Geoffrey Dean's top 10 wines of 2025 (with a distinct Southern bias)
Covering the Ashes series in Australia for The Times, wine and cricket writer Geoffrey Dean, suddenly found lots of time on his hands as the five-dayers turned into two-dayers! Here he reflects on the past 12 months – a year which once again had a Southern bias – where not only did Dean cover a lot of ground in Australia, but also managed to make some great discoveries in South America and South Africa.
2nd January 2026 by Geoffrey Dean
,Avignonesi, Poggetto di Sopra, Vino Nobile Montepulciano DOC 2021, 14% abv
From biodynamically-farmed vines that were planted in the Caprile vineyard in the 1970s, this is a classically pure expression of top-end Tuscan Sangiovese. Floral, herbal and spicy aromas accompany glorious red fruit on the palate - notably cherry, mulberry and plum, with hints of hazelnut and chocolate. Possessing earthy complexity with firm but well-integrated tannins, this multi-layered Montepulciano will age gracefully if you can resist it now.
Bodega Colomé, Altura Maxima Malbec 2022, Calchaqui Valley, Argentina
The fruit for this iconic Malbec comes from the highest vineyard for black grapes in the world: Colomé’s Altura Maxima site of 3,111 metres, which was planted on limestone and granitic soils, and produces a floral wine with a genuine sense of place. Elevage is 24 months in third and fourth fill barrels, with French winemaker Thibaut Delmotte declining to employ any new oak. Dried mountain herbs, white pepper and savoury spices assail the senses before notes of blue and dark fruit, elderberries, tar and violets coat the palate. Fine, chalky tannins and racy acidity will allow this great wine to age gracefully.
Chapel Down, Kit’s Coty Blanc de Blancs 2019, English Sparkling Wine 12% abv
A highly impressive English sparkling wine from prized Chardonnay vines in the 100-acre Kit’s Coty vineyard on the Kent Downs. Spending three and a half years on the lees, and with a dosage of 7.5 g/l and a pH of 3.07, this has marked autolytic notes with biscuit, toast and brioche. Head winemaker Josh Donaghay-Spire take a bow. Noble traditional method bubbly to rival distinguished Champenois labels.
Joelle Weiss
Champagne Jacquart, Blancs de Blancs 2018, Champagne, 12.4% abv
Six years on the lees for this terrific vintage Jacquart that ticks all the boxes and more. The Chardonnay fruit came from premier and grand cru vineyards in Chouilly, Cramant, Oger and Villers-Marmery. Winemaker Joelle Weiss revealed that 75% of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation, with dosage of 6.5g/l achieving ideal balance. No barrel fermentation as is the policy at Jacquart. “What makes this Blanc de Blancs quite different from previous vintages is the feeling of natural beauty and delicacy,” Weiss told me. “That’s why I describe it as an impression of luminous elegance, natural grace and charisma. It has style after many years of high concentration and high fruit.” White flowers on the nose with mango, pineapple and citrus on the palate.
Château Lafon-Rochet, Grand Vin 2016, Saint-Estèphe, 14% abv
From one of Bordeaux’s best vintages this millennium, the Medoc fourth growth has come up trumps with this blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Intensely perfumed, with aromas of lavender, mint, cigar box and subtle oak-derived cedar and pencil shavings. Beguiling black fruits, with a thread of blue fruit, merge beautifully together in this complex wine, with its polished tannins and firm structure. The Sainte-Estèphe estate, now owned by Jacky Lorenzetti, the Racing 92 rugby club proprietor, continues to impress with new MD Vincent Bache-Gabrielsen at the helm.
Forest Hill, Block 5 Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, Mount Barker, Western Australia, 13.8% abv
From the Mount Barker sub-region of Great Southern, in the South West Australia wine zone, comes a top-notch Aussie Cabernet Sauvignon from an especially good vintage. Forest Hill has long had a reputation for producing superb examples of the varietal, with their very low-yielding, dry-grown vines planted back as far back as 1965. Winemaker Guy Lyons employed 25% new hogsheads with élevage of 12 months. Beautifully balanced with fine-grained tannins, it has a mix of blue and black fruit, with earthy notes of cassis, clove and tobacco. Throw in a graphite line and exceptional length, and you have a formidable wine.
Paul Nelson Wines, Loam Chardonnay 2023, Denmark, Western Australia, 12% abv
Paul Nelson, helped by wife Bianca, makes a superb range in Denmark, another sub-region of Great Southern. The Loam Chardonnay is one of Australia’s best examples of the varietal, and worth every penny of its £125 retail price. White peach, lemon and pink grapefruit notes all dance across the palate, with hints of toasted cashew and clotted cream adding complexity. Racy acidity and a saline tang linger on a very long finish.
Dan and Bill Pannell at Picardy
Picardy, Tête de Cuvée Pinot Noir 2022, Pemberton, Western Australia, 13.5% abv
Master winemaker Bill Pannell, in partnership with son Daniel, has crafted a Pinot Noir that is as good as any I’ve tasted in Australia. The sage of Australian wine critics, Ray Jordan, with over 40 years of writing under his belt, gave the wine 99 points, describing it as “something very special - the pinnacle of the Pannell family’s quest for great Pinot Noir.” To reach it, Bill introduced as many as 11 Burgundian clones, six of which he says came ‘from a selection massale that we did from a friend’s grand cru vineyard in Corton.’ The cost of putting these cuttings through Australian quarantine cost the Pannells £15,000. Minute attention to detail in the family’s cool climate Pemberton vineyards that were first planted in 1993 has contributed to Picardy’s inexorable rise in quality. Daniel’s obsession with oak has also paid dividends with multiple toast regimes from seven different French forests and 40 different coopers having been tried. New oak is never more than 25%, with Picardy’s elegant but intensely concentrated fruit allowing its full expression, which is more Burgundian in style than New World. Dark cherry and plum notes with hints of earthy forest floor, truffle, spice and graphite. Complex with relentless length.
Pikes, The Merle Riesling 2025, Clare Valley, South Australia, 11.5% abv
2025 was the second driest on record in the Clare Valley, rendering it one of the most challenging of recent years, but the celebrated Polish Hill River estate managed to produce a Merle to rival the best. Named after owner Andrew Pike’s mother, this comes from the pick of the Riesling fruit. Joyously perfumed with aromas of frangipani, lime zest and citrus blossom, the palate exhibits notes of talc-like minerality and ground ginger with a taut acid backbone. A long, briny finish to a very serious wine that is compelling in its intensity and finesse. Winemaker Steve Baraglia deserves much credit.
Simonsig Family Vineyards, Langbult Steen Old Vine 2024, Stellenbosch, 13% abv
Not just a top South African Chenin Blanc (aka Steen in SA) but THE top one in this year’s Decanter World Wines Awards. Third generation winemaker Michael Malan crafted this classic Western Cape version of the varietal from vines in the Langbult single vineyard planted in 1987 on weathered shale at 100-150m. Five pickings at different ripeness levels were made with each one barrel-fermented separately. Elevage was in 300l and 400l French barrels, of which 20% were new and 30% second fill. Complex aromas of orange blossom, dried apricot and ginger spice give way to notes of white pear, melon and green apple. A streak of minerality as well light creamy texture from lees contact in barrel is apparent in this multi-layered wine that has notable freshness (pH 3.22) and length.