2015 BORDEAUX- Winners, Surprises & What to Open Now!

This week I had the chance to revisit two excellent wines from the 2015 vintage in Bordeaux, and it made me think it's now a good time to start enjoying your 2015s. Of course, even if you don't have any 2015 Bordeaux in your cellar currently, this video will also be useful for you if you're ordering wine at a restaurant, for example, and also if you're considering ordering some back vintages of 2015 Bordeaux to add to your So in this video, I'll briefly discuss the 2015 vintage and then consider how those wines are evolving. Of course, it's never a good idea to generalize, and that's never been more true than with respect to the 2015 vintage. Some Appalachians had one of their best vintages of all time, where other Appalachians struggled a bit due to some challenges that existed in the weather conditions around the time of harvest. So in this video, I'll explore all that and what it means for wines. But I'm also interested in hearing your thoughts, so if you've tasted a 2015 Bordeaux recently, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. The 2015 vintage started off on a strong note. There was warm, sunny weather through July, and everything was going extremely well. Producers were anticipating that this would be an early ripening vintage, and certainly the most seductive vintage since the 2009 vintage. Unfortunately, however, there were some rains that started to appear in August and which continued through the time of harvest in certain Appalachians. While this rain negatively impacted the fruit in certain Appalachians, there were other parts of Bordeaux where they were able to harvest their fruit earlier before the rains hit, or which just did not receive as much rain as some other areas. For example, 2015 was a very strong vintage on Bordeaux's right bank. Pomerol and Saint-Emilion had their best vintage since 2009. Merlot was extremely strong in 2015 as it thrived in the warm, sunny conditions. Of course, Merlot is an early ripening grape, and so many of the producers on Bordeaux's right bank were able to harvest their Merlot before the rains hit. Passac-Léonion was also a highlight in the 2015 vintage, as the rains were not as disruptive in this area as they were further north. The Médoc is where things get really interesting in 2015. In Margaux, the harvest takes place a little bit earlier than in places like Saint-Julien, Pauillac, and Saint-Estephe, and so producers in Margaux for the most part were able to harvest perfectly ripe fruit exactly when they wanted to harvest it and before they were negatively impacted by the rains. As a result, 2015 is one of the strongest all-time vintages for Margaux, and you have producers such as Chateau Margaux that arguably made one of the best wines in their entire history. As you move north from Margaux, it typically takes a little bit longer for the Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen, and unfortunately in Saint-Julien, Pauillac, and especially in Saint-Estephe, the rain started to hit before the harvest was completed. As a result, the vintage gets progressively worse as you work your way north, with Saint-Estephe being potentially the most problematic in 2015. Of course, there were still a few wineries in these Appalachians that battled the rain and were still able to make a very successful wine in 2015, but perhaps not to the same quality level as their counterparts in places like Margaux, Cassec-Léonion, and Bordeaux's Rite Bank. One of the best parts about living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is that it's a thriving market for high-end wine. As a result, many top producers visit the area throughout the year, and so members of the trade and also consumers have lots of opportunities for terrific tastings, lunches, and dinners with various wineries. This week, for example, I was able to attend trade tastings for both Pichon Longville Comtesse du Lalande and Chateau Lynchbage. Interestingly, each of these producers included a 2015 Bordeaux in their tasting lineup. Pichon Comtesse included the 2015 in a lineup that also included more concentrated, powerful vintages like 2010 and 2018. Interestingly, when I visited Pichon Comtesse back in December, they also opened the 2015 for me at that time, so it's definitely a wine that they believe is in the early stages of its drinking window, and I definitely agree with that. Compared to the more powerful, concentrated vintages like 2010 and 2018, the 2015 Pichon Comtesse is definitely a little bit more elegant and restrained, with lower alcohol by volume and a little bit more freshness and acidity. It's just now starting to develop some tertiary characteristics, so definitely if you have a number of bottles in your cellar, it's not a bad idea to check in on it. Of course, there's no rush, as this wine still has a long life ahead of it and should still cruise in your cellar for another 15 years or more. For Chateau Lynchbage, Jean-Charles Caz was in town, in addition to pouring some wines from Lynchbage and Haut-Bataille, he also opened the 2015 Hormes de Pez from Saint-Estephe. As with the Pichon Comtesse, this is a wine that was definitely a more elegant, restrained expression of Saint-Estephe. There was ample acidity and freshness, and this wine is very much in the middle of its drinking window and probably close to its peak, so certainly if you have this wine, I would not hesitate to open it. Based on these experiences and some other tastings that I've done from the past year or so, I definitely think that if you have some 2015 Bordeaux in your cellar from places like Saint-Estephe, Hoyaque, and Saint-Julien, that it's definitely not too early to start dipping your toe in the water and trying some of those wines. Of course, exceptions that I would definitely hold off on include more structured tannic wines like Montrose, Cologne Ségur, and the first growths. If you're fortunate to have a lot of wines from Margaux in your cellar, I would definitely hold off on the strongest of those wines as well. Certainly wines like Brancantinac, Chateau Palmer, Chateau Margaux, and many of the other strongest wines of that vintage have a very long life ahead of them and are nowhere near their peak yet, so I would definitely resist the temptation to open those. Many of these producers, however, did make outstanding second wines in 2015 as well, and these second wines are definitely in their drinking window. Chateau Margaux, for example, had a Pavillon Rouge that was extremely strong in 2015. I've had this wine a couple times in the past year, and it's definitely well within its drinking window. The same is true for the excellent 2015 Alter Ego from Chateau Palmer. When it comes to Pesac Leonion, I would definitely let top expressions continue to mature. This would include wines like Aubryon, Lemission Aubryon, and some others, but if you have entry-level wines or wines even in the mid-range, I would definitely not hesitate to open them, as they're definitely probably in the early stages of their drinking window as well. Personally, I'm also taking the same approach to right-bank wines in 2015. The wines from Pomerol and Saint-Emilion were outstanding. For example, a number of the entry and mid-level wines are showing extremely well already, as the Merlot is definitely extremely enjoyable, seductive, and lush, and showing extraordinarily well at this stage. Some of the high-end wines are also worth considering, however, as earlier this year, I ordered a Bel Air Ménange at a restaurant, and following an extended decant of two to three hours, I had an amazing experience with this wine, which was absolutely gorgeous. But a couple months earlier, we also tried the Vieux Chateau Sertain, and that wine definitely needs some more time and has an extremely long life ahead of it. Of course, the decision about whether or not to open one of your 2015 Bordeaux will also depend to some extent on what you have in your collection. Certainly, if you have a lot of wines from the 2011, 2012, and 2013 vintages, I would definitely drink those first. The same is true for the 2014 vintage in Bordeaux, as I found that a number of those bottles are also showing well currently. As long as I'm talking about Bordeaux from 2015, I would be remiss if I did not mention the excellent sweet wines from Sauternes and Barzac. 2015 was a terrific vintage for wines from Noblerat because the warm dry conditions, as well as the humidity and rain experienced at the time of harvest, made for ideal weather for Noblerat. Many of the wines from Sauternes and Barzac are opulent, exotic, and showing extremely well right now, but they certainly have the capacity to age for many years as well. If you'd like to learn more about Sauternes and why Sauternes is one of Bordeaux's most magical and underrated regions, please check out this video that's linked above.