Outgoing Head of Buying, Tim Sykes, on what to look out for over the coming months
The 2015 Vintage

I couldn’t write this
guide without
making mention of
the 2015 vintage
– almost universally
excellent throughout
Europe. There will
be plenty of
opportunities to stock up on delicious
wines from this vintage over the year.
Our 2015 Rhône en primeur offer,
which closes at the end of February,
is packed with high-quality reds and
whites from across the price spectrum.
Keep a lookout also for our release of
the 2015 Burgundies in March. Buyer
Toby Morrhall says that he has never
tasted a red Burgundy vintage like it;
some producers with very long
memories (or very well-stocked cellars)
are comparing it to the legendary 1929
vintage.
We also still have a good
selection of 2015 Bordeaux available on
our website (go to the en primeur
section) for members who missed our
original offers last year, or for those
wishing to top up their purchases from
this outstanding vintage. Later this year,
we’ll be putting together an offer of
2015s showcasing the best of the
vintage from across Europe. For those
who can’t wait that long, we currently
have a very enticing line-up of everyday
Rhônes on offer from the 2015 vintage
on our website.
The following suggestions for drinking
over the course of this year, include
wines available now, as well as some
ideas for wines to take out of your
reserves or cellars. As usual, I have also
put together a mixed case of my
personal picks for everyday drinking
this year.
Bordeaux
Bringing in the 2016 harvest at Domaine Jaume
For Bordeaux last year I suggested
2007 as a vintage providing plenty of
pleasure and in 2015 I made similar
comments about 2004. Both continue
to show particularly well, and look
keenly priced alongside some of the
more highly acclaimed vintages. We
have a few magnums left of the delicious
2004 Château de Camensac (ref
N-CM18814, £58) if you missed our
offer late last year. Drinking well too
are 2000, 2001 and 2002. Most 2003s
are at their peak and can be broached,
and the 2005s are finally coming out of
their shells, although the top wines
would benefit from more time in bottle.
The same applies to high-end 2006s and
2008s. In general, 2009s are lovely now, with ripe fruit and plenty of weight, but
the more senior 2010s could do with a
little longer to show at their best.
Patience will, however, be rewarded as
this remains one of the very best
vintages of recent times. At the more
affordable level, wines from 2011 and
2012 can be enjoyed now.
We have just launched our first
Exhibition Margaux for a decade. This 2014 wine
is made for us by Château Brane Cantenac. It typifies the refined,
perfumed style of the Margaux
appellation – and is already delicious.
Burgundy
In Burgundy we have been spoiled
by a run of super white vintages. Ripe
2015s or perfectly balanced 2014s at
Mâcon or Chablis village or premier cru
level are a joy. At village level in the
Côte de Beaune, 2012 Meursaults and
Pulignys are lovely, while the 2011
premiers crus are at a charming point
in their evolution. As for the reds, at
village level the 2014s have sweet
tannins and the 2011s are open for
business. The lesser 2009s are full,
plump and ready, and the 2007s and
2006s are attractive now
Rhône
The Rhône has fared well in the last
few years. 2012 was a successful
vintage everywhere in the Rhône and
the generous bright flavours make
these wines very enjoyable and, apart
from the top wines, ready now. 2011s
are soft and ripe and drinking well
now but the best may still be to
come. 2010 has been a slow burner of
a vintage and the wines still taste
remarkably young and vibrant. Signs
are that these wines are just coming
round and will be good towards the
back end of this year. Another sleeper
has been 2005 and the wines are also
showing positive signs that they can
be enjoyed. A favourite and
undervalued vintage is 2006 and with
ten years on the clock, these wines
are quite superb. Hermitage La
Chapelle and Cornas Saint Pierre
2006 will be re-offered this year and
there are gems from Côte-Rôtie that
will appear during the course of 2017.
Read how members of Society staff helped with the 2016 vintage at Domaine Jaume in Travels in Wine™ on our website. Left to right: Simon Mason (Head of Tastings), Justine Allum (Member Services),
Helen Bourne (Merchandising), Emma Dorahy (Buying), Naomi Norwood (Showroom)
Alsace
2015 was a good, if small, harvest in
Alsace and the wines have generous
fruit and easy drinkability. Other
recent vintages may all be consumed
now, though the fine, structured
2010s should still be kept. 2008s are
blossoming beautifully. 2016 in the
Loire has produced fuller, riper
wines which, like the 2015s will be
approachable young. 2015 reds are
juicy and delicious; 2014 reds and
whites are in the more classic style
preferred by Loire aficionados.
Italy
We have just made a first-release
offer of Brunello 2012 and
2013 Barolo will be released later
this month. The wines, whilst
approachable now, have good ageing
potential. Down the track 2015 and
2016 in Italy are both looking
promising for nebbiolo (Barolo),
while 2014 is lighter, but good
growers, as is so often the case, made
attractive wines. 2013 is our pouring
Chianti vintage currently and the
wines are looking very good and full
of life. Again, 2014 in Tuscany is a
lighter vintage. Elsewhere 2016 was an
up-and-down year with early-picked
grapes at an advantage in most regions
because of autumn rains. There will be
some very good whites in Friuli and
Alto Adige. In the main, 2015 whites
from across Italy are excellent.
Portugal
2015 was an excellent vintage across
Portugal. Top-end whites will be
drinking well this year, and there are
delicious reds from all regions. We
will be offering a selection of more
mature Douro reds over the year –
we have a range of excellent wines
from Passadouro in the current Fine
Wine List. We also now have two
Exhibition reds from Portugal to
compare and contrast: a fine young
2013 Douro and a hearty 2011 Alentejano
Spain
From Spain, perfectly mature
and elegant Ribera del Duero
Bohorquez 2007 is showing really well at the
moment. Rioja vintages that are
reaching full maturity now are 2001
(which will still keep), 2005 and 2006.
For longer-term keeping the 2010
reservas are a must.
Germany
We still have small amounts of stock
left over from our 2015 German
offer, which went out late last year.
The wines, which are ripe, fleshy and
concentrated, but with vibrant acidity,
are considered to be amongst the
best that Germany has produced in
a generation.
Austria
From Austria the Exhibition
Grüner Veltliner 2015 now has several
months’ bottle age and is really
starting to sing. Early samples of a
new Society’s Grüner Veltliner
2016 look exciting, despite it being
a tricky vintage.
We have increased the Argentine
range this year with more wines to
come. Malbecs are particularly pretty
and perfumed from the Uco Valley,
which includes the sub-regions of
Gualtallary and the very fine Paraje
Altamira. Worthy of particular note
are Mendel’s wines which are
European in style and work well
with food. We have also added a
cabernet from the north, grown at
1,800m altitude.
Chile
Mendel’s celebrated winemaker Roberto de la Mota with director Anabelle Sielecki
We have added more Chilean
carmenères this year, and those of
Koyle and Primus are ripe yet not
over the top. Wines produced
from the Rhône varieties are
increasing in quality. Look out for
Undurraga’s whites and reds, and
Koyle’s superb 2014 Cerro
Basalto. 2016
was cool and is the best vintage for
whites for a number of years.
South Africa
Increasingly South Africa has
strength in depth, offering wines to
suit all pockets and palates. 2015 was
a great vintage across all regions and
styles and is worth seeking out
whatever your taste. For wines
currently on a high, look for top
chardonnays and sauvignons which
are now world class, and white blends
from the friendly and affordable
Percheron Chenin Blanc Viognier (ref N-SA11741, £5.95) to
the very best the Cape has to offer
from the likes of Chris Alheit and
John Seccombe. Bordeaux-style
reds are on a roll too and regularly
feature in our Fine Wine Lists.
New Zealand
The 2016 New Zealand sauvignons
look classic in style, with the
Exhibition Sauvignon particularly
strong this year, and we have a new
fighting-price wine also from Hunter’s
called Rata that punches well above its weight.
We are also selling Kumeu Village
wines from the very strong 2014
vintage which we tried from barrel
with Michael Brajkovich MW when
we were there a couple of years ago.
Australia
The latest range of (newly labelled) Blind Spot wines
explores cooler-climate regions and
alternative varieties chosen because
they often suit their locations better
– our picks this year would be the
Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2016
(ref N-AU19381, £10.95) and the
King Valley Barbera 2015 that we have
shipped for the first time – full of juicy
cherry notes.
USA
In the USA 2014 zinfandels are
singing; The Society’s 2014
Zinfandel is
now in stock, as is the 2014
Ravenswood Zinfandel, both thoroughly
delicious, the usual big bold berry
notes countered by some sour cherry
and spice.
Tim Sykes’ Case for 2017
A 12-bottle mixed case containing
five reds and seven whites handpicked by The Society’s head of
buying Tim Sykes for enjoying now.
Ref N-MX1742 £90 including
delivery. Available until Sunday 5th
March, 2017.
Reds
Château Lamothe Saint-Germain, Bordeaux 2015
Grignan-les-Adhémar, Delas 2015
Ionos Greek Red Wine
Ravenswood Lodi Old-Vine Zinfandel 2014
Salvaje del Moncayo Garnacha 2015
Whites
The Society’s Falanghina 2015
Undurraga Cauquenes Estate Maule Viognier-Roussanne Marsanne 2016
Pepp Grüner Veltliner 2015
Quinta de Azevedo, Vinho Verde 2015
Kumeu Village Hand-Harvested Chardonnay 2014
The Society’s Vin d’Alsace 2015
Casa Ferreirinha Planalto Reserva, Douro 2015
All Wines mentioned by Tim
January 2017