2015 Saint Émilion: 4 Wines I Bought — Only 2 I’d Buy Again

Ten years ago, I bought four 2015 Saint-Emilion en primeur. Today, they cost between roughly 60 and 90% more. But now that they are finally entering their drinking window, would I actually buy them again? The 2015 vintage arrived with enormous expectations. After the extraordinary 2009 and 2010 vintages, collectors have waited several years for another truly red right bank vintage. And when 2015 arrived, Saint-Emilion delivered. The wines were rich, polished, and immediately seductive. Critics loved them. Collectors wanted them. But there was one problem. The prices were already ambitious. I bought several of the wines en primeur in spring 2016. Among them were four estates I have followed for years. Figeac and Château Beauséjour, Éric Durfort, Château Four Lafleur, which I bought for around 90 US dollars each, and Château La Gaffelière and Château Beauséjour Bécaud, which I bought for around 55 US dollars each. Today, all four are beginning to show what 2015 promised, but they have evolved very differently and their prices have moved differently too. So in this video, I will look back at how these 4 wines have developed, explain which style each one offers today, and tell you which I would actually buy again at current prices. And before we begin, while you are still discovering your preferences, buy 3 or 6 bottles, rather than a full case of 12, a cellar should evolve alongside your taste. The 2015 Vintage in Saint-Emilion First, a few words about the vintage. 2015 was one of the great modern Saint-Emilion vintages. The growing season was warm and generous. A favorable spring accelerated the vine cycle. Then, a dry, sunny summer concentrated the fruit without pushing the vineyards into the extremes seen in some hotter years. Well-timed rain in August helped relieve water stress, and the harvest arrived under excellent conditions. The resulting wines were rich and polished, with ripe fruit, silky tannins, and generous alcohol levels that often approached 14.5%. Yet the best examples remained remarkably balanced. That combination is important. The wines were attractive from the beginning, but the top classified rows also had enough structure and concentration to age for decades. Today, around 10 years old, many are just beginning to enter a particularly interesting phase. The fruit is still generous, but the tannins are softening, and the personality of each estate is becoming much clearer. Compared with 2016, the contrast is striking. 2015 is warmer, broader, and more generous. 2016 is tighter, fresher, and more classically proportioned. Both are excellent, but they speak very different languages. 2018 is probably the closest stylistic relative to 2015. It was another warm, sun-driven vintage. The wines are opulent, plush, and immediately appealing, with plenty of ripe fruit and rich 2019 shares some of that warmth too, but for me, the best 2019s often show slightly more freshness and tension, helped by improved vintage management during periods of heat. That makes 2015 particularly interesting today. It is now mature enough to reveal more complexity, but still useful enough to retain the richness that made the vintage so attractive from the start. Now let's get into the wines. Colforte 2015 Colforte sits on Saint-Emilion's famous limestone plateau. And in a warm vintage like 2015, that terroir matters enormously. The limestone health preserves freshness and gives the wine the mineral tension that keeps all that ripe fruit under control. The nose is rich and expressive with plum, blackberry, chocolate, violet, incense, sea cedar, and a cool menthol lift. The palate is broad and varied, combining dark fruit and espresso richness with vibrant acidity, graphite minerality, and a long, dry finish. This is the most luxurious wine of the four. It is flamboyant, generous, and deeply selective. But what impresses me is that the richness never becomes heavy. The limestone freshness keeps the wine remarkably composed. At this early stage of its drinking window, the wine is already immensely appealing. Yet it has more than enough structure to evolve for many years. In short, flamboyant, seductive, and seamless. The blend is 88% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Cabernet Franc. I bought the 2015 Empremeur for around 90 US dollars. Today, it sells for approximately 150 dollars. Would I buy more? Probably yes, although at around 145 dollars, the 2019 is also extremely tempting. Château Beauséjour, Héritier, Defaut Lagaros, 2015. Beauséjour Defaut Lagaros gives us a completely different expression of 2015. Where Flou Fouquet is seductive, this wine is more imposing. The nose is dark and brooding, with black cherry, black currant, blueberry, violet, graphite, licorice, and smoky, earthy notes. The palate is full-bodied and powerful, with ripe plum, dark berry fruit, and chocolate, supported by firm, bevety tannins and a long, chalky mineral finish. This is the most muscular wine of the four. There is real depth, real structure, and the sense that the wine is still holding something back. It has shed much of the tightness of its youth, but I still think its best years are ahead. For collectors who enjoy powerful, structured Saint-Emilion, this is probably the most compelling wine in the group. In short, brooding, powerful, and majestic. The blend is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. I bought the 2015 En Primaire for around 90 US dollars. Today, it is approximately 170 dollars. Would I buy more? Probably not. Not because I doubt the quality, but at around 150 US dollars, I would rather buy the 2019 Chateau Le Gaffelier 2015. Le Gaffelier takes us in another direction again. Its position on clay limestone slope gives the wine a cooler, more refined character than many of the more powerful 2015 Saint-Dominions. The nose is elegant and savory, combining ripe dark fruit with tobacco, truffle, earthy notes and gentle spice. The palate is finely structured and energetic, with fresh acidity, sandy tannins, and a chalky mineral character that brings remarkable poise. For me, this is the most graceful wine of the four. It never tries to overwhelm you. Instead, it relies on balance, freshness, and finesse. In a vintage filled with rich, powerful wines, La Gaffelière stands apart because of its restraints. The Cabernet Franc plays an important role here too, bringing lift and aromatic freshness. Today, the wine feels beautifully composed and very close to its prime. In short, graceful, refined, and harmonious. The blend is 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. I bought the 2015 Eau Primaire for around 55 US dollars. Today, it sells for approximately 90 dollars. Would I buy more? Probably yes, although at around 85 dollars, the 2019 would also be very difficult to ignore. Château Beauséjour Becau, 2015. Finally, we come to Beauséjour Becau. And of the four wines, this is probably the easiest to enjoy today. The nose is generous and expressive with blackberry, black cherry, plum, chocolate, cedar, lavender, and subtle, earthy minerality. The palate is rich and silky with ripe dark fruit, licorice, and spice balanced with fresh acidity and a mineral lift that carries into a long, caressing finish. This is the most immediately hedonistic wine of the group. There is plenty of ripe mellow fruit, plenty of richness, but also enough freshness to prevent the wine from becoming heavy. It is plush, generous, and remarkably easy to enjoy. If you opened these four wines tonight, this may be the bottle that disappears first. In short, decadent, lush, and racy. The blend is 80% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. I bought the 2015 Imprimeur for around 55 US dollars. Today, it sells for approximately 95 dollars. Would I buy more? Probably not. For all the pleasure it offers, I would rather buy the 2018, which is currently around 80 US dollars. So, how would I choose between the four? The interesting thing is that they all are excellent wines, but they are excellent in very different ways. If I wanted pure luxury and texture, I would choose Coffauté. It is the most selective of the group, rich, seamless and polished, yet still lifted by the freshness of the limestone plateau. This is the bottle I would choose for a special dinner where I wanted the wine to make an immediate impression. If I wanted power and long-term structure, I would choose Beauséjour Liffaut Lagalus. It is the most muscular and tightly built. The wine is already impressive today, but I think it still has the most to reveal. For someone prepared to wait, this is probably the most serious long-term proposition. If I wanted elegance over power, I would choose La Gaffelière. The higher proportion of Cabernet Franc brings aromatic lift and freshness, and the wine's clay limestone terroir gives it a cooler, more precise character. For my palate, this is the most refined of the four. And if I wanted the easiest bottle to enjoy tonight, I would choose Beauséjour Miku. It is rich, generous, and immediately appealing, the least demanding, and probably the most hedonistic. But there is another question. Which one would I actually buy more of today? For me, that narrows the field considerably. I would happily buy more Clos Fortier at around 150 US dollars, and I would happily buy more La Gaffelière at around 90 US dollars. The other two are excellent wines, but at today's prices, I think their neighboring vintages offer more compelling value, and between Clos Fortier and La Gaffelière, my money would probably go to La Gaffelière. Not because it is the greatest wine of the fall, but because at around 90 US dollars, it gives me the combination I value most, maturity, finesse, and price. Ten years ago, 2015 Saint-Emilion arrived with enormous expectations. Today, I think the vintage has largely justified them. The wines are rich, they are polished, and the best are only beginning to enter the prime. The time has also changed the buying decision. Some wines that look compelling at release are less compelling at today's prices. Others have become even more interesting. And that is one of the reasons I enjoy revisiting wines after a decade in the cellar. You are no longer judging the promise. You are judging what the wine actually became. For me, Clos Forte remains the most seductive. Beauséjour Dufault Lagaros, the most powerful. Beauséjour Bécourt, the easiest wine to enjoy today. But if I were restocking my cellar with my own money, La Gafferière would be the first bottle I would buy again. If you have been drinking 2015 Saint-Emilion recently, I would love to know which wines have impressed you most and whether you would still buy them at today's prices. You will find more of my seller insights and dating notes on Instagram. Massive thanks for watching today, and I will see you in the next one.