We love digging through stacks of old Bordeaux in search of mature values from great vintages. Not everyone wants to crack a $300 bottle of Lynch Bages on a random summer evening, which is why finding little gems from outstanding vintages like 2015 bring us immense joy.
A recent search through an importer’s warehouse revealed five extra cases of 2015 Château Corbin from St. Emilion on Bordeaux’s famed Right Bank. Owned by the Cruse family since 1924, and today led by Anabelle Bardinet, the wines have been improving steadily since new investment was made in the late 1990s.
With a cepage of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the wines of Château Corbin are reminiscent of the old school Right Bank style we love: loads of plummy fruit, balanced with hints of tobacco and cigar box with plenty of grip. After almost a decade in bottle, the wine is in an absolutely beautiful spot and begging for a place around your summer grill.
Our hot price of $39.95 is nothing to sneeze at either! Grill up a steak, sauté some mushrooms, roast something savory, or just pop the cork and enjoy it. Drinking mature, old school Bordeaux with great press at a great price doesn’t have to cost hundreds of dollars.
Sometimes the best wines are the ones you least expect (although look at all the amazing reviews below):
2015 Château Corbin, St. Emilion $39.95
93 POINTS: JAMES SUCKLING - Plum pastries with violets and spiced blueberry fruits. The palate has impressive plushness and rich, fleshy appeal. Long finish. Try from 2022.
92 POINTS: ROBERT PARKER’S WINE ADVOCATE - A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc aged for 18 months in barrels, 40% new, the 2015 Corbin is medium garnet-purple colored with cigar box and spice box notions accenting the core of red and black plums, blackberry preserves and earthy layers plus a hint of lavender. The palate is medium to full-bodied, firm, elegant and well balanced with grainy tannins, finishing lively and long.
90 POINTS: WINE SPECTATOR - A rather chunky style, with fig, boysenberry and blackberry confiture notes thoroughly embedded with grippy, brambly structure. Roasted apple wood and licorice snap notes fill in on the finish. Relies on power more than guile.
90 POINTS: VINOUS - The 2015 Corbin shows much better from bottle than it did from barrel. Plump, juicy and forward, with lovely depth, it has much to recommend it. The dark red plum, mocha, chocolate, savory herb, leather, licorice, tobacco and smoke flavors are nicely delineated. The 2015 has come along nicely. I would prefer to drink it over the next handful of years