Vignobles Perse have produced a bevy of excellent St Emilions in 2015 culminating with an extremely powerful and wonderfully polished Château Pavie. It is exceptional. But the entire range here is extremely impressive this year. Château Monbousquet has concentration and lush fruit tones, Château Lusseau [close to Monbousquet and owned by Pavie’s technical director] is textured and complete. Château Pavie Decesse is full of flamboyant, glossy, textured fruit and has very considerable power. And Bellevue-Mondotte is a seductive beauty. There is plenty of weight and saturation across the range, but there is also a degree of freshness too and nothing tips the scales for me. These are extremely impressive wines.

Château Canon [and Château Rauzan-Ségla] appear to have found a great follow up act to John Kolasa in new general manager Nicolas Audebert. His arrival at both properties for the 2015 vintage has certainly been well timed. He’s managed to arrive in an excellent vintage, to work some of the finest terroir in the world, in a vintage that has specifically favoured both St Emilion and Margaux. Lucky man. The Gods are certainly smiling on him and the properties [and clearly the Wertheimers too, who own them and fashion house Chanel]. Château Canon 2015 is a beauty. It is a wine with finesse and power but also with the most gorgeous, bright fruit tones, tones that define this vintage. Croix Canon, which comes from an 11ha parcel all of its own, is harmonious and extremely pretty at 2015.

There is usually a silky quality to Count Stephan von Neipperg’s St Emilions. This quality is really underscored in the 2015 vintage. These are beautiful wines, deceptively easy but with wonderful beauty. Clos de L’Oratoire is seductive and ripe; Château Canon-la-Gaffelière more substantial [45% Cabernets] but with remarkably supple, glossy fruit. La Mondotte is heavenly. Again these are amongst some of the finest wines I have yet tried from these Neipperg-owned properties. There is a delicacy in 2015 not found in either the powerful 2010s or the opulent 2009s here.

It is always a pleasure to taste the Thienpont wines each year at Château Pavie-Macquin. Not only does the property have an excellent tasting room that looks back towards the town of St Emilion, but there’s always an intelligent discussion of the vintage to be had with Cyrille Thienpont and winemaker David Suire. This year I also had the chance to discuss the vintage with Nicolas Thienpont himself. They are understandably positive about the growing season, the quality and homogeneity in the wines in 2015. They are amongst the purest and most harmonious you will come across in St Emilion. The emphasis is on work in the vineyard ‘winegrowing’ and getting the best expression of the contrasting terroirs they consult for at Château Berliquet, Château Larcis Ducasse and Château Beauséjour.