The results

Lussac was the surprise star of these four communes, but all offered affordable drinking and very good quality – when not marred by new oak. Tina Gellie reports

WhiLe The resuLTs might not immediately suggest it, our experts were impressed by this line-up from the st-emilion satellite communes of Lussac, Montagne, st-Georges and Puisseguin.

‘i’d urge Decanter readers to rush out and buy the top wines here,’ enthused Andrew Jefford. ‘2015 is a lovely vintage, and the best of the producers here did a fantastic job with it.’

stephen Brook agreed. ‘These wines have a reputation for rusticity, which is often well deserved, but i was astonished by how good some of them were.’

Tim sykes had been expecting ‘a lot of high-octane, over-extracted not particularly user-friendly wines’, but was pleasantly surprised at the overall level of quality.

The only real criticism was a lack of freshness due to the rich, ripe vintage conditions. Brook was missing ‘verve and nuance’, while sykes wanted ‘drinkability’. Jefford’s bugbear, meanwhile, was new oak. ‘The first thing you do when you’re ambitious is buy new barrels. There were a lot of exciting wines here spoiled by too much new oak. spend your money in the vineyard first.’

Lussac-st-emilion was the standout commune – a big surprise for all the judges. ‘My heart normally sinks when confronted by a line-up of Lussacs, so i had low expectations,’ said Brook. But he enjoyed both ‘lighter, graceful, stylish and moreish’ styles as well as bigger, richer and more oaky wines. ‘And with very few exceptions the wines had enough weight and richness to carry the oak.’ Jefford said Lussac impressed to such an extent that ‘we were wondering what was gong on – who has moved in as either a proprietor or a consultant! really exciting, fresh, stylish and contemporary wines.’

Montagne is the largest commune of the four, and while Jefford found some excellent wines, ‘we had to slog through some very dreary, deeply unambitious

wines and those that were mired in the past’. Brook agreed: ‘it’s the commune i think of as the most prestigious, but there were quite a few herbaceous, confected wines that were very disappointing.’ he said that was balanced out by several serious – probably more expensive – high-quality wines.

Producers in st-Georges can either label their wines as st-Georges or Montagne, and the judges felt they did ‘a fair job’. however Puisseguin’s performance divided opinion: Brook recalled a few good examples but found the majority ‘drab and dull’, while Jefford was more positive. ‘The Puisseguins didn’t have the sexy freshness of the best Lussacs, but there was always a really good core and structure to the best wines.’ he said it was worth noting that as a percentage of the total, there were more wines in Puisseguin under £15 than over £15, ‘so it’s a happy hunting ground for those looking for value’.

Brook urged consumers to remember the adage that you get what you pay for. ‘it’s worth paying that extra fiver to get a little more distinction,’ he said. ‘Most of my top wines were £15-£30. And yes, if i discover they are £28 that may be little pricey, but in the overall context of Bordeaux the best of these wines offer good value.’ sykes agreed. ‘There were some good wines under £15, but Côtes de Bourg and some Côtes de Bordeaux communes like Castillon offer better value at that price.’

sykes said most of the sub-£15 wines were ready now, particularly if decanted, while pricer, more ambitious wines could be cellared to 2025. Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their 2015 wines from the St- Emilion satellite appellations of Lussac, Montagne, Puisseguin and St- Georges

‘2015 is a lovely vintage, and the best of the producers here did a fantastic job with it’ Andrew Jefford