Ch. Haut-Brion. Photograph: Jason Lowe

On Wednesday morning Christian Seely of Ch. Pichon Baron discussed with us the challenges of taking part in blind tastings and the difficulties faced when you are judging wines without any indication of their story, terroir or typical style and quality. This led me to think about the role of the true wine merchant during en primeur and the process of judging wines when they are so young – just six months old.

It is very hard to make completely definitive decisions about a wine’s quality at this age. However, we have a team of buyers and tasters who have been doing just that for many, many years. Some for over 20. That experience counts. What also helps is that all of our teams who visit Bordeaux to taste during en primeur are passionate about wine and have the privilege of tasting many wines from their creation, during their evolvement right through to when they are fully mature and/or intended to be enjoyed. It is the role of the wine merchant to understand and curate the wines; providing an analysis of quality, assess the price and advise thereafter – and that is exactly what we intend to do.

We spent Thursday tasting in Margaux and Pessac-Léognan and found several more impressive wines that we will have no hesitation in recommending. Wines from Ch. du Tertre, Ch. Giscours, Ch. d’Issan – probably the best we have ever tasted en primeur from this estate – Ch. Brane-Cantenac, Ch. Angludet, Domaine de Chevalier and Ch. Haut-Bailly were the highlights. I was particularly impressed with Haut-Bailly though. This is a terrific wine whose seductive nose is followed through right onto the palate and finish. A direct focus, precision and consistency of flavour. Glorious.

Alexander van Beek from Ch. du Tertre and Ch. Giscours told us that 2015 is a true reflection of the identity of his Margaux wines. It has produced wines as they should be in terms of the vintage and their appellation. His view, which we fully support, is that 2015 Ch. Giscours is one of the most precise wines they have ever made. There was a real focus to the wine, with refined tannins and a real freshness.

Freshness is a hallmark of this vintage, and the wines that have a concentration of fruit, precision and carefully judged, grainy tannins are of a truly excellent quality. This is a vintage that fully justifies the pre-UGC en primeur tasting week hype, but at a lot, rather than all, of the estates.

A message that we also need to make clear is that 2015 is not a Merlot or Cabernet vintage. It is also not a Right or Left Bank vintage. It is also not a vintage which can be regarded as offering excellent quality across the board. There is excellent quality at some estates, and those wines challenge the top four vintages of the past 20 years in terms of quality.

We are of course reliant on fair and appropriate prices. We will offer a balanced view once pricing is released to us and advise if indeed we still consider the wines to offer reasonable value. Due to the nature of the vintage and complications for the owners as to how to price the wines, they may not release until late April and into May. Let’s hope they get it right; if they do, there are some truly great wines which ought to be part of your cellar, wines that will be simply delicious over the next 20 years and more in some cases.

It is our intention to release our scores and details about our favourite wines late next week, after our second team has been to assess and calibrate the first team’s opinions. Then, when each wine releases, we will confirm what we thought of the quality and indeed whether we think the price is a fair reflection of that quality.

We are genuinely excited about this selection of wines and – for the first time in many years – by the prospect of selling Bordeaux en primeur, and urge the Bordelais to start releasing prices and making wines available as early as possible. We have an excellent vintage on our hands. We want to keep talking about the wines over the next few weeks, not wait until May or June.

Of course, if you want to judge the vintage for yourself, then our Bordeaux tasting is at Lindley Hall, London on 6^th July (tickets are available to purchase here). Do take the opportunity to come and taste the wines and discuss them with us and the producers.