Bordeaux 2015s revisited

In late 2017, Decanter's Bordeaux correspondent Jane Anson re-assessed this fêted vintage when she tasted extensively across the region’s recently bottled wines

Jane Anson retastes wines from this fêted vintage now they are in bottle

THE FIRST TASTE in bottle of a big Bordeaux vintage is always exciting. And 2015 is no exception. It was one of those years where the buzz started early, as the grapes were coming in, and built through to the en primeur tastings.

The wines were acclaimed, especially from the Right Bank and southern Médoc; this was the year where Bordeaux’s oenology school said: ‘All five conditions necessary for a great red wine vintage in Bordeaux were perfectly aligned.’

In fact, the 2015 vintage was a little more complicated than was generally reported at the time, particularly in the northern Médoc appellations of St-Julien, Pauillac and St-Estèphe.

For instance, St-Estèphe saw 118mm of rain in September, compared to an average of just 35mm across the rest of the region, with AC Médoc around Bégadan and upwards closer to 150mm in places (more, incidentally, than fell in 2017).

The small showers in August were essential after an extended dry summer, but those in September were more complicated, and meant more uneven results than had been expected. Luckily cool nights and a return to sustained sunshine meant the worst outcomes were avoided, but the results were not as uniformly good as 2016; and in some cases not as good as 2014.

On the positive side, the more austere tannins on some northern Médocs, which were apparent at en primeur, have been made more supple and enticing by skilful winemaking and maturation. But there are still some fluctuations in quality.

While Pessac-Léognan has also produced some outstanding wines in 2015, the stand-out Left Bank appellation is Margaux. In fact, it shone even more brightly in bottle than it did at the en primeur stage. I remember being blown away by Château Margaux at the time, and it has more than lived up to its promise during ageing. Moreover, several châteaux in Margaux have made what may be their best-ever wines. I'd put Cantenac Brown and Prieuré-Lichine in this list but there are plenty of others in the 93+ category.

Generally, the acidities are a little higher than in 2009 or 2003, which means less immediately flattering and voluptuous wines. The exception to this are some really gorgeous wines from Pomerol, Fronsac and many in St-Emilion.

As a rule, Merlot was extremely successful in 2015. This was most true when sited on the clays of Pomerol or the clay-limestone of St-Emilion. Most of my 100-point wines in 2015 therefore come from Pomerol and St-Emilion, confirming the view that it is more of a Right Bank vintage.

In general, the best wines from both banks will be long lived. Interestingly, a number are already closing down, similar to 2005 – although not as much as 2010 did at this stage. At the same time, many will also be ready in the next few years.

Certainly, the 2015s provided some muchneeded good news for the châteaux and the merchants after the more difficult vintages of 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. That was certainly reflected in some ambitious pricing of the wines. Using data from fine wine platform Eleanor Wine, the 2015 wines were up by an average of 22.7% from 2014, with price rises seen even up in St-Julien (+21.5% from 2014 on average), Pauillac (+29.5%) and St-Estèphe (+18.9%).

Bordeaux as a whole followed its usual trick of ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’, so it was always going to be interesting if they could justify this in bottle. So if you’re buying today, some prices have risen steeply – but by no means all, with many hardly budging. A few have even dropped slightly.

Liv-ex has recently compiled a list of estimated market prices for the top Bordeaux 2015 wines, comparing them to en primeur release prices.

It records the highest rise for Château Canon in St-Emilion, then Carruades de Lafite, up 100%. It’s a very good Carruades, but not as successful in 2015 as Petit Mouton, up 73% in the Liv-ex chart.

Château Margaux, my only 100-point Médoc 2015, is also up 73% from its en primeur release price – the fifth-biggest riser, according to Liv-ex. If you can afford it, you won’t be disappointed.