Bordeaux 2015 at Two Years: St Estèphe
Kicking off with St Estèphe, we are beginning in one of the more troubled of the ‘big name’ appellations in the 2015 vintage. The September rain certainly caused problems here, coming as it did just as everybody was drawing up their plans for harvest. Although different vineyards will have no doubt recorded different figures, in general the famous domaines of the appellation took over 100 mm of rain during the entre month, about 25% more than the average, and mostly concentrated in the immediate pre-harvest window.
The difference between the vintage here, and the vintage in St Emilion or Pomerol, can also be seen through the percentage of the crop that made it into the grand vin. They tell a story of strict selections, with just 38% of the fruit picked destined for the first wine at Château Montrose, with very similar figures at Château Calon-Ségur and Château Cos d’Estournel. In truth, such stringent selections are not unusual at these châteaux, but contrast this experience with the right bank where one château did not even produce a second wine because (and I am paraphrasing here) “everything was so perfect” and it is a good indicator of how different corners of Bordeaux had very different experiences during the 2015 growing season.
The Wines
The wines here tend to be somewhat lighter than I expected especially considering the strong reputations of the leading châteaux and the strict selections described above. They are still good wines though, especially Château Montrose which still manages to display a little brooding concentration despite the challenges presented by the vintage conditions. Both Vincent Millet at Château Calon-Ségur and Dominique Arangoïts (pictured) at Château Cos d’Estournel have made attractive wines, both in a medium-bodied and rather elegant style. In all three cases, the 2014 vintage is superior, and I suspect I will be able to say the same of the 2016 vintage in the future (although at present I have only tasted it from barrel).
