From the Blogger archives comes my 2015 vintage Right Bank Bordeaux en primeur tasting report. As I taste the finished and bottled wines even now, I am even more thrilled with the way they have come into their own. For excellent quality producers, 2015 Right Bank rocks the right balance of exuberant fruit and generosity with long-lasting grip. Read on for my picks and tasting notes!
Bordeaux En Primeur 2015 Vintage - Right Bank (April 2016)
Like the Left Bank, the 2015 vintage conditions for the Right Bank were wonderfully ideal. After a hot, dry spell, there was just enough rain in July to start veraison (the point at which grapes change color as they ripen) and again in mid-August and September to prevent vines from shutting down. This also allowed for further development of flavors within the grapes. For the predominantly Merlot and Cabernet Franc based wines made on the Right Bank, the resulting wines were bursting with ripe red fruit!
I attended the two Union des Grands Crus (UGC) tastings on the Right Bank (St-Émilion and Pomerol) and also visited quite a few châteaux. It’s so important to see where it all happens!
St-Émilion and Pomerol UGC Tastings:
The St-Émilion UGC tasting event presented many wines that were reminiscent of raspberry and blackberry jams - I felt I was tasting Bonne Maman jams in wine form! While I wished that a number of wines possessed the body and acidity to balance out the heavier fruit, there were two at the tasting that particularly stood out: Pavie Macqin, and Troplong Mondot. See the “Standout Right Bank Wines” section below for more on these.
Pomerol is a small but mighty appellation on the Right Bank. Only a few châteaux participated in the UGC tasting but they showed very consistently, even more so than at the St-Emilion tasting. Excellent wines included La Cabane, Beauregard, Clinet, and La Croix de Gay.
The UGC events are great for tasting many wines in one location; with the amount of driving required to get around in the region, that is not to be taken for granted. That said, there’s nothing like actually being at each châteaux to experience the character of the estate, to meet the people behind the philosophy of the wine, and to taste the wines with more focus.
I was initially worried that differences in experience between the large events and more individualized visits at the châteaux would influence my assessment of the wines, but I realized quickly this wasn’t an issue. Wines speak for themselves.
Standout Right Bank Wines:
L’Evangile (Pomerol): Round and dense in the mouth yet very precise, this very drinkable wine offers a shockingly delightful concentration of cherries, plums, boysenberry with slightly earthy undertones. Fine, elegant tannins complement the sweetly rounded and very fresh character. It has the weight and acidity to last, if you can keep it that long without drinking it! I always remember a wine at a tasting when I realize I don’t want to spit it out.
La Violette (Pomerol): This is one of the most beautifully balanced and elegant wines I’ve tasted during the 2015 primeurs. Delicately perfumed with high notes of cherries, kirsch, and cassis, it has a wonderfully smooth texture. It finishes sunnily with the fragrance of cherries and toasted nuts.
Angélus (Saint-Émilion): Fresh with cherries, plums, and vanilla but emerging meaty, savory undertones with mineral brightness and a darker touch of tea leaves. The tannins rise mid-palate, leaving no doubt that this is not only an elegant wine, but a powerful one. Its beguiling attractiveness is sealed by the satisfyingly smooth, long finish of ripe cherries and vanilla.
Vieux Château Certan (Pomerol): Fresh, beautiful bouquet of red plums, cherries, vanilla and nutmeg. Round and supple with fine, integrated tannins. This is a very classic wine, and the fruit will continue to emerge and shine as it matures. The lingering flavors of light cherry pie are a true delight.
Figéac (Saint-Émilion): Powerful and focused, with a serious but approachable style. Deeply colored with concentrated blackberry, black currant, black plum and cherry with a hint of tomato leaf. Plump and round but incredibly fresh with unmistakable structure. Tannins are very ripe and well integrated. The lovely touch of tea leaves from the Cabernet Franc will continue to meld with the black fruits with years in the bottle.
Pavie (Saint-Émilion): A bit brooding at the moment, but the intensity of the blackberry, boysenberry, tea leaves and savoriness will evolve into an even more powerfully concentrated and vibrant wine. The initial palate is delightfully bright and fruity, turning into a warm, toasty cocoa towards the end. There is a feeling of slight dampness, and then the fragrance of berries lifts for a long finish. This wine will continue to grow!
Pavie Decesse (Saint-Émilion): A serious wine as well, very dense and concentrated ripe red plums, cherry, vanilla, and kirsch with a mineral, peppery lift resolving into creamy red fruits. Incredibly smooth, silky, and focused. Very drinkable already, and it will last!
Pavie Macquin (Saint-Émilion): Subtle, warm red cherries, plums and vanilla; fresh and expansive. Tart cranberry juxtaposed with an underlying creaminess on the finish point to enduring structure and evolution to come.
Troplong Mondot (Saint-Émilion): Dark, dense with coffee, cola, cassis and bramble. Serious and concentrated, incredibly smooth. It is quietly powerful and confident. It will endure, and it will be even more arresting as it matures.
Ausone (Saint-Émilion): This is a truly elegant wine, and extremely poised. It doesn’t show itself all at once, but gradually yet surely. With a beautiful bouquet of ripe red fruits, savory undertones and a mineral frisson, it is sweetly lifted, smooth, and wonderfully fresh.
Excellent Right Bank Wines:
Cheval Blanc (Saint-Émilion): A rich nose of toasted coconut, onion blossoms, licorice, and cola promises even more on the palate in roundness and flavors as the wine matures. Give this one some time; it will blossom!
Carillon d’Angélus (Saint-Émilion): This is the second wine of Angélus, and it deserves a mention here. Smooth and flirtatious, a real debutante! Ripe red cherries and licorice, very fresh.
Esprit de Pavie (Saint-Émilion): This is “only” a 'generic' Bordeaux appellation wine, from Pavie, but it is delicious and beautifully lifted with lavender, violets, cherries, verbena, and honeysuckle. It is meant to be earlier drinking but will keep 3-5 years. The honeyed finish is a real treat!
Lussau (Saint-Émilion): Fragrant, bursting with ripe plums, with coffee on the finish. Very smooth and approachable.
Monbousquet (Saint-Émilion): Smoky on the nose with sweet black cherries on the initial palate giving way to some big tannins. It is not shy but not overly muscular. Wait several years and see how this one evolves; it has wonderful potential.
Bellevue Mondotte (Saint-Émilion): Soft and velvety with ripe plums, violets, cherries, but focused with a clear structure. Great balance and drinking well already.
Haut-Simard (Saint-Émilion): Delicate luxardo cherries with a slight earthy funkiness made for a striking, yet creamily integrated contrast.
There is still more to come! Join me next time for First Growths, and more exciting wines from Pessac-Léognan.
Postscript: I stopped by the venerable Château Pétrus to take a photo, for posterity!
