2015 Bordeaux

Hello all. New guy here who is only 4 years into my wine infatuation with a lot left to learn. I recently had a total loss house fire, and lost my humble wine collection. I’m back in my rebuilt house, and am ready to start stocking up.
Like most, I started out with California cabs which I still love. However, I want to start to branch out with French wine. I’ve been reading about 2015 being a great year for Bordeaux. I’d like to buy a few cases to keep in my cellar. I’m looking for recommendations that fall in line with Cali cabs pricing($50-75). I recently read an article on Vinous that recommended Chateau Pouget Margaux, which I found for around $60/bottle. Any other recommendations? Thanks

Brane-Cantenac

If you buy a few cases, Larcis Ducasse 2016 at Total Wine should be in your range.
Maybe Pavie Macquin 2015 or 2016 as well.

Justin, if you use the Search feature (e.g., bordeaux 2015) you’ll find a number of threads with tons of opinions. My own is that 2014 and 2016 are far better vintages then 2015, so be a little circumspect before you dive in too deep. Here are a few threads to peruse:

While many Bordeaux nuts will say 14 and 16 are better vintages …
2015 is a great vintage for someone still getting to know Bordeaux, as there are a lot more early drinking examples.

16 is shaping up to be terrific, and 14 very classic, but the ripeness of 15 will be a good bridge for someone more used to Cali wine. I recommend Sansonnet, Gloria, maybe Gruaud Larose, lots of other topics with good recommendations, but I think 15 is a great vintage to explore. Then again, don’t shy away from older vintages you find in your price range either!

Are there still decent Cali cab in the $50-75 range?

Anyhow. I really like Chateau clerc milon in that range!

Bougetz

how old are you?

and how long are you willing to wait

FYI if you have not figured this out yet, Bordeaux has at least three major profile preferences ((1) modern closest to Napa but still far away, (2) hybrid and (3) those that prefer much less fruit and more classical vintages).

Just make sure when you ask for and receive recommendations you understand their preference to make sure it aligns with yours as they can be drastically different.

Vintages questions, besides the above, play a roll as well as they may have had a better right bank in ‘14 vs left (as an example doesn’t not always hold true).

Couple of others asked as well but additional thoughts:

1. looking for something to age for a long time or to drink soon?
2. buy a good mix of regions within both right and left banks to learn more about the profiles
3. focus in a select number of regions and go deeper
4. same as above but multiple vintages within same producer
5. are you ok with averages of $60 so that you can buy $100 wines as well as $20 wines and still be within your $60 average or do you not want to spend over that number

These items will help you and others with your request.

Why focus on 2015 vintage alone? Its fine to own some Cases of Bordeaux from 2014, 2015 and 2016 vintage. 2014 is very good in the Northern Medoc. 2015 is probably the best vintage for Margaux of the last 25 years. And 2016 is a strong vintage with classic Bordeaux wines but I guess they will need plenty of time to reach their peak.

Thanks for all the recommendations and insight. Looks like I have a lot more to learn than I had previously thought, but that is part of the fun. I did not know anything about the profile differences. I can’t pronounce 90% of these producers, which makes it more difficult than domestic wine.

I’m 40 years old and don’t mind holding onto a good vintage for 10+ years. However, I’m now considering purchasing a few bottles that are ready to drink now that exemplify the different profiles and see what I really like. Although, who knows what we will like in 10-15 years. Do all Bordeaux wines need 10-15 years to age?

Unless you really like young and modern Bordeaux or have time and space to store these for 20+ years, BACK FILL. Lots of wines from 95, 96, 00, or even some 05 are close to early maturity and they often cost less than the new releases. Plus, the style on these is more classic (excepting many 05s).

I get that buying stuff the 70’s and 80’s is a crap shoot and can be intimidating for the uninitiated, but backfilling 90’s and up is fairly straight forward and easy with all the online auction sites.

Justin,
I found this review helpful. (https://www.farrvintners.com/blog.php?blog=264). The Farr Vintners tasting group is a group of many wine “professionals” that all taste the wines together and group their scores together. I believe Neal Martin is in this group, fwiw.

One of the wines they rave about in this tasting is the 2015 Meyney. I opened one last night and it was quite good. I found it locally for less than $40.

Chateau D’Armailhac, Cantenac Brown, Kirwan, D’Issan, Langoa Barton, Alter Ego de Palmer, Les Griffons Pichon.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket on vintage. Get some 2014, 2015 and 2016 rather than all one vintage. Also, see if you can find some 2001, 2005 and 2008 to get some wine that either is mature or on the road there.

Buy some Ridge Monte Bello.

Also consider buying a few 2018 Bordeaux on pre-arrival (futures), which are still selling at release prices in most cases. Branaire Ducru at about $54 is a good value at that price. Domaine de Chevalier at $73 is also a good value at that price. Check out the current 2018 Bordeaux thread on this board with links to reviews, etc. to get more information.

If you are slavish to 2015, look in the Margaux commune as well as Pomerol/St Emilion. Many well regarded wines in that price range.

But as others note, other years all have good attributes too. It’s been an amazing era for BDX.

The USD is pretty strong too which makes wines fresh off the boat look a touch cheaper than they might have been previously.

Justin since you are more recently into wine, have you had the opportunity to taste mature wine (15-25+ years of age)? If you have great jump in as Pat mentioned. If not, be careful as IMHO it takes time/tastings/experience to move your palate from young Napa profile to older Bordeaux. It’s an amazing experience as you typically shed the on your face fruit for (depending on age and location) more of the earth, tobacco, mushrooms flavors which may take time getting use to.

The suggestion to buy a handful of recent vintages and some 2018s (you won’t get them for two years) would be a good way to learn the nuisances of age, vintages, regions (flavor profiles), producers (Châteaus also flavor profiles) and your overall profile (most likely will start with modern and move towards hybrid over medium term but not for everyone).

My point on the above is take a stab on a couple to see what you like and don’t like before stocking up- does that make sense? If you don’t like it now you may not like it even after it softens.

Maybe try a handful of samples like (you can sub out for any (hundreds of choices) these are less expensive examples and bit more modern/hybrid vs classic especially in ‘15 & ‘16) Monbousquet, Domaine de Chevalier, Cantenac Brown, clerc milon, Clinet, St Julian is tough as they typically need more time, etc.

Or better yet, highly suggest getting 375s as they age quicker and are a cheaper price to entry when wanting to taste vs cellar. Hope that helps.

My usual advice: taste, taste, taste. Find a group, buy some bottle, share the cost, and discover what you like. Buy based on your taste rather than what someone tells you.