Every year in Bordeaux the wines of the previous vintage, barely in the barrel, are trotted out by their château to be scrutinised by the wine trade. This year’s en-primeur whirligig is now over and the 2015 declared a success. I didn’t join the throng, but did shifty along to a tasting of sixteen Grand Cru Classé in the shadow of Westminster Abbey.

The chateaux, which included a decent spread of right and left bank, brought along four vintages – 2012 to 2015. I felt a tasting of these wines was overdue. The English Nose spends a disproportionate amount of time lurking in Burgundy, taking just an occasional inhale of Bordeaux. Sure I put in time with Bordeaux honing my palate for the Master of Wine, but that’s a life time ago and recent vintages have not beckoned… not since the excellent 2010.

I eased in gently with the 2015s. Well 2015 is a vintage of lovely sweet fruit and well ripened tannins. It has intensity and depth and a vibrant core of acidity. It’s a well balanced vintage. I particularly liked the refined, supple-textured Château Canon La Gaffelière from Saint-Emillion, drawn to the floral notes and fine line of minerality and freshness on the finish. As a Burgundy lover this expression was alluring. From the same stable, it’s easy to understand why La Mondotte has garnered much praise. The 2015 plays to its strengths. It’s a flashy wine with opulent dark fruit, velvet tannins, oodles of depth and concentration, but with balancing freshness. It’s made from just 4.5 hectares (a handkerchief parcel in Bordeaux) on a more clay based soil. This lush, low yielding ‘garagiste’ wine recently joined the conventional fold as a Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé.

Bumping down to something more affordable and accessible, Châteaux d’Aiguilhe has delish sweet fruit. It comes from a satellite region of Saint-Emilion, the Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux and is a sweet and succulent number.

I also warmed to the smooth satin textured Château Leoville Poyferré from Saint-Julien with its sweeping, seductive palate and the elegant, fresh and silky Château Rauzan-Ségla from Margaux which had a lovely fresh finish…this freshness of acidity is part of vintage character.

So, from this small tasting, in 2015 both left and right bank seem to have benefited from the hot summer which has given good ripeness of fruit and tannin while the cooler, dry and sunny autumn has bestowed an attractive freshness.

Well now to the 2014s which were showing more assertive tannin and less fruit than 2015. The tannin is pronounced and can be dry, exacerbated by acidity, although in the better examples it is either sweet and muscular or light and restrained. It’s considered the best of a run of mediocre vintages – from 2011 to 2014 and there were some decent wines in the room. Château Le Crock – a mere Cru Bourgeois in Saint-Estèphe – packed in the fruit with burly honesty. It’s a chunky wine in any vintage. From the same family (Cuvelier) Chateau Moulin-Riche is light-bodied, floral with blackberry fruit and easy on the tannin. Sadly I found Cuvelier’s star wine Leoville-Poyferré, a Saint-Julien 2ème cru fell a little short of expectations in 2014.

Possibly the nicest 2014 in the tasting was Château Canon. It is quite full and juicy with attractive fruit and a smoky, mineral note. It’s a good 2014… one which did not look ridiculous beside the delicious 2015. (The 2015 is closely knit and layered. It has suede-soft texture and a smokey silex thread on the finish… The Nose would quite happily snaffle this.)

Now to 2013…well no, don’t bother. The 16 wines I tried were not pleasant. Some were horrible. They tend to be lean and lack fruit.

By contrast the 2012s were a relief, although it’s not a wonderful or indeed consistent vintage. It was difficult to ripen Cabernet Sauvignon, so the left bank suffered. It’s a mixed bag. There were some pleasant wines and some that were harsh, hollow and too oaky. It was not a year to go looking for too much extraction or to drape with too much new oak. My top pick would be Château Smith Haut Lafitte’s second wine Le Petit Haut Lafitte Rouge. An inexpensive, soft, sweet and juicy little wine. In the good old old days of business lunches this would have been the business, now it would be very nice with supper. Yum. I wouldn’t splash out on this vintage, but Château Canon La Gaffèliere is elegant and has a lively salty finish. Château Branaire-Ducru (4ème from Saint-Juilen) produces pretty wine; not as intense as some for sure, but light-footed, nicely paired down and not too much oak. It came up trumps with an energetic and pure 2012.

Dry white Bordeaux has been more consistent over the past decade than red… and the 2015s were up to snuff. Le G de Chateau Guiraud which is 50/50 Semillion and Sauvignon Blanc was very fresh and appetising with ripe gooseberry flavours. This fresh off the press white is a snip to boot… not words you’ll hear too often in the company of en-primeur Bordeaux rouge.