Bordeaux 2015:
the whites
The vintage favoured Sauvignon Blanc over Sémillon, but the wet weather encouraged noble rot. The dry wines are fresh and zesty, while the sweets are fruit-filled with a zingy acidity freshening the palate.
Learn more about Bordeaux 2015:
the whites
Dry white wines from Bordeaux tend to excel in cooler years, so our expectations of these wines before we tasted them were not high. Sémillon struggled with the wet weather, particularly during August, whereas Sauvignon Blanc seems to have coped well, and it is a general trend that the wines show a greater proportion of Sauvignon in their blends. It is certainly the case for the better wines.
The whites share the wonderful freshness of the reds and they are very attractive in places. The estates that got it right have produced wines that are golden in colour, with generous floral noses and a super level of citrus fruit. They also have a zesty crispness, largely due to the proportions of Sauvignon Blanc in the blend.
There is a great refreshing acidity found in the wines and a concentration of fruit too. This depth of fruit lingers and persists on the finish of the best wines, which are very long indeed. Both of these are common themes shared with the better reds from 2015. Dense, mineral and white or stone fruit notes were other key words found in the tasting notes of the wines we particularly enjoyed.
The wines of Sauternes also seem to have fared well, with the short bursts of rainfall during June, July and August causing botrytis to start and create the right balance in the grapes. Most châteaux harvested their grapes in three to four tries, each following localised rainfall and humid conditions which accelerated the growth of noble rot.
It is, however, the quality of the grapes that were harvested which caused excitement. None of the estates we spoke to had to harvest in wet weather and nobody mentioned bad rot, so one can assume the grapes were in a wonderful condition, pure, fine and brimming with sugar. The majority of the grapes were harvested in early to mid-October and they were fully botrytised.
The style of the wines is rich of course, but fleshy too, with lovely acidity and no cloying or flabbiness which is found in the vintages where balance hasn’t been achieved. There is a great freshness to the best wines, a hallmark of all the best wines in 2015, whether red, white or sweet.
Prices:
Bottle
£23.99
Bottle 6 x 75cl 4cs
Bottle
£24.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Drink: 2017-2027
Jane Anson - decanter.com - April 2016
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 41cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 11cs
Magnum
£94.00
Magnum 1 x 150cl 2cs
The wine is ever so persistent, there is volume here and really pretty aromatics. It is so floral. Enticing and rewarding, it has such a glorious mouth-watering acidity on the finish.
Blend: 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 33% Semillon, 17% Muscadelle
Blend: 67% Sémillon, 33% Sauvignon Blanc
Bottle 6 x 75cl 5cs
Drink: 2020-2035
Ian D’Agata - decanter.com
Blend: 75% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Sémillon
Bottle 6 x 75cl 3cs
Drink: 2020-2040
Ian D’Agata - decanter.com
H/Bottle 1 x 37.5cl 6cs
The 2015 Château d'Yquem is a blend of 75% Semillon and 25% Sauvignon Blanc that was picked on the gravelly soils as early as 3 and 4 September until 21 October, four tries through the vineyard. It delivers 144 grams per liter of residual sugar, with six-grams of tartaric acid, a pH 3.65 and 13.9% alcohol. It has a show-stopping bouquet that is beautifully defined and very complex and exuberant, infused with greater mineralité than recent vintages - intense but not as flamboyant as say the 2009 Yquem at this stage. The palate boasts absolutely stunning balance. This is a Yquem without a hair out of place: fantastically pure, botrytised fruit caressing the mouth. That is as per normal. What distinguishes this Yquem is the sense of electricity that is imbued by that razor-sharp acidity. There is just unbelievably tension here and to be frank, there is little point in me continuing to write this note, because it is simply an astonishing Yquem that will rank alongside the 2001 and 2009. Drink 2028 - 2090.
Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate
Mid gold. Very direct and glossy. Edge of veg and toast. Real tension! Tense pear juice with lots of grip and attack. Lots of acidity as well as all that sugar. Really energetic. Long. Amazing persistence. So neat. Real attack. Massive apparent acidity. Drink 2027 – 2055.
Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com
Bottle 3 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 3 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle 3 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 3 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 3 x 75cl 1cs
Ninety percent of the blend is Sauvignon Blanc, which lends a characteristic nose of elderflower and white peaches, while the balance of Sémillon adds weight and a citric waxiness to the finish. Barrel fermentation adds a further degree of complexity to the finished article. More of a food wine than an apéritif, this will cope well with everything from shellfish through to quite rich, creamy chicken dishes. It is also the most fantastic partner to goats’ cheese, and one of the few truly great matches to asparagus.