Definition: Bordeaux 2015 – Great Vintage

BORDEAUX 2015 - GREAT VINTAGE

8 November 2015 by Franck Dubourdieu

2015 currently ageing in oak barrels.

SUMMARY

The heat, dryness and strong sunshine from April to the end of July had a very favourable impact on the vintage. A wet August accelerated ripening and the good weather in September and early October facilitated the harvest of ripe, concentrated grapes. Although it is still too early to define the style of the red wines, it is reasonable to say, after the harvest, that Bordeaux 2015 will be a "great vintage": overall quality, coupled with a very respectable volume, in stark contrast to the previous four vintages.
This widely held view has the wine world buzzing, as it is Bordeaux, especially when viewed from abroad, that sets the tone for the vintage in France.
At our northern latitude, each vintage has a different profile, which generally results in a unique style of wine. Clearly, 2015 will be similar to the great vintages (2000, 2005, 2009, 2010), but will not be a clone of any of them.

A DRY AND SUNNY CLIMATE

The vines started growing late in mid-April. Rain and relatively warm weather caused early development of mildew and black rot.

May was warm (+1.6°C/N) and dry (-57 mm/N). Nevertheless, fungi caused damage to the foliage and even to the young inflorescences, sometimes destroying part of the harvest. The fine weather at the end of the month and during the first week of June led to rapid, uniform and clustered flowering (with little variation between the different grape varieties). This gave hope for a decent harvest, unlike in previous vintages.

June was very hot (+4°/N), very sunny (+25%/N) and still dry (-20%/N). From 15 June to 22 July, there was not a drop of rain.

July was still very hot (+3°/N) and dry (-25%/N)! People suffered, but paradoxically the vines withstood the water stress, even if veraison (the change in colour of the berries) was delayed. Providential rains at the end of July revived the metabolism, veraison began and progressed rapidly before 15 August, a week ahead of schedule.

August was just as hot (+2.5°/N), with decent sunshine but much wetter than normal (+65%/N). 70 mm of rain fell between the 12th and the 22nd. The vines were able to breathe, especially as the nights were cool. Ripening began and progressed under ideal conditions with the beautiful weather at the beginning of September.

September was relatively fine, with normal temperatures and sunshine, and fairly dry (-50%/N). Apart from the first eleven days and the last seven, there was a little rain every day, which had no effect on the potential quality of the grapes.

The harvest of dry whites began at the end of August for the earliest terroirs - Château d'Yquem on the 25th, Château Carbonnieux on the 27th, Château Haut-Brion on the 31st - and generally ended before the small depression that began on 12 September.

The Merlot harvest began on 10 September at Château Cheval-Blanc, on 15 September at Château Haut-Brion, and then spread to other estates. The Cabernet Franc grapes were picked at the end of the month, while the Cabernet Sauvignon harvest began on 28 September at Château Haut-Brion and Château Margaux. From 2 to 7 October, a spell of rain disrupted the end of the harvest, but it did not appear to affect the potential quality of the grapes.

For once, the harvest in Sauternes and Barsac began before the reds, on 3 September at Château d'Yquem and on 8 September at Château Climens. Noble rot developed rapidly thanks to the rain that fell between 12 and 24 August (70 mm). After successive sorting, a very nice botrytis was harvested throughout September, without rushing.

REVIEW OF ORGANIC AND BIODYNAMIC VITICULTURE IN 2015

A questionnaire sent to twenty winegrowers revealed some general observations.

The vast majority considered that they had experienced a low level of attack from

mildew and black rot. They carried out treatments in April as a precautionary measure, without waiting for the Plant Health Bulletins (1). As a result, the damage was generally less severe than among their neighbours using conventional methods (using synthetic fungicides).

For more than half of them, drought resistance was better than that of their neighbours, and for the others, it was equivalent.

Eight out of twenty vintages had no grey rot. For the others, with the exception of two, the damage was well controlled and often better than that of conventional winegrowers.

Early ripening, and therefore early harvesting, was evident in the vast majority of cases (18 out of 20 vines), with two of them ripening up to 8 days early.

Opinions are divided (50/50) on the influence of the August rain on the volume harvested. However, the positive effect on quality is unanimously recognised.

Some of these vintages also mention better acidity for the future wine, i.e. higher than for the majority of conventionally farmed vintages, some of which are likely to be sorely lacking in this respect.

In terms of yield, apart from two crus showing 20 hl/ha (3), the overall average is around 40 hl (2). In liquoreux ch. Climens en Biodynamie, reports 22 hl/ha, which is close to the maximum allowed (25).

2015 A GREAT VINTAGE

The first seven months of the year were the hottest ever recorded globally since records began in 1880. Bordeaux experienced a long drought, which halted vegetation growth, benefiting the concentration of the grapes. The welcome rain in August and the fine weather in September made 2015 a great vintage for all types of wine (dry and sweet white, red). In other words, it was a generally successful year and, unlike the last four vintages, the winegrowers did not have to work as hard because nature was on their side.

By 15 August, tasting the grapes, with their thick skins and high sugar content, already promised the best. September was fine during the day and fairly cool at night, allowing the tannins (skins and seeds) to ripen slowly, which is a guarantee of balance and finesse in the future wine.

The only slight downside is the apparent low acidity of the red wines (before the end of maceration). In some cases, as in 2003, this would require the authorised but declared addition of tartaric acid, especially as the ongoing or forthcoming malolactic fermentation would reinforce this trend.

It is still difficult to comment on the style of the red wines before the end of vinification and the first few months of ageing in barrels. Nevertheless, everyone has their own opinion on how 2015 compares to its prestigious predecessors (2000, 2005, 2009, 2010). Reliable sources suggest 2005 or 2009, bearing in mind that the 2015 reds will not be a carbon copy of either of these vintages.

The great sweet wines are not to be outdone, as the lineage of previous great vintages (2005, 2009, 2010) is also well advanced.

The April 2016 en primeur tastings will allow us to refine our judgement for all the wines of this vintage.

(1) Issued by official plant protection organisations, including the Chamber of Agriculture. They replace "agricultural warnings".

(2) It should be noted that 20 out of 18 crus are located on the right bank, which broadly corresponds to the distribution of organic crus, which are in the majority on this bank. Due to the nature of the soil and the dominant grape variety (Merlot), yields on the right bank are generally lower than those on the left bank (Médoc and Graves).

(3) Due to mildew and/or black rot.

Highly recommended source and website:

http://bordeauxclassicwine.fr/