2015 Chateau Bel-Air Pomerol Bordeaux

Château Bel-Air is as classic as Pomerol gets.

It’s just down the road from both Trotanoy ($350) and Château Clinet ($150+), two of the region’s legendary names. Bel-Air also boasts the same 95% Merlot to 5% Cabernet Franc ratio as Petrus’ vineyard. Add in sandy gravel over greenish-clay soils and you have the recipe for bold, yet silky, fruit and fantastic complexity.

But despite its quality, Bel-Air has always been in the shadow of its famous neighbors—making it one of the most fantastic deals on the Right Bank. It’s rare to score back-vintage bottles on these shores, though.

2015 was an EPIC Right Bank vintage.Right off the bat, the critical consensus was glowing and loud, with Vinous saying, “The warm, dry summer yielded opulent wines built on intense fruit and voluptuous textures. At their best, the 2015s are spectacularly rich, racy wines loaded with personality.” Wine Advocate proclaimed it a 95-point vintage, boasting “a raft of sensual Saint-Émilions” with “complex and seductive aromatic profiles.” For Jane Anson of Decanter, it was “predominantly a victory for the Right Bank…for consistency of achievement you have to go to Saint-Émilion and Pomerol.”

Bel-Air’s vinification style, which is overseen by legendary consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt’s firm, is traditional, with cement vats for fermentation and aging for over a year in a mixture of larger casks and new- and once-filled French oak barrels. The result is a wine that often blossoms about five years from the vintage, then holds nicely for another decade-plus after that. As such, the 2015 is just entering its prime. Enjoy over the next ten years.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.00%
• 1 hour
• Now – 2035
• 100% Merlot
• Serving temperature – 58°
• Cork