JCP Maltus, Château Teyssier, 2015
JCP Maltus, Château Teyssier, 2015
- 75cl
- 13%
- Red Still
- Merlot, Cabernet Franc
- Organic
- Biodynamic
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Optimal drinking window: Now - 2035
Est. delivery in Summer, 2026
JCP Maltus is the personal project of our friend Jonathan Maltus, the British entrepreneur who arrived in Saint-Émilion in the late 1990s and proceeded to do things his own way. Based at Château Teyssier on the limestone plateau, this is a wine that has always operated at the ambitious end of the Maltus portfolio - low yields, meticulous selection, and the kind of concentration that right-bank Merlot delivers when it's pushed hard. The 2015 vintage gave him exceptional raw material: a warm, dry summer that built fruit intensity without sacrificing freshness, and a harvest picked at near-perfect ripeness.
A decade on, this is in a lovely spot. The primary fruit is integrating, the oak has knitted in, and there's a composed, almost meditative quality to it now — dark plum, graphite, a whisper of iron and dried herbs. The tannins are polished but still purposeful.
What the critics say:
"Bright summer berry compote and light pastry notes. The palate has a plush, ripe and open-knit feel. Drink now."
"Medium to deep ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Teyssier (a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc) gives up lovely black and red cherries notions with cinnamon stick, fragrant earth and potpourri nuances. Medium-bodied and fresh with a satiny texture, it's earthy and elegant in the mouth with a perfumed finish."
The Teyssier estate sits on the limestone plateau to the east of Saint-Émilion, where thin topsoils over a solid limestone bedrock force vine roots deep in search of water and nutrients, producing naturally low yields and concentrated fruit. The plateau benefits from good drainage and a slightly elevated position that moderates temperature extremes, giving wines freshness alongside ripeness. Clay pockets within the limestone hold just enough moisture during dry summers — critical in a vintage like 2015 — while contributing to the structured, mineral character that defines the style.
Saint-Émilion Grand Cru is the appellation that covers the bulk of the Saint-Émilion production zone, sitting above the basic Saint-Émilion AOC in terms of yield restrictions and minimum alcohol levels. It is Merlot country above all else, with Cabernet Franc playing a supporting role and Cabernet Sauvignon appearing only in small quantities. The plateau and slopes around the town itself produce the most age-worthy wines, where limestone soils give structure and minerality that the sandier, flatter soils to the east and west cannot always match. The appellation sits in a complex political landscape — its classification system has been notoriously contested — but the best wines here can rival anything Bordeaux produces.
We absolutely adore 2015 Bordeaux, and frankly, we think it might be the most underrated vintage of the decade. The growing season was a fairy tale: a warm, dry summer with just enough rain in September to plump up the grapes before a gloriously sunny harvest. The Right Bank had a particularly brilliant time of it, with Merlot ripening to perfection, whilst the Cabernet Sauvignon on the Left Bank achieved that magical balance between power and elegance that makes collectors weak at the knees.
What emerged were wines of remarkable concentration and finesse – think 2010's structure with 2009's generosity, but with their own distinct personality. The tannins are silky rather than muscular, the fruit is pure and focused, and there's an underlying freshness that keeps everything in perfect harmony. We find these wines utterly charming already, drinking beautifully now with a few hours in the decanter, but the best will happily cellar for another 15-20 years. If you're looking for Bordeaux that combines immediate pleasure with serious ageing potential, 2015 is your vintage.
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