Bordeaux 2015 at Two Years: Margaux
It is in Margaux that things start to get really interesting on the left bank in the 2015 Bordeaux vintage. Yes, there are some really good wines in St Julien, in Pauillac too, and even one or two in downtrodden St Estèphe. But those appellations can offer nothing which is even a patch on the very best wines that await us in Margaux.
The key, as ever, seems to be the September rainfall. Ultimately this is a vintage that was completely defined by the late-season rain, and here in Margaux the volume of rain that fell during September was barely 30 mm, well below average and much more in keeping with the overall dry nature of the season. Contrast this against 70-to-100 mm in St Julien and Pauillac, over 100 mm in St Estèphe, and something closer to 140 mm up in the Médoc appellation, and the advantage enjoyed by Margaux in this vintage is plain to see.
The Wines
At Château Margaux the 2015 vintage will long be remember with a sense of bitter poignancy, as this was the final vintage to be made by Paul Pontallier, who died in April 2016, after working on the estate for more than three decades. I visited the estate for the purpose of tasting the wine, which I did in the company of both Philippe Bascaules, the new managing director, and Sebastien Vergne, the estate manager. Standing there, with glass in hand, I felt Paul’s absence only more keenly. All three wines (two reds and one white, although only my notes on the reds are presented below) were exceptional, and easily trounced all I have tasted in this vintage from the appellations of St Estèphe, Pauillac and St Julien, not to mention most of Margaux even though here the competition is considerably stiffer. I silently toasted Paul with a glass of his 2015, but I was careful to scribble my note and score with an appropriate level of dispassion.
