Bordeaux’s Radiant 2015s

Bordeaux enjoyed its strongest vintage in a number of years in 2015. The warm, dry summer yielded opulent wines built on intense fruit and voluptuous textures. At their best, the 2015s are spectacularly rich, racy wines loaded with personality. But the heat also brought with it a fair amount of challenges. Quality is inconsistent, so readers will have to choose carefully to get most out of what 2015 has to offer.

Even before the grapes had been brought in, the hype machine started to get revved up with early reports of a potentially epic vintage on a par with recent standouts like 2005, 2009 and 2010. If any region needed a boost, it was Bordeaux. No vintage since 2010 had ignited any real interest. After having tasted through many hundreds of wines, it is clear that, while there are indeed some fabulous wines in 2015, as a whole the vintage is not consistently brilliant or outstanding, much less epic. But there are many pockets of true excellence. Most importantly for the consumer, the sweet spot in 2015 is exactly the wines Bordeaux excels in; delicious pedigreed Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot-based red that offer superb quality and value.

Véraison, La Fleur-Pétrus, July 2015

The 2015 Growing Season

The year got started with a very wet winter. Rainfall in January and February was higher than the thirty-year average. By March, things began to change, as rainfall dropped to less than half the historical average for the months of March through June. 

Flowering was quick and took place under near-perfect conditions, while fruit set was also fast and generous, both of which were quite welcome after the struggles of the preceding vintages. Temperatures rose significantly during June and especially July, which saw extended periods of heat, as opposed to just smaller spikes. By many accounts, it was the hottest summer ever recorded. I spent the last week of July in Bordeaux. By then, the effects of heat stress were evident, especially in younger vines, Merlot in particular, and in sites with less ability to retain moisture. Rain arrived in early August, which gave the vines much-needed respite from the heat. Véraison took place without any major issues.

Temperatures backed off to lower than the historical average during September. Rain was also lower than normal, with the notable exception of Saint-Estèphe, which received three times as much rain as is typical. Harvest of red grapes began around mid-month and stretched into October, where fine conditions with cooler than average temperatures and dry, stable weather presented producers with ideal conditions to pick at their leisure.