[NEW SERIES!] Buy Now: 'Fresh and Elegant' Bordeaux 2015
‘Buy Now’ is a new series on JamesSuckling.com geared toward helping our readers choose from wines currently available on the market that we rated 93 points or higher. Although they’re usually a step up in price from our ‘Great Value’ picks, they should still fit handily within any modest wine budget. The various categories are neatly bundled by vintage, but we’re choosing these vintages and categories with great care. First up: Bordeaux 2015.
The 2015 vintage in Bordeaux had producers, wine lovers and critics across the world excitedly on edge when it was first introduced from barrel. It was hailed as the next great modern vintage, following the compelling 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2010.
Right bank appellations shined in 2015, particularly Pomerol and St. Emilion. After tasting the wines en primeur, James found that the wines possessed a “unique ripe fruit character that remains cool and fresh.” This character remained consistent in the bottled versions of the wines when James tasted nearly 1,300 of them in Bordeaux a couple of years later. “It was clearly a great Right Bank year,” James said. Wines from the Left Bank with a significant proportion of merlot also excelled.
The wines took on a structure and seriousness through aging in barrel, with a notably positive effect on Left Bank wines. Pessac-Léognan and Margaux especially impressed. Wineries to the north of Margaux faced difficulties with interspersed rains in August, September and October, although many of the top wineries still made excellent wines.
2015s have more freshness and elegance compared with the more tannic 2010s and the ripe and powerful 2009s. The best wines display slightly higher acidity and lower alcohol and have a very fine tannin frame. This makes them approachable while young as well as having the structure to improve with age.
Overall, the vintage illustrated a new sensibility in Bordeaux – a more understated style of wine with greater precision and balance. Many wineries aimed for finesse by extracting less during fermentation and maceration, and by using less new wood.
2015s are still attractively priced. They initially sold at substantially lower prices than 2016, and some bottles are still eminently affordable although prices have been increasing over the past few years, following the generally white-hot wine market.
Below are eight widely available Bordeaux 2015s for under $100 that are entering their drinkable period now in 2022 but will also reward cellaring. Some gems include Château Montlandrie Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux 2015, a fantastic-value Right Bank wine guided for a long time by the owner of Pomerol’s l’Eglise Clinet and which is transparent and a pleasure to drink now; and the Left Bank’s plush and rich Château Malescot-St.-Exupery Margaux 2015, a great wine to taste now or to cellar, currently on sale at a number of online retailers, below.
– Claire Nesbitt, Associate Editor
Château Malescot St.-Exupery Margaux 2015 – JS97
KLWines.com: $79.99
JJBuckley.com: $84.94
Zachys.com: $89.99
Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan 2015 – JS97
JJBuckley.com: $89.94
Château Giscours Margaux 2015 – JS96
JJBuckley.com: $84.94
KLWines.com: $89.99
Château Malartic-Lagravière Pessac-Léognan 2015 – JS96
Wine.com: $69.99
KLWines.com: $64.99
Zachys.com: $84.99
Château Barde-Haut St.-Emilion 2015– JS95
Wine.com: $44.99
Château Cantemerle Haut-Médoc 2015 – JS95
Wine.com: $39.99
JJBuckley.com $39.94
Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2015 – JS94
JJBuckley.com: $49.94
Château Montlandrie Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux 2015 – JS94
Wine.com: $29.99