My First Thoughts on 2015 Bordeaux

I have tasted about 100 wines so far in Bordeaux, and I can already say that 2015 is indeed a fantastic year, producing rich and opulent reds with ripe and velvety tannins. The wines have a lot of “wow” factor when you taste them.

The top dry whites are also bold and rich showing masses of fruit and density. Yet there’s an underlying freshness. They have the texture of great reds! 

I have not tasted any sweet wines yet, so stay tuned. 

I was trying to think what recent vintage gave me this sort of sensation when tasting barrels samples, because it’s hard to compare the 2015s to pre-2000 vintages since the wines have so much precision and focus. I have tasted every vintage from barrel in Bordeaux since 1982. The 2015s don’t seem to have the powerful, structured tannins of the 2010 or the flamboyance of the 2009. I think a comparison to 2005 or 2000 might be better. I will understand more when I taste another 500 or 600 wines over the next three weeks.

The wines are obviously marked by the very warm and dry weather for most of the growing season in 2015. Flowering was quick and consistent. The weather in June and July was very hot. July was one of the hottest ever. Drought conditions were reported for most of the region by mid-summer. Some rain at the end of July alleviated this but the warm weather continued in August despite intermittent rains through the month. It wasn’t until the end of August, beginning of September, that cool weather arrived. 

Rains the second week of September seem to be a determining factor in who made the best wines, and it appears more rain fell in the Northern Medoc than other parts. The Right Bank, specifically St. Emilion and Pomerol, stayed relatively dry.  Heavy rain was also reported the first weekend of October, but the thick-skinned cabernets left on the vines seemed less affected.

In the end, these short bursts of rain in September and October probably benefited winemakers in producing slightly less concentrated wines, or they may have produced another high-octane 2003. So far, the young wines I have tasted show balance and richness. They are fun to taste and give energy and intrigue.