Château d’Issan is a Third Growth (1855) from Margaux, sourced largely from its enclosed “clos” of gravel over clay. The 2025 is still a barrel sample, but the early consensus is that it combines the vintage’s concentration with the estate’s usual Margaux poise. The château itself calls 2025 a “sunny, precise and vibrant” year, “built for long aging” yet “already irresistibly seductive” young.
Several reviewers delivered excellent early scores. James Suckling rates it **96–97**, calling it “tight and juicy… with a creamy texture and a crunchy finish,” and “refined for the vintage, with plenty of character and length.” Antonio Galloni (Vinous) is similarly enthusiastic at **94–96**, describing a wine that is “inky and racy to the core,” with “crème de cassis, menthol, licorice, cloves, gravel and mocha,” finishing “sumptuous and seamless with exceptional balance… a real stunner.” Decanter’s **95** also stands out for its confidence in the wine’s build: “I love the texture – streamlined, focused, detailed, so smooth and sophisticated,” adding that it offers “a lot of wine without much weight at all,” with “potential upscore in bottle.”
Aromatic signatures across the notes lean classical Margaux—violets and iris (Decanter), rose buds (Jane Anson), graphite and tilled soil (The Wine Palate)—but with a darker, more muscular undertow in 2025. Jane Anson (95) flags “the austerity of a wine that is constructed with a future in mind,” noting 3.63 pH and harvest from September 11–23, with 50% new oak. Decanter reports a similarly low yield (29 hl/ha) and notes small portions of Cabernet Franc and Malbec in the blend.
Not every note suggests immediate charm. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (90–92) finds it “spicy” and “quite introverted,” built on an “assertive tannic frame,” and expects it to “gain in elegance and harmony with élevage.” Overall, 2025 d’Issan looks firmly structured, detailed, and built to age.
