Grands crus atlas
Area under vine at the estate, from its technical sheet — it does not change from one vintage to the next. Each vintage’s blend, by contrast, departs from it: that figures on its own page.
Relief exaggerated ×10 · elevation 10 to 20 m · average slope 2.1°
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Footprint, parcels and their split are measured on the Compagnie Médocaine’s own parcel survey; elevation, slope and aspect on the Mapbox terrain-rgb digital terrain model, derived from IGN’s RGE ALTI over France. Compare with the blend on the technical sheet, at the top of the page: the two answer different questions.
The 2025 vintage takes its place from the outset in the prestigious line of years ending in “5”. Carried by a mild, dry winter, the vineyard saw an early budbreak on perfectly drained soils, followed by a rapid and even flowering from mid-May. While the yield potential remained limited — a legacy of poor bud fertility in 2024 — the scorching summer favoured a rare concentration, producing small berries of exceptional phenolic richness. The turning point of the vintage came in early September, when welcome rains eased the water stress and brought a new suppleness to the skins. This weather window made it possible to begin a historically early harvest on 4 September, capturing the ideal balance between technological ripeness and aromatic freshness.
Situated in the communes of Margaux, Cantenac and Soussans, the Durfort-Vivens vineyard puts down its roots on deep and particularly poor gravel rises. These gravels were deposited by the successive beds of the Garonne in the Quaternary era. This great terroir gives Cabernet Sauvignon an early and optimal ripeness, allowing it to express fully the finesse and silkiness of its tannins, the guarantee of the freshness and elegance characteristic of the great Margaux wines. At Château Durfort-Vivens, the constant search for a natural balance between the vine and its terroir is reflected in traditional cultivation practices. In 2012, 80% of the vineyard was farmed biodynamically and 20% under integrated production
Alcohol, yield and vine age are those of the 2025 vintage; they vary from year to year. Only the area above stays stable from one vintage to the next.
| Vintage | Best score | Vintage character | Technical sheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 95-96 James Suckling | A dry, bright summer, tempered by cool nights, gave pure, balanced wines, more classic than sun-drenched. | fiche · PDF |
| 2024 | 94-95 James Suckling | A rainy spring and a difficult flowering reduced the crop; the dry October saved fine, light, easy-drinking wines. | fiche · PDF |
| 2023 | 97 James Suckling | July mildew followed by a hot September demanded strict selection: fleshy, aromatic wines, more approachable than 2022. | — |
| 2020 | 96-97 James Suckling | An early, hot year, with a harvest under pressure: a dense, juicy classic, ripe without heaviness. | fiche · PDF |
| 2019 | 96 Wine Advocate | A hot end of summer after a rainy spring gave wines that hold ripeness and freshness together; the cabernets shine here. | fiche · PDF |
| 2018 | 96-97 James Suckling | After a spring marked by mildew, the heat concentrated a small crop: rich, ripe wines with great depth of material. | fiche · PDF |
| 2017 | 95 James Suckling | April frost cut the crop in half: the plots that were spared give fine, classic wines, and the vintage must be judged estate by estate. | fiche · PDF |
| 2016 | 97 James Suckling | A very wet winter followed by a sun-drenched summer produced a rare balance, combining the depth of great years with genuine freshness. | fiche · PDF |
| 2015 | 97 Wine Enthusiast | A hot summer tempered by August rains gave expansive wines, with rounded tannins and generous fruit. | fiche · PDF |
| 2014 | 94 Wine Enthusiast | A gloomy summer redeemed by an Indian summer: the cabernets are radiant and the freshness is true to the Médoc. | fiche · PDF |
| 2013 | — | Coulure, mildew, then rain during the harvest: a light vintage, ready to drink. | fiche · PDF |
| 2012 | — | A late cycle closing with rain gave an uneven vintage: the cabernets hold up, the merlots remain taut. | fiche · PDF |
| 2011 | — | A scorching spring followed by a wet August turned the seasons upside down: classic wines, shorter but true to type. | fiche · PDF |
| 2010 | — | A dry summer and cool nights concentrated small berries: a benchmark vintage, with dense tannins and a thirty-year aging potential. | fiche · PDF |
| 2009 | 93 James Suckling | A sun-drenched season from start to finish gave opulent, fleshy wines, immediately appealing yet built for the cellar. | fiche · PDF |
| 2008 | — | A bright late season saved a cool summer: wines of unexpected freshness and aromatic precision. | fiche · PDF |
| 2007 | — | A cool, wet summer demanded strict selection: light, delicious wines, to be drunk young. | fiche · PDF |
| 2006 | — | Rain at véraison followed by a dry September gave classic, balanced wines with fine freshness, without the density of 2005. | fiche · PDF |
| 2005 | — | Drought without any halt in ripening, together with cool nights, gave a legendary vintage: concentrated, with firm tannins and very long aging potential. | fiche · PDF |
| 2004 | — | High yields and a dry September gave a classic, unexaggerated vintage, straightforward, now at its peak. | fiche · PDF |
| 2003 | — | The historic heatwave halted ripening in young vines: very ripe, low-acid wines, at their best in Saint-Estèphe, where the clays held on to freshness. | fiche · PDF |
| 1995 | — | A dry summer ripened the cabernets before rain arrived during the harvest: classic wines, tannic and well-structured. | fiche · PDF |
“Best score”: the highest score recorded for this wine, with its source. “Character”: the overall reading of the year across the appellation, which an estate may depart from.
Availability, allocations and terms: the Compagnie Médocaine will reply promptly. The estate and vintage are already filled in in the message.
The texts below copy in one click for your product sheets, catalogues and social channels. The printable sheet condenses the whole page onto a single A4 page.
For this vintage, the media library contains: packshots, labels. High-definition packshots, labels, back labels and lifestyle photos are reserved for clients and partners, on the Compagnie Médocaine’s VinCod media library.
Sheet checked on September 21, 2026. Technical data: the estate’s VinCod sheets. Critic scores: sources cited above, with their date. Vintage benchmarks and character: Compagnie Médocaine’s own editorial read. Soils and relief, where shown: the Compagnie Médocaine’s parcel survey and the Mapbox/IGN terrain model.
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