Bordeaux 2015 revisited 10 years on

The Hommage à Paul Pontallier bottling: a tribute to the estate's late managing director, who died in March 2016. Other-worldly, intoxicating Margaux perfume of soft red fruit which is slowly starting to evolve. Spice and cedar with a touch of herbs. Positively kaleidoscopic. Ethereal and so complex. Wonderful length with beautifully integrated tannin. What more could you want? Haunting and an incredible tribute to the great man that flirts with perfection.

Although Lafite is often the most elegant of the first growths, it sometimes takes the longest to come round. There is a touch of spice and volatility here. Wonderfully rich yet super-fine in its structure. Effortless integration of tannin, but this wine will take time to be at its best. Great length, with a lingering perfume on the finish. Exceptional.

Initially very dark-fruited. So classically Mouton. Animalistic. All about pencil shavings, cedar and tobacco. Wonderfully classic in the mouth, loaded with red fruit, ample concentration and a fresh, long finish. This will be a great Mouton true to its origins.

Looser-knit and slightly more open than La Mission Haut-Brion. Feels softer. Dark fruit, tobacco, smoke and a touch of volatility. On the palate there is lovely purity and incredible balance. Very fine tannin and phenomenal length, but needs time. Stylistically this is polar opposite to La Mission but is very much the qualitative peer to its sibling.

As expected from a vintage like 2015 there is a richness here, common with other great Latours. So powerful. Loaded with cassis and spice. A touch of volatile alcohol, perhaps, but this is a big wine. The palate is closed and impenetrable, loaded with tannin and dry extract but beautifully integrated. Great length. An absolute powerhouse.

Wonderfully lifted and tropical on the nose, laden with pineapple, tinned peaches, wild strawberries and soft, wild herbs. Insanely complex. Faultless in the mouth with incredible balance. Light as a feather yet so much concentration. Endless length and integrated fine tannin. Perfection. Wine of the vintage?

Wonderfully fresh on the nose, the Cabernet Franc perfume starting to shine through, loaded with violets and soft herbs. So floral and lifted. The palate is characterised by rich, sweet fruit. An absolute step up from everything tasted before it. Perfectly integrated tannin. So fine. If I could fault it in any way, there is a touch of dryness on the finish, but nothing that a decent slab of protein wouldn't iron out. A wonderful, savoury wine.

I always find Le Pin to be wonderfully atypical and it often requires a whole new vocabulary of adjectives to those classically associated with red Bordeaux. Soy, lemongrass and chilli. Grassy and herbal. Rich, concentrated and almost tropical. So fresh, but with an edge of bitterness. Exceptional.

I think the sample we had was slightly oxidised or certainly not showing to its full potential. This bottle had good concentration of red fruit but lacked the extra dimension one would expect. Looser-knit on the palate with wonderful concentration in a plush style. Good length, but I’d expect more from a perfect bottle, so have reserved judgement on score.

Wet stone aromas leap from the glass, reflecting the asteriated limestone of the plateau where some of the estate's 7ha of vines grow. Bright ripe plum (Merlot) and mint freshness (Cabernet Franc), with an underlying power, depth, refinement and nuance. A long, fresh, white flower finish echoes the beguiling wet stone. But beware: even 10 years on, the wine is somewhat closed and deserves another decade of cellaring for a proper drinking window.

There is phenomenal concentration on the nose here. Dark fruit laced with lifted, soft green herbs. Basil and dill. Incredible complexity. Lovely red fruit and a touch of cedar frame the palate. Lovely freshness and balance. Perfect tannin integration. Huge length. A real wow wine.

The nose here is incredibly concentrated but slightly inexpressive. Loaded with dark fruit, violets and dark chocolate. Incredibly silky on the palate, almost voluptuous with lots of padding and power. Incredible balance and length. A very serious wine. Uber-fine tannin which is perfectly integrated. Flawless and seamless. Although this is sensational now, I would be inclined to leave it a few years.

Nose loaded with red fruit and damsons, framed with the savoury edge of coffee and roasted nuts. Absolutely intoxicating, such beautiful purity and elegance. Ethereal. The palate is full of rich red fruit but with so much freshness. Beautifully balanced, with a wonderful savoury bitter finish. Really, really good. Fine tannin, perfectly integrated and so moreish. This will provide a huge amount of pleasure for most of the 21st century.

Initially quite closed, the nose is deep and dark. Smoky and laiden with dark fruit. Plenty of concentration and a beautiful minerality. At this stage the palate is a touch inexpressive but is very fine and pure, with impeccable balance. Although there is a touch of outlying alcohol on the finish here, I suspect that will resolve in time. Wonderful length and beautifully fine tannin. One for the long term.

Beautiful, seductive red fruit on the nose, loaded with strawberries and cherries. Wonderfully floral with a lovely savoury edge. Plump fruit on the palate with lots of glycerol richness and plump texture. Elegant, fine tannin and great length. Finishes all rose and violets. Very delicate but supremely powerful. Superb.

Incredibly dark in colour still at a decade of age. Initially slightly closed and inexpressive but begins to reveal rose, violets and jasmine after a few minutes in the glass. Floral, lifted and delicate and so fine. The palate is impeccably balanced and loaded with dark fruit and cherries. Really impressive length with fine, well-integrated tannin. A wonderful wine.

This opens up with beautiful crystalline red fruit and a touch of rose. Perhaps uncharacteristically this is very delicate. The palate is light of foot, elegant and loaded with exotic spices. There is a beautiful balance here, incredibly fine tannin leading into a wonderful finish, which is not as concentrated as expected. Very good and such great value.

There is a beautiful red fruit profile on the nose here which is so lifted and elegant. Very fine. The palate is a touch muted with a slight herbaceous edge, giving a lovely old-school slant and a savoury character. Very refined and textured, lovely balance and a glorious bitterness on the finish which lingers. Very, very good.

An intoxicating nose of red fruit. Raspberries and rose perfume intertwined with bay and leafy green notes. The palate has a beautiful red-fruited elegance that's incredibly well balanced with fine tannin. Lovely length.

Lovely rich, round, warm red fruit on the nose, which is immediately appealing. Lovely concentration and weight on the palate. Coffee and red fruit with beautiful balance. There is a hint of dryness, but the tannin is fine and it does not detract from the overall experience. Wonderfully fresh on the finish. Delicious.

Dark-fruited and initially slightly muted, with a whiff volatility. Some incredible lifted, perfumed notes of violets and damsons. Wonderful richness of dark fruit and a really lovely freshness, which still retains tension and power on the palate. Great integration of fine tannin and lovely length. Wonderful.

The 2015 grand vin was the last vintage produced by Paul Pontallier (see pXX) and is a contender for wine of the vintage, so I would expect good things from this Pavillon Rouge. Initially lovely and floral, incredibly delicate. Perfumed and fine, with so much elegance. Fresh acidity, balancing the richness of the harvest well. Very charming with a savoury edge. This is really superb.

On the nose, this Chapelle is dominated by slightly volatile red fruit, although it comes across slightly muted. The palate has a beautiful texture and balance, despite being quite lightweight in style. It’s not giving a huge amount at this stage, possibly closed down. The finish has good length and fresh acidity, and I expect this to be at prime drinking in another five years or so.

The nose is initially not as fruit-driven as expected. Slightly on the herbal, savoury side without much fruit profile at all. The palate is quite delicate and very fine, with a wonderful, crunchy fresh acidity. The tannins here are very fine and lead into a good, long finish. Very good.

Initially slightly reduced on the nose, but leads to a very elegant and perfumed, red fruit-dominated aroma. The palate is refined and elegant, as one would expect from a wine made at Lafite. Fresh, crunchy acidity makes this wine incredibly refreshing. There seems to be a touch of outlying tannin and the finish isn't as long as I’d expect, but a good Carruades, for sure.