2015 Domaine du Castel Grand Vin

The 2015 Grand Vin is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot, aged for 18 months in one-third new French oak. It comes in at 15% alcohol. The winery said this was a difficult year, with uneven maturation and a sand storm, and they discarded some 15% of the available grapes. At the moment, it seems to have worked out, but it isn't fully clear where this is going. This is a rather big 2015, showing big fruit, a dense mid-palate, a little alcohol and ripe fruit. At times, the fruit and the oak combine to give this a very rich and toasted feel, while the alcohol generally receded. It sometimes seemed a little more Southern Rhône-like than Bordeaux-like. Personally, I preferred some other recent vintages, but this is a wine you will have to cellar to get much out of it. Of course, that's true with all young Grands Vins to some extent—they have power and intensity that the Petit Castel usually does not have. This still has a chance to do very well, but let's be a little conservative and make it prove that in the cellar. I do think this will be one of the nice successes of the vintage in time. This is not imported into the U.S. as it is a Shmita wine (a long discussion, but basically it means that Kosher wineries are supposed to skip a vintage every 7th year, although in various ways, many do not; however, Castel's U.S. importer does not import these wines).