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Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru from Joseph Drouhin was another Clos-de-Bèze (alongside that of Chanson’s) that completely surpassed its showing out of barrel. It has a clean and refined bouquet with cola-tinged red berry fruit (cranberry leaf and raspberry) with touches of rooibos and bergamot emerging just behind. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannin, impressive depth but with some new oak that clearly needs to be assimilated. Everything is being held back at the moment, but the class and stature here.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThe 2012 Clos de Bèze had been bottled at the end of October, but was still showing very well in mid-November, wafting from the glass in a superb aromatic constellation of black cherries, cassis, espresso, black minerality, grilled meats, mustard seed, woodsmoke and a lovely base of cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very pure on the attack, with beautiful transparency, a sappy core of black fruit, fine-grained tannins, excellent focus and balance and a very, very long, poised and nascently complex finish. Given that this was just bottled, I would expect it to place at the upper end of the range when it has fully recovered. Great juice in the making. (Drink between 2025 - 2075)John Gilman | 94-95+ JG(bottled at the end of October; includes some purchased grapes; vinified with 10% whole clusters): Bright, full red. Restrained nose hints at red fruits and smoky underbrush. Then sweet, silky and dense on the palate, showing considerable power as well as some spicy high tones. Saline, serious wine with an obvious sweet oak component and very good sneaky length. This wine spent 26 days on its skins. A bit shocked by the recent bottling, so my score should be viewed as provisional.Vinous Media | 92+ VMA spicy, cool and highly restrained nose features notes of various red berries, earth, humus and a hint of the sauvage. There is plenty of minerality that adds lift to the relatively supple middle weight flavors that are shaped by fine-grained tannins, all wrapped in a toasty finish that displays very good but not truly distinguished depth and length. To be sure the 2012 Bèze is a quality effort but it doesn’t seem, at least not at this very early juncture, to have that extra dimension present in say the Griotte or Musigny.Burghound | 92 BH

As for the 2012 La Mission Haut Brion, this wine (41% of the total production) continues to perform as it has for nearly a century. At first-growth levels of quality, this is s stunning wine that is full-bodied and very concentrated with notes of graphite, subtle charcoal embers, crème de cassis, blackberry and underlying subtle earthiness. The wine is full and powerful, rich and concentrated. And sure enough, the alcohol level tips the scales at 15% from a blend 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc. This is a big, blockbuster La Mission Haut Brion that should age effortlessly for 30-40+ years. However, the tannins suggest that this wine should not be touched for another 5-6 years, as its one of the more backward of the 2012 Pessac-Léognans. Bravo!Robert Parker | 97 RPContinuing to show brilliantly, the 2012 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion is a quintessential Graves, boasting a deep purple color as well as heavenly aromatics of blackcurrants, tobacco, scorched earth, graphite, and licorice. It’s a big, full-bodied beauty yet has a weightless, elegant style, building tannins, and a great finish. It needs a solid hour in a decanter if drinking today and promises to evolve beautifully for another 3-4 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDOne of the clear wines of the vintage, the 2012 La Mission Haut-Brion shows off a vertical sense of structure along with imposing tannins and serious depth. The flavors are dark, bold and extremely vivid. Dark red cherry, smoke, grilled herbs, graphite and blackberry jam are some of the many notes that come alive on the finish. This brooding La Mission needs a few years to settle down after which it will offer spectacular drinking for several decades. In a word: magnificent!Antonio Galloni | 96 AG(Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, France, Red) Ripe roasted fruit with considerable extract and personality. Full, powerful mid-palate and length of flavour. This benefited in 2012 from the property’s early-ripening terroir. (Drink between 2022-2042)Decanter | 96 DECThis is closed up, dry and tough on the outside. But you can feel the rich weight and the dark tannins along with the powerful structure. That makes this wine both replete with a firm character and also full of generous, concentrated black fruits. It’s a powerful wine, ready for good aging; drink from 2022.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEGorgeous aromas of stones, currants and blueberries. Very aromatic. Mesmerizing. Full body, silky tannins and a long finish. Dense and rich. Layered. Earth and bark character. Lots of structure for the vintage. Better in 2019.James Suckling | 94 JSThe rigid tar and bramble frame should eventually meld with the core of plum, blackberry and macerated black currant fruit, featuring ample energy and a graphite note through the finish. Just a little bit of patience required here. Best from 2018 through 2025. 5,176 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

A gorgeous wine from proprietor Denis Durantou, this blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc is an inky purple color, with gorgeous purity of black raspberries, blackcurrants and blackberry with a hint of truffle and spring flowers. Its is full-bodied, opulent and a tour de force in this vintage. Great presence on the palate, fabulous purity and a long finish make for a magnificent bottle of wine to drink over the next 20-some years.Robert Parker | 96 RPThe 2012 L’Eglise Clinet is a real head-turner. Explosive and rich in the glass, the 2012 boasts superb depth throughout. Sweet floral and spiced notes develop first, followed by intense red and blue-fleshed fruit. Violets, mint, sage and sweet spices add nuance as the 2012 opens up, but it is really the wine’s vertical structure that stands out above all else. I very much like the pure energy that is so central to the wine’s personality. This is a superb showing, and one of the clear highlights of the year. Readers should cellar the 2012 for at least a few years.Antonio Galloni | 95 AGThis delivers a gorgeously pure and racy core of raspberry, boysenberry and blackberry fruit, melded perfectly with singed black tea leaf, dried star anise and roasted apple wood notes. Velvety and alluring overall, but there’s a bright minerality buried on the finish. Best from 2016 through 2027. 1,417 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSRich, ripe and dense. Expressive red berry nose with toasted oak evident. Sweet, plush mid-palate (heightened by 14.5% alcohol although that doesn’t show). Long, firm finish. A touch dry on the end. Drinking Window 2020 - 2032.Decanter | 91 DEC

Tasted blind at the 2012 Southwold tasting, the 2012 Château Margaux has a taut, linear, pencil lead-infused bouquet with pure blackberry and boysenberry scents, an undercurrent of tobacco that surfaces after five minutes in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity, a life-affirming sense of balance with well-integrated new oak towards the finish. I concur with Robert Parker that his has become more structured and masculine in bottle, yet there is pedigree here from start to finish, a sense of effortlessness that is seductive. This is a top-class wine from the late Paul Pontallier and his team. Tasted January 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 96 RP-NMBy Margaux standards not a big wine, but beautifully perfumed. Finesse and length on the palate that’s unmatched by any other property in the Médoc in 2012. Making 34% grand vin of a small crop with 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, the team at Margaux read this vintage right, doing something they can do better than anyone else.Decanter | 96 DECBay leaf and menthol hints lift a core of crushed plum and warm cherry confiture notes while the background fills steadily with black tea, singed alder and iron elements. Turns a little darker on the finish, with a coating of bittersweet cocoa powder and roasted vanilla bean accents, while the minerality stays buried for now. Remarkably dense and packed, yet refined. Needs some time to unwind. Best from 2018 through 2030. 10,833 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThis elegant wine is very much in the classic style of Margaux. Although the wood is still showing, the wine has fresh black currant fruits along with an underlying firm, long-lived tannic structure. The aftertaste with its dryness and acidity confirms that. Drink from 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEWonderful aromas of flowers such as roses, violets, strawberries and a hints of wet earth. Wet stones as well. Full to medium body, very firm tannins and a long, racy finish. Minerals and chalk on the aftertaste. Needs three to five years to soften. Better in 2020.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2012 Château Margaux has a refined bouquet with blackberry, briary, light cedar scents and a touch of leather. Not quite as well-defined as its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, though not amazingly complex, and at this level, I would have expected more weight on the finish. This is a fine Château Margaux and yet it deprived the concentration and complexity of a top vintage and is challenged by its peers. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index’s Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 92 VM(Château Margaux) The 2012 Château Margaux was made up of only thirty-four percent of the crop this year, with fully eighty-seven percent of the blend comprised of cabernet sauvignon, and the balance a mix of ten percent merlot, two percent cabernet franc and one percent petit verdot for good measure. The yields here were thirty-nine hectoliters per hectare and the wine tips the scales at an utterly classic thirteen percent alcohol. So why is this wine so unmoving? Paul Pontallier waxed eloquently for quite some time about how much he likes the 2012 Margaux, but I was left with the impression that this is a wine which is very much crafted in the cellar, rather than born in the vineyards, and I long for something more here these days. The cool and reserved nose offers up scents of mulberry, cassis, tobacco leaf, cigar smoke, lovely gravelly soil tones, cigar smoke and a suave base of spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and tightly-knit, with a polished attack, a fine core and a fair bit of chewy tannin perking up the long and beautifully focused finish. All of the constituent components here tell my brain I should like this wine a lot more than I do, but it just seems to be missing that spark and the whole does not seem greater than the sum of its parts in 2012. This is a very well-made wine that is just a bit overly slick for me. (Drink between 2023-2055).John Gilman | 91+ JG

This has a lovely copper color with aromas of cloves, spiced apples, raspberries, gingerbread and pastries. Delicious yeasty and spicy undertones. Excellent density and focus, with fine and firm bubbles, yet it’s light on its feet and so fresh. Long, chalky and salty at the end. Chardonnay and pinot noir. 3.8g/L dosage. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2012 Brut Rosé Cuvée Elizabeth Salmon offers up hints of red berry fruit, ginger, spice, rosewater, mint and crushed flowers. There is a feeling of classic austerity that runs through the 2012. I would prefer to cellar this for at least a few years, as it is quite reticent at this stage. Chalk, mint, white pepper and bright saline accents linger on the pointed finish. Dosage is 3.8 grams per liter. Disgorged: first trimester 2023.Vinous Media | 96 VMElisabeth Salmon 2012 shows all the signs of being a true classic for Billecart-Salmon, beautifully balanced between the most alluring Pinot aromatics – black cherry juice, peach melba and fresh raspberry – and an engine of pure, persistent Chardonnay energy of bright clementine and zesty length, all lifted with subtle details of allspice, rose petal and nougat and delivered on an effortlessly silky mousse. Open for business, yet without the showiness that the wines of this vintage can sometimes display, it’s a rosé of assured refinement and quiet intensity that seems set for a long future. 55% Chardonnay from Chouilly, Avize, Cramant and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger with 45% Pinot Noir from Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and Ambonnay, with 8.3% red wine addition from Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. 2.9% fermented in barrel, and released after 115 months on lees with a dosage of 3.8g/L.Decanter | 95 DEC

(Dom Pérignon Brut Millésime (Épernay)) The 2012 Dom Pérignon is a brilliant wine in the making and seems likely to ultimately be judged one of the greatest vintages here in the last quarter century. According to Chef de Cave Vincent Chaperon, the wine is close to its ideal cépages of fifty percent each of chardonnay and pinot noir in 2012. The wine is quite a powerful vintage of Dom Pérignon, but with all of the customary elegance and structural chassis of the greatest vintages here and it remains a young wine, brimming with energy and superb depth. The bouquet wafts from the glass in a classic blend of lime, green apple, menthol, stony minerality, discreet botanical tones, gentle smokiness and a topnote of citrus peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a great core, superb mineral drive and grip, utterly refined mousse and a long, zesty and beautifully balanced finish. I love how the perfect ripeness of the 2012 vintage is seamlessly interwoven here with a superb girdle of acidity, great minerality and excellent purity, which will end up producing a legendary vintage of this wine. It is certainly approachable out of the blocks, but I would opt to tuck bottles away for at least eight to ten more years before starting to drink the 2012, as there is so much left here to still unfold. (Drink between 2029-2075)John Gilman | 98 JGWhat a magnificent bouquet for this Dom Pérignon 2012! Pastry, a hint of smoke and autolytic notes provide a compelling counterpart to eager yet elegant aromas of citrus (lime, tangerine and kumquat) joined by those of fresh fruit, herbs, liquorice, and menthol. There is even a refreshing note of ivy. The palate is tense, vibrant, and very fresh despite its impressive density, which meets its match with an unending finish. This 2012 incarnates the very essence of Dom Pérignon with such a concentrated degree of intensity, along with a capacity for ageing, that it is surely destined for a second life in a P2 edition. Drinking Window 2021 - 2050.Decanter | 98 DECWonderful elegance and balance to this Dom Pérignon with cooked apple, lemon and hints of white pepper and salt. It’s medium-bodied with really fine bubbles and balance. Spicy at the end. So wonderfully fresh, linear and long. Racy and elegant. A DP that invites to drink right now. All about finesse. Tension, too, with precise phenolics and bright acidity on the back palate. Subtle energy. Drinkable now, but will develop beautifully in the bottle.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2012 Dom Pérignon is a dense, powerful wine. I am almost shocked by its vinous intensity and raw, unbridled power. The 2012 reminds me of the 2003, but with more finesse and not quite as pushed. Mildew, rain and frost were challenges and resulted in low yields, something that was further compounded by warm, dry weather that concentrated the fruit even more. Those qualities result in a dense Dom Pérignon endowed with real phenolic intensity. It is one of the most reticent young Doms I can remember tasting, I wouldn’t even think of opening a bottle for at least a few years. (Originally published in May 2021)Antonio Galloni | 97 AGThe 2012 Dom Pérignon is developing very nicely on cork, exhibiting a complex bouquet of pear, confit citrus fruits, honeycomb, buttered toast, iodine and nuts framed by a deft touch of youthful reduction. Full-bodied, rich and muscular, with a layered core of fruit and a pillowy mousse, it’s a vinous, vibrant Champagne that concludes with a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThis eloquent Champagne has an enticing waft of Mandarin orange on the nose that continues on the palate, which is layered with flavors of crushed blackberry and cassis, toast, chopped almond, graphite and oyster shell. A bright, finely-knit and harmonious version, with a lovely, raw silk-like mousse, and a lasting, expressive finish. Drink now through 2037.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

Pure Sauvignon, this is a tropical fruit flavored wine. It’s bright and fruity while also showing a dense texture of grapefruit and steely minerality. The combination makes for an intense wine that’s likely to need time, so drink from 2017.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE(Château La Louvière Blanc) The 2012 Château La Louvière Blanc is really an exquisite wine in the making and it pains me to think that a significant percentage of this wine will still be bottled under screwcap for less sophisticated markets such as the US. The bouquet is deep, pure and really lovely and complex, wafting from the glass in a mix of tart orange, lime zest, petrol, complex, chalky soil tones, gentle grassiness and a stylish base of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, crisp and very refined, with a good core of fruit, fine focus, crisp acids and excellent length and grip on the stylish finish. This will be a classic middleweight with a few years of bottle age and really is a delightful bottle of Château La Louvière Blanc. It reminds me quite a bit of the lovely 2001 here. (Drink between 2013-2025)John Gilman | 92 JGThis is juicy and well-packed, showing notes of singed straw and paraffin, with lots of zippy lemon zest, grapefruit curd, tarragon and quinine accents. Really kicks in on the finish. A rock-solid style that needs a touch of cellaring. Best from 2015 through 2018. 4,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WSDelicate apple and quince aromas and a complex palate of tropical fruit and zippy acidity. Very well expressed with lovely balance. The long finish and mineral edge leaves you wanting another glass. Drinking Window: 2015 - 2022Decanter | 90 DEC

This is very polished and refined with blackcurrant, raspberry and citrus-peel undertones. Full body, extremely fine texture and a long, long finish.James Suckling | 92 JSPart of the empire of the Chateau Mouton Rothschild, this estate was once known as Mouton Baronne Philippe. This impressive, deep, opaque ruby/purple wine, with loads of charcoal, crème de cassis and a flowery-ness, this is rich, medium to full-bodied, beautifully textured, quite pure, and avoids any of the astringency or hollowness that some Médocs possess in this vintage. The wine is complete and finishes authoritatively. The tannins are there, but ripe, integrated and velvety. This is a very impressive d’Armailhac to drink over the next 20-25 years.Robert Parker | 91 RPFragrant, scented and full of charm, but lighter than its richer stablemate Château Clerc Milon, tasted at the same time. This was a good vintage from the Mouton Rothschild stable, and the team there read it well. Remains good value.Decanter | 91 DECFruity and rich, this wine is developing fast. It is full of black currant fruits, with an impressive background of solid, structured tannins. The wine is linear, fresh, showing how well this property is developing its quality. It’s a wine for medium-term aging, so drink from 2018.Wine Enthusiast | 91 WE

This is a fantastic and refined Blanc de Blancs. So layered and complex, with lemon curd, chalk, hazelnuts, pastries, baked apples and almond croissants. Structured and tightly wound, with almost imperceptible bubbles. Delicious salty notes at the end. Beautiful. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2012 vintage of Comtes de Champagne is one of the finest young examples of this iconic bottling I have had the pleasure to taste,...As has been customary for several vintages now, about five percent of the vins clairs were barrel-fermented and aged in cask. The wine was given fully a decade aging sur latte and finished with a dosage of nine grams per liter. The bouquet is deep, pure and nascently complex, wafting from the glass in a mix of pear, apple, brioche, a beautiful base of chalky minerality, almond, honeysuckle, a whisper of buttery oak and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with a brisk girdle of acidity, superb focus and grip, utterly refined mousse and a long, complex and impeccably balanced finish...John Gilman, A View from the Cellar | 97 JGThe 2012 Comtes de Champagne is gorgeous. Warm and resonant in the glass, the 2012 Comtes shows all the allure that makes this vintage so appealing. The combination of bright citrus, mineral and floral notes typical of Comtes, enhanced by the soft contours of the vintage, makes for an inviting, open-knit Champagne that is quite showy right out of the gate. Light tropical accents on the finish add an exotic flair. Usually I recommend cellaring just-released Comtes, but that won’t be necessary here.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGThe 2012 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne is showing beautifully out of the gates, offering up demonstrative aromas of sweet golden orchard fruit, buttery croissants, peach and hazelnuts. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and enveloping, it’s a rich, textural, vinous Comtes somewhat reminiscent of the brilliant 2002. If it gains in tension and cut (as the 2002 did and as I suspect the 2012 will) with more time on cork, it will make this initial rating seem conservative.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPMade from equal parts Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, this still young Champagne is rich in the Taittinger style, with an elegant poise that is impressive. The wine, with its apricot and ripe apple fruit, is generously tempered by bright acidity and a crisp edge. Drink from 2021.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WERipe blackberry, pastry cream and lemon meringue notes are layered on the fine and creamy mousse in this lightly toasty, well-balanced Champagne. Bright and mouthwatering, with a sleek, spiced finish. Drink now through 2027. 7,500 cases made, 450 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Always excellent for the vintage. What a nose with currants, blackberries, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stones and wet earth too. Full-bodied and refined yet muscular and trim. Fabulously polished tannins. Try drinking in 2020.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2012 Cos d’Estournel is beautifully delineated and layered in the glass. A wine of nuance and precision, the 2012 possesses a remarkable combination of richness and detail. A blast of dark red cherry jam, rose petals, mint and cinnamon informs the deep, pliant finish. I imagine the 2012 will offer several decades of very fine drinking. This is a terrific 2012 with a good deal of upside potential.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGThis is one of the vintages from Cos that seems to pull out all the stops. The fruit is so rich, the texture so dense, and deep flavors of chocolate back up the huge structure. It does work in its magnificent, flamboyant way. And at the end, the acidity does its part and gives the wine a final lift. Drink from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2012 Cos d’Estournel is a classic expression of St.-Estèphe, with notes of graphite, crushed rock, blackberry, blackcurrant fruit, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, structured, but well-integrated tannins and a long finish of 35 seconds or more. This is a beauty and an undeniable top success in the Médoc for 2012. Give it 4-6 years of cellaring and drink it over the following two decades or more. The final blend, which achieved 13.8% alcohol, is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.Robert Parker | 93+ RPThe 2012 from Cos d’Estournel is a streamlined, elegant version of this cuvée that offers first rate notes of crème de cassis, graphite, smoked herbs and saddle leather, with hints of oak pushed into the background. Supple, medium to full-bodied and charming, yet with enough tannin to warrant short term cellaring, give bottles 5-6 years in the cellaring and enjoy over the following two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDSolid, with pure lilac and violet notes out front, backed by slightly taut plum, currant and bitter cherry flavors that unwind slowly through the finish. This has good drive, cut and intensity, and is one of the better efforts of the vintage.—Non-blind Cos-d’Estournel vertical (December 2015). Best from 2018 through 2028. 15,917 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS(Château Cos d’Estournel, Cabernet Sauvignon, St-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France, Red) Deep-coloured, richly flavoured claret with an immediate and abundant ‘attack’, which then rather fades away. Will undoubtedly keep well but will always lack the class of a more successful year. (Drink between 2022-2035)Decanter | 92 DEC