The 2015 Northern Rhônes: Outstanding Wines for the Long Haul

BY JOSH RAYNOLDS | APRIL 13, 2017

For wine lovers who favor richness, weight and emphatic flamboyant fruit, 2015 will be a vintage to dive into, deeply. While I suspect that all but a few wines will be rather monochromatic on release, I’m confident that time will bring greater complexity and somewhere-ness to the ‘15s – and they definitely have the concentration to age. Patient wine lovers who heed what many producers and wine lovers call the “15-year rule” for northern Rhône Syrah and allow their 2015s to lose some baby fat for a decade and a half will be richly rewarded, but those hoping to find nuance and detail during the first few years after the wines hit the market may wonder what the fuss is about.

Hibernating vines in Cornas in early February 2017 

The tannins in the 2015s are definitely present but they’re not strict, as they often were in the 2010s and 2005s when I tasted those wines from barrel at a similar stage of development. In that regard the ‘15s show some resemblance to the often excellent and sometimes decadent 2009s, which as a group have yet to actually shut down. But the ‘15s, as a rule, are fresher than the ‘09s, which come across as broader and weightier. I believe that the ‘15s will always show better delineation and lift than their ’09 siblings because they possess the energy to buffer their ripeness. But I should emphasize that we’re speaking in relative terms here as few people will be able to call the ‘15s graceful or elegant wines unless they’re comparing them to the richest New World renditions of Syrah, or Shiraz. 

How Did the 2015s Get That Way?