2015 Wine from France

jamessuckling.com, 96 points: This is sensational, characterized by such purity and beauty and with aromas of blackberries, dark chocolate, walnuts, cedar and lavender. Full-bodied, tight and focused — in part thanks to sensational tannin tension that...

jamessuckling.com, 94 points: Extremely complex aromas of wet earth, mushrooms and blackberries. Medium to full body, gorgeous, velvety tannins and a dense mouthfeel. Very Compacted and long. A clearly outstanding young wine. Drink now or hold.

jamessuckling.com, 96 points: Quite floral, this shows a wealth of very ripe plums and black cherries. The tannins are powerful with a thread of spicy cinnamon-infused oak. Rippling with power. Yet ever so refined and beautiful. Try around 2025.

Vinous, 92 points: (90-92 points) Brilliant ruby. Pungent dark berry, licorice and garrigue aromas are energized by a hint of white pepper. Chewy and focused on the palate, offering bitter cherry, cassis and blood orange flavors that show...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: 2015 was a riper and more powerful vintage, and the 2015 L'Etoile Savagnin was produced with grapes from two plots on marl soils and fermented in stainless steel. It ages in barrels that are initially full but are left...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 points: A 50/50 field blend of Savagnin and Chardonnay, the 2015 L'Etoile En Banode comes from a plot that names the wine, a vineyard planted in 1970. The two varieties are picked and fermented together, as they want to focus on...

jebdunnuck.com, 94 points: I also loved the 2015 Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée Louis Belle which saw a traditional vinification followed by 20 months in French oak. Blackberry, currants, blueberries, violets and hints of black pepper give way to a rich...

jamessuckling.com, 94 points: Flowers, black licorice, blackberries and minerals all rise to the surface. Transparent. Medium to full bodied, polished and ultra-fine. This is a wine guided for a long time by the owner of Pomerol’s l’Eglise Clinet...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 98 points: As I reported last year, the 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee da Capo is impressive. While it's less flamboyantly aromatic than the Cuvée Réservée, it's more powerful and concentrated. Full-bodied and rich, it's loaded with...

jebdunnuck.com, 91 points: Mostly Merlot blended with 14% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot, the 2015 Arbalest was brought up 16 months in tank and 30% new oak. It offers a perfumed, gorgeous bouquet of plums, incense, spice and hints of...

Vinous, 93 points: The 2015 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains 1er Cru has a lovely, multifaceted bouquet of precocious red cherry, raspberry coulis, fig and light, almost gravelly scents. It manages to retain much better definition than...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 100 points: (WA 97-100 points) Tasting just like the Les Trois Source (they come from the same terroir), yet with just another level of polish and purity to its tannin and fruit, the sensational 2015 Châteauneuf du Pape Reserve...

Wine Spectator, 93 points: Focused, with a tight beam of raspberry coulis and warm plum compote flavors, flecked with savory and white pepper hints. A chalky spine harnesses everything on the finish. Very solid. Best from 2018 through 2023. 100...

jamessuckling.com, 97 points: Such a beautiful and complex nose of rose petals, dark fruit and sandalwood. Full-bodied, juicy and flavorful. A precise linear edge to this runs through the wine. Very fine tannins. Yet this is so powerful. Love it...