Ben's 2015 Bordeaux Tasting

An opportunity to taste a bottle of 2015 from six different regions: Margaux, St. Émilion, Pessac-Léognan, Pauillac, St. Estèphe, and Pomerol. Wines were decanted a couple hours ahead of time and served blind in two flights of three. The wines selected were good quality, but not First Growth or Super Seconds. The point was to see how the wines are developing.

Random assignment of the wines. All wines blind.

• 2015 Château Malescot St. Exupéry 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Deep ruby, pronounced, cherry, vanilla, spice, nutmeg, smoke, green pepper, earth leather. Structured with med+ body and a long finish. Young but enjoyable. Hold

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• 2015 Château Troplong Mondot 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Deep ruby, pronounced, cherry, blueberry, vanilla, cedar, smoke, tobacco, leather. Good structure, full body, and long finish. Performing OK right now with a long decant, but not as good as the other 2015's tasted this night. It needs some bottle time to come together, soften, and get some depth.

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• 2015 Château La Mission Haut-Brion La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  My least favorite wine of the tasting. It was not expressive and lacked character, but the wine had good flavor and structure. Deep ruby, med+ nose, pronounced palate. Cherry, raspberry, plum, floral, blueberry, leather, cedar. Firm structure, full body, and a long finish.

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Random assignment of the wines. All wines blind.

• 2015 Château Lafon-Rochet 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

  A high performer tonight. Deep ruby, pronounced, cherry, vanilla, violet, cedar, eucalyptus, fennel, tomato leaf, green pepper. Classic but youthful. Enjoyable now but should improve with age.

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• 2015 Château Haut-Batailley 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  This was my WOTN from six 2015 BDX from different regions. Deep purple, floral, pronounced, Blue fruit, vanilla, smoke, flint, cedar, barnyard. Structured, full body, long finish. I called this the Margaux or Pomerol. The nose was really nice and the palate the most refined. Still young and aging will help. Overall, the 2015s are hitting the 10 year mark and starting to develop some character. This bottle was further along that journey than most of the others.

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• 2015 Château Clinet 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Deep purple, med+ nose. Close down a little, but still tried to deliver. Very primary with cherry, vanilla, blue fruit. Good structure and depth.

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The 2015s are hitting the 10 year mark and beginning to provide some good experiences. Overall, they all would benefit from additional aging and I expect the premier wines from this vintage need to sleep even longer. It is a solid vintage across the regions and is providing an enjoyable experience. Thank you Ben for hosting and for everyone that attended.