2015 DDCs, Malartics, Brane, Issan

Despite a promising start, Canon's release ended with a crunch. Within hours of selling it at £750, one large merchant was trying to buy stock back at £850. One of our own negociants put a YTS recruit on the job only to find it blow up in their face - and blow a large hole in what we thought we had to offer. Meanwhile, proprietor Nicolas Audebert has gone to ground - or at least, turned off his phone. Bordeaux gets a lot of flak for being too expensive. This is what happens when it's too cheap.

As if that wasn't enough excitement, this morning saw the release of two of our favourite wines from two of the best performing appellations in 2015. Olivier Bernard was justifiably pleased with Domaine de Chevalier Rouge. This, I think, is a wine which will easily attain the heady heights the property hit in '09 and '10. If anything, it has more precision - more focus - than those two great wines. He always prices this to sell and this morning we bought everything we could lay our hands on. Chevalier Blanc is always one of Bordeaux's greatest whites and although this one is no exception, it's now given a close run but for less money by Malartic-Lagraviere. Its days of Champagne Laurent-Perrier ownership are firmly behind it and since the Bonnie family took over in 1997 quality has soared. There are only 2,000 cases of the white but - as Neal Martin says - 'these wines should be near the top of your en primeur shopping-list.'

Talking of shopping-lists, number 4 on our Margaux one would have to be Brane-Cantenac (though the top 2 will be too expensive, and number 3 is sold out, so perhaps this should be number 1?). Henri Lurton usually seems a little embattled, slightly rumpled and a tad underwhelmed by the new vintage he's presenting. But not this year. There was a spring in his step and he's clearly very happy with a vintage he neatly summed up as 05 + 10 = 15. 'It has the fruit of 2005 and the structure of 2010,' as he explained. A beautiful wine. Not far behind is d`Issan, which - to quote Neal Martin again - 'may well turn out to be one of the greatest Chateau d'Issan made in the modern era.' /AR

Offered subject to remaining unsold; available 2018