground water reserves were plentiful, and this, coupled with well-timed rains in July, virtually every vigneron I spoke to reported seeing no signs of drought stress in their Cabernet Franc vineyards. While the vines exhibited no signs of hydric stress, the lower rainfall did lead to slightly smaller than average berries in many vineyards and appellations.
While temperatures were warm through July and August, they were never hot nor were there prolonged periods of excessive heat, and the evening temperatures remained relatively cool, helping to slow down ripening and preserve acidities. By mid-August, many were hoping for a little bit of rain before harvest citing concerns that the dry conditions might stunt the phenolic maturities of the Cabernet Franc skins and seeds. As if right on cue, Mother Nature delivered a good douse of rain (between 35-50mm in most appellations) on August 29th, which not only “refreshed” the vines, but delivered a welcome measure of dilution ahead of harvest.
Early September brought a few well-timed showers, and many vignerons began picking their Cabernet Franc for red wines by mid-month (Sept 15 to 17th) concluding by about the 25th of September. Conditions during harvest were idyllic - a fitting close to what had been a near-flawless growing season.
Key Themes from the 2025 Vintage
In stark contrast to 2024, the 2025 vintage was, by all accounts, effortless.
While 2024 had vignerons dodging raindrops and running off their feet fighting mildew pressure left and right, most vignerons were actually able to enjoy their summer in 2025 - even if harvest's earlier than average arrival had a few of them cutting their August holidays short.
In the vineyard, Mother Nature delivered vignerons a storybook Cabernet Franc vintage in 2025, with clean, perfectly ripened fruit of impeccable quality from which they would craft their wines. And with each successive vintage of this calibre, the vignerons of the Loire have only grown more adept at rising to meet it with confidence and enthusiasm.
Uniform Quality Across Terroirs
While 2024 saw marked differences in quality from vineyard to vineyard within a given appellation, 2025 delivered rather homogeneous results. In appellations where there is a notable distinction between alluvial soils and the clay-limestone of the slopes, such as Chinon, Bourgueil and St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, in drier vintages like 2025 sometimes the alluvial soils can suffer from hydric stress, but most vignerons are reporting very consistent quality across these broad groups of soils. Benoît Amirault of Domaine Yannick Amirault noted that across his parcels in St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and Bourgueil “very high and uniform quality” from his vines from the alluvial terrace as well as the slopes. In appellations defined by limestone terroirs such as Saumur-Champigny and Saumur, the self-regulating ability that tuffeau has to hold onto moisture and release it to the vine when needed meant vineyards showed no signs of drought stress allowing for even ripening across communes and parcels.
Lower than Average Yields
If there was any downside to 2025, as is so often the case when vintage conditions are superb, there weren’t as many grapes as folks would’ve liked! Part of the reason for the lower yields in 2025 was a direct result of the challenging summer conditions in 2024. With all the rain, overcast skies and cooler temperatures in June and July 2024, there was widespread low inflorescence in vineyards in the Central Loire resulting in fewer clusters per shoot going into the 2025 season. This, coupled with the drier conditions experienced during the growing season resulted in smaller berries and lower bunch weights, which meant that yields were down by about 20-25% across many appellations with most vignerons reporting final harvest yields of around 30 to 40hl/ha on average across their vineyards.
Ripeness in All the Right Places
With the smaller than average berry size and thus a higher skin to juice ratio, there are sometimes concerns of a “tannic” vintage for reds, where no amount of time in the bottle seems to properly resolve and smooth out the tannins. In the case of 2025, several vignerons have remarked to me that they are extremely pleased with the quality of their tannins, particularly compared to similarly warm and dry vintages. Thomas Pichet of Domaine du Petit Bondieu remarked on not seeing some of the “harder” tannins found in some cuvées from vintages like 2022 or 2019, where there were signs of drought stress in the vineyards. Thierry Germain of Domaine des Roches Neuves echoed the sentiment noting his 2025 Cabernet Francs are “showing the ripe tannin quality of 2023, but with more flesh (gras).”
While the vintage was warm, sunny and dry, the well-timed rainfall during the growing season and cool nighttime temperatures allowed sugars to ripen gradually resulting in greater alignment of physiological and phenolic maturity when it came time for harvest. This, coupled with the beneficial dilution of the late August rains, meant alcohols were moderate with most vignerons noting a range of 12.5%-13.5%. Balanced alcohols alongside high acidities and low to moderate pH levels suggest that the Cabernet Francs of 2025 should offer very good aging potential over the long term.
Lessons Learned from Similar Vintages
By the numbers, the conditions experienced in 2025 were similar to vintages like 2022, 2020 and 2018. As climate change appears to be favouring Loire Valley Cabernet Franc, this track record of warmer and drier vintages in recent years has given winemakers valuable insight into how to work with their parcels and fruit to achieve better balance in the finished wines.
Matthieu Baudry of Domaine Bernard Baudry noted from experiences in 2022 and 2018 that paying “extra close attention to the harvest date” was particularly crucial to ensuring optimal balance of fruit ripeness in 2025. Arnaud Lambert also suggested that a successful 2025 vintage would require a "mindful approach to macerations and extractions." In vintages of superior ripeness, after all, the quality of the fruit can seduce even the most attentive winemaker into over-extracting.
That winemakers are drawing on years of accumulated experience to navigate these questions speaks to how far the region has come. 2025 could be the vintage that helps define what is possible for Loire Valley Cabernet Franc.
The Outlook
Based on my initial tastings and conversations with winemakers in December and February, I believe that 2025 is shaping up to be a legendary vintage for Loire Valley Cabernet Franc, perhaps even the best we have seen this century.
While the majority of wines I have tasted are a ways off from being finished and in the bottle, the wines are showing remarkably pristine, pure fruit character, lush and balanced herbal undertones, vibrant and refreshing acidities, and assertive yet pliable tannin structure with plenty of flesh and enveloping sucrocity.
The early-drinking, fruit-forward styles from across all appellations show a charming, moreish fruit character and ripe, well-managed tannins offering immediate accessibility and pleasure. The vins de garde offer concentration and density without heaviness, with a firm yet refined structure, layered fruit complexity, and lively, persistent acidities. The top cuvées parcellaires from the region’s elite vignerons will no doubt age exceptionally well for decades to come.
While it is still early days to fully evaluate the vintage, 2025 has the potential to be not only an exceptional one, but a complete one. From wines crafted for early drinking to vins de garde built for the cellar, the vintage looks set to offer something for everyone, from the curious, modern wine consumer discovering Loire Valley Cabernet Franc for the first time to the committed enthusiast or professional who has been following the region for years.
It seems Thomas Gambier's quiet confidence in the tuffeau cave has proven well-founded - the '5' has delivered. From a near-perfect growing season to wines of exceptional balance and promise, 2025 has all the hallmarks of the great vintages that preceded it, and the potential to set a new standard for greatness for Loire Valley Cabernet Franc.
