St-Emilion and Pomerol 2015: Panel tasting results

Gareth Birchley, Vincenzo Arnese and Arthur Coggill tasted 111 wines, with 10 Outstanding and 79 Highly Recommended.

St-Emilion and Pomerol 2015: Panel tasting scores

111 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 10

Highly recommended 79

Recommended 18

Commended 4

Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were invited to submit their 2015 vintage red Bordeaux grand vins from St-Emilion Grand Cru and Grand Cru Classé, and Pomerol

If you asked the vignerons of Bordeaux to predict the quality of the 2015 vintage before a single bud had even burst, many of them would have stated that greatness was inevitable.

It is, of course, purely chance that 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010 were all contenders for the finest vintage in their respective decades.

Nevertheless, in 2015, the universe acquiesced and gave the Bordelais a tricky but incredibly favourable growing season.

Scroll down to see notes and scores of the pick of St-Emilion and Pomerol 2015

St-Emilion’s pyramid proves its worth

After tasting 111 wines blind from both St-Emilion and Pomerol in this warm vintage, the quality was evident. Vincenzo Arnese commented that, at 10 years old, you see ‘all their purity and integration’. From top to bottom, there was certainly a coherence and commonality between the wines that I would, if pushed, summarise as ‘ripeness’.

The key was simply managing the fruit to produce fresh, balanced and ageworthy wines. The task was, in general, simply to not spoil the fruit in the winery… but that’s easier said than done.

Despite showcasing different styles, St-Emilion was incredibly consistent. It does feel as if there was still a desire, from some properties, to over-extract the fruit, leaving those wines stewed and lacking definition.

Indeed, Arthur Coggill commented: ‘It was surprising to find so many wines still in thrall to the old style favoured by Robert Parker, and so for me, the 2015 vintage marks the highwater mark for the Parkerised style.’

The very best châteaux managed tannin perfectly – super-fine and wonderfully silky, with incredible length. The judges did note, however, that it was a shame not to see the full cross-section of the commune.

Among the 77 St-Emilion wines tasted, only six were 1er Grand Cru Classé (of the 14 ranked as such in the 2012 Classification, which applied at the time) – and their quality was a marked step up.

Thrilling consistency

Across the border in Pomerol, the quality was also incredibly consistent. Arnese commented: ‘Overall, Pomerol showed a surprisingly lifted style. I was expecting more ripeness in the final result, yet the sample showed good balance and purity.’

More of the ‘big names’ were submitted, which gave a much more coherent cross-section of what the region bottled in 2015. The styles produced were also far less variable than in St-Emilion.

Bordeaux’s en vogue appellation produced charming wines across the board, more perfumed and floral than their neighbour’s, with very little over-extraction, allowing the vineyards and terroir to speak.

I suspect that this is as consistent as a broad tasting of mid- to top-end Bordeaux can be. None of the wines exhibited the green, underripe character we often find in this maritime climate.

At the lower end, Bordeaux still has a lot of work to do in matching both the quality and value for money found in many regions outside France. That said, it was encouraging to see many of the top performers proving their worth and rising to the top.

I’m a firm believer that, at above £50 a bottle, pound for pound, Bordeaux provides better value than most other wine regions in the world. If you buy the best wines from this vintage, you will not only find pleasure now, but for decades to come.

St-Emilion and Pomerol 2015 panel tasting scores

Wines were tasted blind

The judges

Gareth Birchley is buying director at London-based Burns & German Vintners. Arriving in London in 2006, he worked in sales and senior buying roles at Bordeaux Index and Berry Bros & Rudd, before joining Burns & German in early 2019

Vincenzo Arnese is director of wine at Raffles London at the OWO. Born in Naples, he worked at top hotels in Italy, Switzerland and Australia, and later Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester. A DWWA judge, in 2022 he won the coveted title of Taittinger UK Sommelier of the Year

Arthur Coggill is head of business development at London-based merchant Hatton & Edwards, having joined in January 2024. Prior to this he was at Goedhuis & Co, where he worked initially in fine wine sales before running its investment fund for eight years, and then moving into buying in 2021

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