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Bordeaux 2015 Vintage Report- Is the Rule of Five still alive?
Introduction
Winemakers are a superstitious bunch, permanently on the lookout for omens and signals, as well you might be if your odds are decided by celestial forces. The much-discussed ‘Rule of Five’ certainly had hopes raised right from the start: another vintage to follow 2005, 1995 and 1985 would be the perfect answer to the less-lauded vintages of the immediate past. So would 2015 continue that happy sequence?
Amusingly and idiosyncratically, Bruno Borie at Ducru-Beaucaillou dedicated much of the pre-amble to his vintage report to shooting down this phenomenon, imploring his visitors to judge the wine in front of them rather than go in with pre-conceived notions of guaranteed success. We are rather sympathetic to Bruno’s point: with so much commentary available, it is already somewhat hard to block out the noise, never mind fairytales and numerical coincidences. As much as we all want to welcome a new ‘great’, greatness has to be earned rather than given out automatically.
Our April tasting trip to Bordeaux did allow for a comprehensive look at this new vintage but, as we always stress, ultimately for nothing more than a chance to take a snapshot of some fast-changing barrel samples. Against this, there is pressure to taste, to judge, to contextualise. Happily, we found it to be a very easy vintage to taste, neither tiring physically nor mentally but nonetheless, a vintage with plenty of character at this early stage. Our view is that 2015 is the best vintage since 2010, certainly allowing the ‘rule of five’ to continue if you are so persuaded, but not a universal world beater in the vein of 2005, 2009 or 2010. There are some simple reasons for this- which are set out below- but there are also exceptions, where some properties have clearly made new benchmarks, which is always thrilling to discover, while others have dropped the ball. This we will share with you too.
The Growing Season
Overview
Being residents of London rather than Bordeaux, we are reliant on the reports of others for the minutiae of the weather conditions. Those who are familiar with the work of Bill Blatch will know how detailed a record he keeps and how perceptively he interprets his findings. Those who have not yet found him but are interested in such things are warmly encouraged to look up his report.
In an attempt to summarise, viewed as a whole 2015 was one of the warmest years on record in the Gironde and with lower than average rainfall, especially between February and July. However, in a geographical area of this size, there is plenty of room for variation and once again, the devil is in the detail. While much of Bordeaux was effectively in drought, or at the very least, sharp water deficit between February and July, when the rain came, it fell with hard episodes rather than consistent drizzle and the precise timing proved to be very important as well as the localities most affected.
New maître de chai at Lafite-Rothschild, Eric Kohler, who also manages L’Evangile in Pomerol as did his predecessor, is someone in a particularly good position to opine across both banks. In his view, he has two entirely different vintages in 2015: one classical, refined, pure and elegant, the other rich, exuberant, concentrated, even powerful. Similarly, and more succinctly, Christian Seely noted, with respect to Pichon-Baron and Petit-Village, that it was “much drier in Pomerol”.
What is interesting though is that despite the differing levels of humidity, wines of balance- the key word when assessing young wine- were produced on both banks of the Gironde. If the component parts are in harmony with each other, they will stay that way and evolve in concert with each other. Whether you prefer the image of an orchestra in tune or a rowing eight in perfect synchronisation, it is the blending of the elements into a seamless whole that makes for the best result.
Chronology
To some hard information: the splendid finale of the 2014 harvest saw sunshine continue into November. The winter of 2014/5 thus began in very mild conditions but with plenty of rainfall, something that would be important in the months ahead. The only real cold snaps were in late January and February- enough to help the winter pruning and to cleanse vineyards of bugs but with no damage to the vine.
The vine was already budding when we arrived to taste the 2014s in early April and the month continued in lovely conditions, with high pressure dominating, meaning very little rainfall and warm temperatures for the time of year. This pattern continued into May, setting conditions very favourably for the flowering which was one of the most successful of any recent vintage. The very high temperatures recorded at the end of June (29th and 30th would be the warmest of the entire year) ensured a perfect end to the flowering phase, late enough to avoid damage during flowering and generating good potential quantities of very small berries, pointing towards a September harvest. In short, this was an absolutely perfect start and conditions were largely shared by all areas.
The first half of July was no different: plenty of sunshine, very little rain with the only difference being a slight fall-back in temperature. While the lack of water since April had raised hopes of a true great, signs of hydric stress were certainly apparent by the third week of the month and those hopes turned to fears. The vine was going into preservation mode, diverting energy away from its fruit and only sustained by access to underground reserve water. Not for the first time, the clays of Pomerol and the seams of limestone in St Emilion were advantageous.
And then, as noted by the Tesserons at Pontet-Canet, the “blessing from heaven”, the arrival of rain that kick-started the vegetative cycle, ushering in the crucial stage of véraison in late July. So timely was this rain that colour-change was rapid and even, with the small berries developing thick, deeply-coloured skins that would provide protection from the rains that would follow.
August was generally cooler than the average but still with plenty of light and warmth. There was rainfall but this was generally regarded as a positive as the vine nourished itself back to full health. In the words of Baptiste Guinaudeau, “August brought tenderness” to the vintage. Into the first half of September, the days continued warm but not hot and the nights cool and fresh: comfortable for humans, excellent for fresh grapes.
It was the tail-end of Hurricane Henry in mid-month that caused some major differences. Rain swept in from the Atlantic, hitting vineyards in the north of the Médoc much harder than in the South however vineyards in Pessac and on the right bank largely escaped, indeed some did entirely. While there was no panic to pick in most instances, there is certainly evidence of divergence in fortunes. Château Palmer is very quick to point out its “especially favourable weather conditions throughout September” with only 30mm of rain- the driest in the Médoc.
The Harvest
Early ripening white varieties were picked from 24th August, virtually all of them into the cellars before the mid-September rains. While growers on the right bank, largely unaffected by the rains were content to start bringing in their Merlot in the early days of September, their counterparts on the left mostly elected to wait a little longer, seemingly content that the forecast was set fair. Their analysis proved correct, with the serious harvest starting to get underway for Merlot from 18th-21st September, continuing until the end of the month, and then carrying straight into the Cabernet harvest. Despite some more rain in early October, the harvest was completed by mid-month, with only the latest ripening Cabernets and Petit Verdot or the jam-makers waiting until Halloween.
In Sauternes, growers had enjoyed a fabulous growing season, with conditions perfect for the development of botrytis, particularly after the mid-September storm. Most properties had conducted a first pass in the early part of the month yielding fresh, aromatic fruit but it was to be the second and third passages through the vineyard that brought in the majority of the crop. The combination of sweetly concentrated, highly aromatic grapes with fresh acidity and great purity makes for an incredibly attractive vintage in this region, largely continuing its own ‘magic run’ in the odd-numbered vintages over the last 20 years.
In the Cellar
For the whites, fresh aromatics, good natural acidity levels and full ripeness meant for an easy and joyous vinification with very little adjustment needed for the musts. Both Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon had performed well.
For the reds, alcohol levels were pleasingly controlled in the Médoc, with most of the top properties recording natural numbers between 12.5° and 14°. The small berries and thick skins gave for an “imposing and qualitative tannic structure” according to Bruno Borie and with bunches and pips evenly ripened there are no vegetal or herbal aromatics to be found whatsoever. The most notable feature is the succulence of the tannins, thanks to the long growing season which allowed full maturity but without loss of freshness.
On the right bank, there are some more boisterous wines with some in Pomerol and St Emilion edging over the 14.5° mark. The very best wines carry this off with ease: you would never know it tasting the beauty that is Vieux Château Certan (14.6°) or the remarkable Tertre Rôteboeuf (15°). However once again there are many instances where winemakers have gone too far by extracting too aggressively, using too much oak or achieving these degrees of ripeness by picking too late. The resultant wines are unbalanced and, considering the conditions on offer, a vinous own-goal.
The Wines
Whites
If it is consistency that you seek in 2015, then head to Sauternes. Of all of the communes that we tasted, the set of wines on display at the UGC Sauternes tasting had to be the hardest to pick between. A couple of perennial under-achievers notwithstanding, those with the wisdom to buy the glorious wines made by the likes of Suduiraut, de Fargues, Doisy Védrines, La Tour Blanche, Coutet and of course, Yquem, will only have a happy experience of 2015. Christian Seely rates Suduiraut above the 2001, while Olivier Castéja at Doisy-Védrines draws a parallel to 2005 but with more aromatic interest.
Dry whites are all too easily ignored when talking about Bordeaux but here too we tasted some very good things. Pavillon Blanc de Margaux easily carries off the gold medal in the Médoc, a wine of great vigour and intensity. Lynch Bages Blanc is a more simple wine but certainly as delicious and refreshing and always a good buy. In the Graves, we very much enjoyed Domaine de Chevalier Blanc and Pape Clément Blanc amongst the big names but also saw promise from some less exalted estates such as Latour Martillac and Bouscaut. On the right bank, the Guinaudeaus have turned up the quality counter again with Grand Village Blanc a fabulous success in 2015, while Les Champs Libres, for the first time including an old-vine parcel of Sémillon, is quickly carving out a niche for itself with cognoscenti.
Reds
Left Bank
Before we dive into the big four, a word on the smaller appellations. If there is one sign of a truly great vintage it is knock-out performances wherever you look, not just on the most favoured sites. We were encouraged by some good showings in Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac and Moulis but ultimately it is too erratic to be great. The best sources in 2015 are either those properties in the South, nearer Bordeaux, such as Cantemerle, or those properties that benefit from the resources of one of the big châteaux, such as Potensac (Léoville Las Cases).
In St Estèphe, where rainfall was heaviest of the big four communes, the “terroir was put to the test by extreme and unpredictable weather” in the words of Aymeric de Gironde at Cos d’Estournel. Despite this, tasting his wine you certainly wouldn’t appreciate the difficulty he refers to and we enjoyed Cos this year with its continued reconnection to the styles of yesteryear. Calon Ségur has also made a restrained, elegant wine and we were mightily impressed by Lafon Rochet too, another wine with the pedal less fully depressed than in the past. However, all three are blown out of the water by an other-worldly Montrose, one of the star performers of the entire vintage and certainly as good a wine as we have ever tasted here.
In St Julien, we saw plenty of typicity, with solid performances being registered by Gruaud-Larose, Branaire-Ducru and Langoa Barton. Of the three Léovilles, Barton performed brilliantly, a true, confident, deeply-layered wine that will stand the test of time, while Las Cases found that extra level of cerebral stimulation that perhaps sets it above the rest of the class. In a different style, Ducru Beaucaillou was every bit as engaging, perhaps more heart than head but lots of fun and no doubt plenty of depth and seriousness once the exuberance subsides.
Our tastings in Pauillac were less consistent, requiring repeat samples but ultimately both Pichons emerged with great credit, neither of them at first-growth level as they can sometimes be but certainly jousting well with each other. However, Lynch-Bages pushes them very close, as indeed does the refined, beautifully textured Grand-Puy-Lacoste. Both wines are unmistakably Pauillac in style and perfect illustrations for the textbook. Pontet-Canet, by contrast is unmistakably ‘Pontet-Canet’. We happen to really like it, its natural, unforced style a refreshing contrast to many of the more imposing wines but it does cause plenty of comment in the region. Also worth noting are an excellent Clerc-Milon and a highly accomplished Batailley.
Of the three Pauillac first growths, Latour continues to downplay its grandeur. This is a fascinating development, with the wine focused on transparency and energy, as if the thoroughbred stallion has been told it also needs to perfect dressage. At Lafite-Rothschild, the line with the recent past is more consistent and the baton has clearly been deftly passed from Charles Chevallier, responsible for so many great vintages here. The 2015 is a beauty. Mouton-Rothschild, perplexingly and not for the first time, was a more difficult tasting : the wine simply didn’t perform on the day. Discussions with colleagues leave us with no reason to doubt it but this sample on this day was not what we had expected. Alas, pre-natal scans are not the full picture.
The commune of Margaux was understandably in mourning at the recent, cruelly early passing of Paul Pontallier. Paul was one of the people we most looked forward to seeing in Bordeaux, an incredibly talented man of immense charm who gave his time liberally and was loved by so many. His final wine is a fitting farewell, quite possibly his masterpiece. He himself wrote of it that 2015 produced a wine “whose quality will be remembered for a very long time”. One can only repeat those same sentiments of its creator. Across the vineyards at Palmer, the greater Merlot component once again gives a big contrast in style to the Cabernet-centric Margaux but Thomas Duroux is on a rich run of form and his wine is splendid and luxuriant. Elsewhere in the commune, which certainly did seem to have more ballast to it than further north, we adored Rauzan-Ségla, easily in the top ten of the Médoc this year, with note-worthy showings from Brane-Cantenac, a more refined Cantenac-Brown and two very pleasant surprises at Kirwan and Prieuré-Lichine.
Pessac-Léognan and the Graves continue to throw up some curious results. While very good things were, as expected, to be found, at Haut-Bailly and Domaine de Chevalier, on paper there really should have been more properties that thrust themselves forward to challenge the established hierarchy. There are some good wines in the second tier but when one compares them to their peer group in other communes, it is hard not to conclude that they could be better. That is not, however, something that can be said at Haut-Brion. This was a simply superlative tasting, culminating in one of our candidates for wine of the vintage with an imperious Haut Brion that will surely rank alongside the greats here. The signs were already very strong from the second wines in the stable and with La Mission Haut-Brion also on fine form, with its more decadent, smoky, meaty style in contrast to the control and majesty of its sibling, they make for a wonderful pair.
Right Bank
The smaller appellations of the right bank will prove a happy hunting ground for those keen to identify bargains in 2015 and on that basis alone, it is tempting to apply the tag of greatness. Skilful winemakers who properly understand their terroir and commit themselves to it as fully as they do at their more famous addresses are responsible for some head-turning wines. Chief among these are the Guinaudeaus at Grand Village and ‘G’, Denis Durantou at La Chénade and Les Cruzelles and François Mitjavile at Roc de Cambes.
The conditions on the plâteau of St Emilion really couldn’t have been much better and those vineyards on the Côte were well blessed too. There are many excellent wines to recommend- too many to list here- and once again, there are many different styles to chose from. The hedonists should look at Troplong-Mondot while those who appreciate the fine arts will love the intricacy and lightness of touch of Canon. Those impressed by breeding and grandeur will enjoy Figeac while those who are entranced by magic and wonder have everything in Tertre Rôteboeuf. However, the real star performer is unquestionably Cheval Blanc, another wine of the vintage candidate. You have the sense with this wine that everything aligned perfectly and the combination of aromatic freshness, remarkable energy, rich deeply-flavoured fruit and perfectly weighted tannins makes it a true masterpiece in the making. We saw clear water between it and the rest of the commune.
With Cheval Blanc on such good form, it is little surprise that Pomerol is also a happy hunting ground. The cluster of properties that lie across the plâteau- Vieux Château Certan, L’Evangile, La Conseillante, Pétrus and of course, Lafleur- will feature on every wish list and understandably so. All of them have their unique features but to fail to enjoy these is to deny pleasure: they are the essence of greatness in the making.
To the inevitable question of vintage comparisons: the simple answer is of course to say, “it’s 2015”. On the right bank, however, we are reminded of some of the most celebrated years and while there is no direct replica, there are elements of 2009, 2005, 1998, 1989 and 1982 here. On the left, 2005 is the vintage of recent memory that is perhaps closest but there is not the same consistency of result, nor the same structure in the wines. 1985 has been mentioned, which would certainly be a very pleasing outcome, a vintage which for most of its life outperformed the 1982 for drinkability although the earlier year ultimately soared past it.
The Market
Here we must come quickly back to Earth. Bordeaux has the opportunity with this fine and largely successful vintage to really send a message out to the world’s wine lovers to say not just “we are back” but also “we want you back”. Every year, we consider the reasons why a purchase En Primeur should be recommended and we see no reason to change them. First is the financial: En Primeur should offer the purchaser the most affordable opportunity to buy the wines and they should be cheaper than comparable quality vintages that are physically available. Second must be trust: it must offer the chance to access reasonable volumes of wine that constitute full participation in the market rather than a quick twirl around the dancefloor and of course the chance to source with perfect, guaranteed provenance. Third comes practical: it should of course permit the choice of bottling format and the chance to seize rare wines that may not be seen so easily again in the future. But last and not least should be emotional: it should be fun, rewarding and with the promise of future pleasure, an opportunity to celebrate this most magical of products from one of the world’s most special sources of it.
Experience of recent campaigns has been difficult for all concerned: prices have been too high, campaigns have been drawn out and quantities offered have been meaningless. Consumers have reacted with indifference and having been encouraged to look elsewhere for their wine, many have stayed away. With the added complications of a depreciation of sterling versus the Euro in recent months and the distraction of the forthcoming referendum on EU membership, a quick, early campaign with well-judged pricing is our recipe for success. Plenty of customers are ready to buy, if they see reasons to be duly encouraged.
Conclusion
There really is a lot to like with the 2015 vintage: some truly exceptional wines; plenty of very good wines; success in all three major styles and by and large, some decent quantities produced. While ultimately the variations in weather have meant that we cannot quite place the vintage among the all-time greats, there are certainly enough memorable wines in 2015 for all fans of the region to lick their lips in anticipation. There are also some disappointments- “growing wine grapes is not always a smooth ride” as one château director put it- but if offered the chance of 2015 again, most producers would welcome the year back in with open arms. Let us hope that Bordeaux itself welcomes back would-be buyers with equal affection.
Mike Laing
April 2016
