Type of Wines

wines

The wine of the vintage is the Perrin’s 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin, and it will most likely merit a perfect rating in another couple of years. Full-bodied, massive and layered on the palate, with awesome purity and freshness, it delivers incredible aromatics of beef blood, truffle, graphite, iron and black and blue fruits. Given all of the fruit and texture, you almost have to hunt for the structure here, but trust me, it’s there. The tasting at Beaucastel took place a 9 a.m., and even then, this is one wine I found impossible to spit. It’s a tour de force that will have 3-4 decades of life.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPThe wine of the vintage is the Perrins’ 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin, which has a classic, sexy, accessible style yet is also going to age beautifully. Massive amounts of smoked black fruits, ground pepper, iodine, truffle, and bloody meat all emerge from this inky colored behemoth. With full body, building tannins, no hard edges, and a rock star of a finish, it’s primary and youthful, but incredible. Ideally, it would be given another 4-5 years of bottle age and will keep for another 3 decades or more. It’s an awesome wine!Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDSpice, lift and zest - the hallmarks of the vintage are immediately apparent on the nose. Some woody, roasted spices are starting to take root now, along with damsons, and crushed damson stones. Rounded, rich and plush on the palate, all very well integrated, such delicious, intense juice. The alcohol is high but it gives the wine its foundation this year - a jolly, red-cheeked vintage built around alcohol, but not dominated by it. Delicious now, will be even better later. Drinking Window 2020 - 2036Decanter | 99 DECLots of spices such as cloves and black pepper. Some grilled meat as well. Complex undertones of mushrooms. Full-bodied, complex and refined yet very open now with cherry, sweet and ripe fruit and a balanced finish. Excellent acidity and length. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSDark purple. Powerful aromas of cherry liqueur, licorice pastille and pungent flowers, with exotic Indian spice and mocha overtones. Dense, sweet and broad, offering intense black and blue fruit preserve, violet and spicecake flavors enlivened by juicy acidity. Fine-grained tannins build slowly through the clinging, appealingly sweet finish, which shows outstanding clarity and persistence and lingering florality. One of the standouts of the vintage and surprisingly approachable for this bottling, although drinking it before its tenth birthday would seem like a shame to me.Vinous Media | 96 VMSerious, with dark fig, black currant and blackberry confiture notes forming a large-scale core, while licorice snap, Turkish coffee and pastis details lend an expansive feel. The long, dense finish has a brooding personality now, with a warm cast-iron note echoing. Should be a stunner when it reaches its peak. Best from 2019 through 2032. 500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

The 2012 IX Proprietary Red Estate, which comes from their gorgeous hillside vineyards overlooking Lake Hennessey high on Pritchard Hill, is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot. Absolutely spectacular aromatics of spring flowers, blueberry, blackberry and blackcurrant fruit intermixed with creosote, graphite and floral notes are followed by a wine of great depth, elegance, richness and purity. Simply loaded, but with pristine harmony and equilibrium, this is a sensational tour de force and a great tribute to this spectacular hillside site on Pritchard Hill. Drink it over the next 25-35 years.Robert Parker | 99 RPWinemaker Allison Tauziet commented that after 2011, the vines had lots of energy going into 2012, and the team had to do lots of canopy management and crop thinning. The 2012 IX Estate is show-stopping juice and offers an incredible array of cassis and currant-like fruits as well as truffle, iron, and spring flowers. A blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, this full-bodied, deep, layered, utterly compelling Napa red is just now at the early stages of its prime drink window and has another 2-3 decades of life. As with the 2013 IX Estate, it reminds me of a 2009 First Growth from Bordeaux.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDFabulous intensity and energy to this young red with wet earth, violets, blackcurrants, black olives, sweet tobacco, blackberries. It’s so complex. Full-bodied and very deep with incredible depth and richness. Give it four and five years to come together.James Suckling | 98 JSDeep garnet-purple colored, the 2022 IX Estate features bold, expressive notes of crème de cassis, blueberry pie, and plum preserves, giving way to hints of menthol, mossy tree bark, black olives, and iron ore. The full-bodied palate is characteristically rich and dense with great depth and wonderfully fine-grained tannins, matched by beautifully knit freshness, finishing long and minerally.The Wine Independent | 98+ TWIThe 2012 IX Estate is the biggest and most powerful of these wines. Firm tannins provide the backdrop for a huge core of fruit as this creamy, voluptuous Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend shows off its considerable personality. Game, smoke and tobacco add nuance on the finish. The IX Estate brings together some of the sensuality of Tychson Hill along with a level of vibrancy that recalls the Cariad. If that sounds appealing, well, it is.Vinous Media | 96 VMFeatures an expressive mix of flavors built around dried currant, dusty, cedary oak, a gravel pit of newly crushed rock and melted black licorice. Shows impressive finesse and refinement. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2028. 1,400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSLike the Tychson Hill from this vintage, the IX Estate has reticent aromas of red as well as black fruits, as well as hints of tobacco and mint. Broad and fleshy, it still shows admirable freshness and vigour. Although not excessively concentrated, it doesn’t lack grip, yet it does tail off slightly on the finish.Decanter | 93 DEC

The perfect 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard is 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Merlot aged 20 months in 100% new French oak. I think this is the third perfect score I’ve given to this wine, which is the essence of their vineyard, representing about 13% of the total production, or a mere 320 cases. The wine has a gorgeously opaque purple color and a beautiful nose of camphor, charcoal, blackberry and cr?me de cassis with licorice and truffle. It has unbelievable richness, great texture, tremendous finesse, precision and delineation. Very intense, full-bodied and super-pure, the length of the wine must be at least 50+ seconds. This is a gorgeous wine and one of the great superstars of this fabulous vintage. Drink it over the next 25-30 years.Robert Parker | 100 RPSaturated dark red with ruby highlights. Wonderfully complex perfume combines black raspberry, blueberry, subtle torrefaction notes and a hint of black olive. Boasts outstanding thickness of texture without any heaviness, with its dark fruit and mineral flavors complicated by subtle spices. Perhaps most impressive today on the back end, which features an explosive, sappy flavor of tart cherry stomp and spreads out horizontally to saturate the palate. Of course there are tannins here, but that word did not appear in my original tasting note as they are totally buffered by the wine's extract-rich fruit. (14.1% alcohol; 100% new French oak).Vinous Media | 98 VMViolet, lavender, rosemary, and stone undertones. Full body, super polished and beautiful fruit. Very long and linear. Volcanic salt. Wonderful length and balance. Goes on for minutes. Better in 2020.James Suckling | 97 JSPure and focused on earth- and herb-laced sweet currant and tarry notes, this flexes some tannic muscle and features a strong, persistent, complex and layered finish. Very Bordeaux-like in structure and flavor profile. Drink now through 2029. 250 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

There are 5,180 six-bottle cases of the 2012 Padrone. This is a fabulous wine, meant to evolve over three decades. It offers up notes of charcoal, scorched earth, blackcurrant, blackberry, chocolate and a touch of espresso. A wine of great intensity, full-bodied opulence and a multilayered mouthfeel, this is a formidably endowed, serious Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated wine from vineyards with some of the best fruit on the estate. Drink it over the next 30 years.Robert Parker | 97+ RPThe 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Padrone is dark and sumptuous from start to finish. Mocha, plums, smoke, new leather and French oak all flesh out in this brooding, intense Cabernet Sauvignon. The style is explosive and full of 2012 vintage exuberance. There is a lot to look forward to.Antonio Galloni | 90-92 AG

The 2012 Cheval Blanc boasts stunning power and a vertical, imposing sense of structure that is quite rare in this vintage. Dark and almost brooding in style, the Cheval is a rare 2012 that absolutely demands cellaring. Smoke, tobacco, incense and dark spices open up with time, but the 2012 is a reticent, tannic wine that is only showing the barest hints of its ultimate potential. This is a magnificent showing and one of the clear highlights of the year.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGA step up over the 2011, the 2012 Chateau Cheval Blanc offers a similar medium to full-bodied, elegant style yet has slightly more freshness and purity. Smoked black fruits, cassis, tobacco leaf, and sappy flower notes all emerge from this thrillingly textured, balanced, focused 2012. It opens up with time in the glass, has ripe, sweet tannins, and it’s another one of those wines that offers pleasure today yet will cruise for decades. The final blend is the usual 54% Merlot and 46% Cabernet Franc. Readers should be happy to have bottles in their cellars.Jeb Dunnuck | 96+ JD(Château Cheval Blanc, St-Émilion, Bordeaux, France, Red) A beautifully balanced claret with a fragrant silky texture, fine backbone and length on the palate, promising a long life. Not a ‘big’ wine but a delicious one with class. Made in the spanking new cellar (inaugurated June 2011). (Drink between 2022-2040)Decanter | 96 DECMedium to deep garnet colored, the 2012 Cheval Blanc reveals lovely cassis, warm black cherries and redcurrant jelly notions with underlying hints of cedar chest, garrigue, Indian spices and damp soil. Medium to full-bodied, it possesses wonderful energy and freshness on the palate with a beautifully poised ethereal nature and long mineral-tinged finish. This elegantly crafted beauty should enter its drinking window in a couple of years and cellar gracefully for another 20+ years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPThis wine is gorgeous in all facets, offering a simultaneously loamy and creamy mouthfeel, seamless layers of red and black currant, cherry, raspberry and blackberry fruit, and a long, tobacco-fueled finish that features alluring hints of black tea and incense. The fruit and terroir shine in this broad, deep and defined style. Best from 2018 through 2030. 7,083 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Cheval Blanc) The grand vin here this year is comprised of a blend of fifty-four percent merlot and forty-six percent cabernet franc and was produced from yields of thirty-one hectoliters per hectare. It is a great Cheval Blanc in the making, soaring from the glass in a classic blend of dark berries, mulberries, cigar smoke, espresso, lovely, cabernet franc-derived herb tones, menthol and a stylish base of nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and seamless, with a youthful personality, superb focus and balance, a fair bit of tannin and outstanding length and grip on the nascently complex and very, very promising finish. There was a pretty wide variety of samples of this wine on display at the château on the damp morning in early April when the estate was playing open house to visiting journalists (I overheard Michel Bettane comment that “every single bottle is different”), and one had to hunt around a bit to find a bottle that was not totally shut down, but the samples that were open for inspection clearly indicated that this will be a great, great vintage of Cheval Blanc. (Drink between 2025-2075).John Gilman | 95+ JGWith a wonderful 45% blending of fragrant Cabernet Franc, this is a sumptuous, perfumed wine. It’s rich with a velvet texture that hides the dark tannins while bringing out the rich plum flavors. The dense texture is balanced by some fresh acidity and a fruity aftertaste. Drink this deceptively approachable wine from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEA ripe and fleshy St.-Emilion with an excellent interplay of forest berry fruit, bitter chocolate and a whiff of cinnamon and allspice. Lovely, creamy richness on the mid-palate, but also a hint of warmth from alcohol. The supple tannins make for a very smooth finish, but it’s not so complex there. Drink or hold. Château Quintus vertical tasting. SP.James Suckling | 93 JS

What a nose of blackberries, blackcurrants, minerals and graphite. Full-bodied and extremely fine and polished. Sexy and ethereal. Harmony. A little salty. Fabulous 2012. Pure silk. Better after 2020 but so wonderful now.James Suckling | 97 JSThis is a beautifully opulent wine, great Mouton in its richness and succulent fruits. It’s combines structure and obvious new-wood aging with hugely ripe black plum and currant flavors. While it is a pleasure to taste now, there is a great tannic structure in the background to give the sense of power and aging potential. Drink from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WETasted at the Mouton-Rothschild vertical in London, the 2012 Mouton-Rothschild clearly has the upper hand over the 2011, if not quite at the level of the 2009, 2010 and what I envisage will be the 2015. There is obviously greater fruit intensity here, as if the contrast has been dialed up a couple of notches. It is quite showy on the nose, preening in its infancy with pure black cherries, graphite and hints of cold slate-like scents, later that hint of seaweed I observed when tasted blind a few months earlier. The palate is beautifully balanced with great vim and vigor. This is a Mouton that will not be put down - vivacious, vivid and delineated with wonderful focus and crucially, impressive persistence on the finish. Do not underestimate this Mouton-Rothschild, because I can see an upswing as it matures in bottle. Tasted April 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 96 RP-NMThe 2012 Mouton Rothschild comes across as quite dark and ripe in this vintage. One of the richest, most powerful 2012s readers will come across, the Mouton boasts striking aromatics and overall density. Mocha, chocolate, graphite, smoke, licorice and dark-fleshed fruits all meld together in the glass. I imagine the 2012 will need a good decade before it starts drinking well. Slightly roasted notes and copious new oak stick out today, but these wines have a way of coming together in bottle. Antonio Galloni | 95 AGWonderful expression of ’patrician’ black fruits, the expected exotic seduction of Mouton, a perfect blend of power and elegance. Drinking Window 2017 - 2035.Decanter | 95 DECThis is starting to mellow already, featuring dark fig and blackberry notes infused liberally with black tea and smoldering tobacco accents. Shows a light loamy echo through the finish, with a flash of menthol. Offers ample flesh throughout, with a slightly grainy edge to the tannins.--Non-blind Mouton-Rothschild vertical (March 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château Mouton-Rothschild) The 2012 Château Mouton-Rothschild is a very good wine, being comprised of fully ninety percent cabernet sauvignon, eight percent merlot and two percent cabernet franc. It was raised in only seventy percent new oak this year- not a concession to the more elegant style of the 2012 vintage, but rather because the new chais includes new large wood fermentation tanks and these were also new oak this year. The wine is complex and classy on the nose, but just a touch overly slick for my pedestrian tastes, as it offers up a blend of cassis, dark berries, coffee bean, a dollop of licorice, dark soil tones and plenty of spicy, smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and pure, with really lovely raw materials very much in evidence. The core is deep, the focus and balance here are very fine indeed and there are plenty of ripe, chewy tannins adding grip and potential longevity on the finish, and yet, for some reason, I am left with the impression that the whole this year is a bit less than the sum of its parts. This is a very well-made wine, but it seems to me to be a bit overly sculpted to ever really reach greatness. I miss the more effortless impression of a wine like the 1985 Mouton- which the 2012 vintage might have been able to reproduce flawlessly! (Drink between 2025-2075).John Gilman | 92 JG

An absolutely amazing wine from the Nicolas family, this is from another estate in Pomerol that is pushing the envelope to higher and higher quality. The final blend has moved to smaller amounts of Cabernet Franc, now approximately 20%, with the balance 80% Merlot. Through crop-thinning, yields have been reduced to an average of 35 hectoliters per hectare. Inky bluish/purple color and stunning sweet tannins embrace a full-bodied opulent Pomerol with beautiful, floral-infused black raspberry, blueberry and cassis fruit. Full-bodied, yet elegant, this is a brilliant marriage between finesse and power. Stunningly pure, this wine can be drunk young or age magnificently for 20 or more years.Robert Parker | 96 RPAnother classic wine from this fabulous estate is the 2012 La Conseillante, which I believe was the first wine made in their newly constructed winery. A blend of roughly 89% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc brought up in 70% new barrels, it offers an awesome bouquet of blueberry and smoky black cherry fruit intermixed with loads of Asian spices, melted asphalt, truffle, and licorice. This full-bodied, opulent, incredibly sexy Pomerol stays light and elegant, with silky tannin and sensational purity of fruit. Anyone who owns bottles should count themselves lucky, and those who don’t should buy some as soon as possible. It can be drunk today or cellared for two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JD(Château La Conseillante, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France, Red) This has always been one of my favourite vintages of La Conseillante. Here a little Cabernet Franc (11%) goes a long way. Ethereal and utterly beautiful on the nose. Soft, delicate, elegant and subtle. Intensely floral, with violets and little hedgerow spring flowers, freshly cut. Has an exquisite balance and harmony, even if it might be said to lack some of the density of ostensibly greater vintages. I can live happily with that; though I’d drink this sooner. Very attractive and the very essence of plateau Pomerol for me. Soft and seductive, with those little truffle notes, blueberries and raspberries; tender and lithe, nicely compact and juicy on the finish. (Drink between 2022-2040)Decanter | 96 DECAmazing aromas of dried flowers, blueberries and minerals follow through to a full body, fine and polished tannins and a long finish. All in finesse and harmony. Little tight now. Better in 2018.James Suckling | 94 JS(Château La Conseillante) The new chais at Château La Conseillante has now been completed and it is a beautiful new addition to this property. Up above the chais are a pair of large, glass-enclosed tasting rooms that offer a beautiful view of surrounding Pomerol and the graves section of St. Émilion (with Cheval Blanc right across the stretch of vineyards that unfold below your feet). The new chais has clearly not gone to waste, as the team at La Conseillante has fashioned a brilliant utterly classic example of the 2012 vintage, offering up a pure and complex nose of black raspberries, black cherries, Cuban cigars, gravel, fresh herb tones, violets and a stylish base of spicy oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and shows off excellent mid-palate depth, with excellent focus and balance, very fine-grained tannins and outstanding grip and nascent complexity on the very long, velvety finish. This wine reminds me quite a bit of the young 1985 La Conseillante- which is a vintage here that I adore and prefer to the more highly-praised 1982, 1989 and 1990 vintages at this great estate. A stunning wine in the making and clearly one of the greatest wines of the 2012 vintage. (Drink between 2023-2065).John Gilman | 94+ JGThe 2012 La Conseillante takes some time to settle in the glass, gaining harmony after 10 minutes with scents of red cherry, sandalwood, freshly rolled tobacco and clove. This comes across as showier, more extravagant than other 2012 Pomerols. The palate is medium-bodied with silky smooth tannins, harmonious and poised, spicy and perhaps with a little more edge towards the finish. There is a sense of confidence about this La Conseillante. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index’s Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 93+ VMOn the robust side of Pomerol for now, with ganache and tar notes underscoring the core of dark plum, linzer torte, blackberry and black currant fruit. The elements meld nicely through fleshy, cocoa-accented finish, where a lingering iron accent emerges alongside ample yet silky tannins. Shows impressive depth, suggesting that elegance will come from cellaring. Best from 2017 through 2027.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2012 Côte Rôtie La Mouline reminds me of the 2011 with its upfront, incredibly perfumed nose of spring flowers, cured meats, roasted herbs, olives and sweet cassis fruit. Full-bodied, beautifully textured, mouth-filling and already impossible to resist, it expands on the palate and I guarantee this beauty will put a smile on your face anytime over the coming two decades.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThis has a brooding feel, with layers of warm tobacco leaf, roasted alder and juniper, and sweet tapenade leading the way, backed by a dense core of macerated plum, black currant and raspberry fruit. The long, smoldering finish shows terrific latent grip. Best from 2018 through 2030. 415 cases made, 60 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WSSuper peppery, very, very concentrated and immaculately fragrant Côte-Rôtie here. There's plenty of oak in the mix, too. It shows entrancing brown-spice aromas across red plums and darker black fruits. The palate's layered, smooth and supple, pitching concentrated flavors against precise, dense and very powerful tannin. Finishes on a smooth edge as its softens slightly, leaving a trail of spiced-custard and dark-plum flavors. Exceptional wine. Drink 2020-2030.James Suckling | 95 JSLurid ruby. Heady, intensely perfumed aromas of red fruit preserves, incense, smoky minerals and lavender, accompanied by an Asian spice flourish that builds as the wine opens up. Stains the palate with sweet, seamless raspberry liqueur, spicecake and floral pastille flavors that are lifted and given spine by core of juicy acidity. Puts on weight and spreads out slowly on the strikingly long and precise finish, which features resonating mineral and floral notes.Vinous Media | 94 VM

A heady, exotic Burgundy, the 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St. Jacques is remarkably vivid for such a big wine, with freakish levels of concentration that are beautifully balanced by insistent veins of underlying minerality. Layers of pure Pinot fruit build through the mid-palate and finish as this voluptuous, racy wine shows off its fabulous pedigree. It simpy doesn't get too much better than this.Vinous Media | 97 VM(Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos St. Jacques”- Domaine Armand Rousseau) The 2012 Clos St. Jacques chez Rousseau is another simply brilliant wine, and I was starting to get a bit worried, as I was already beginning to run out of numbers and I still had the Clos de Bèze and Chambertin to go! In any case, the 2012 Clos St. Jacques is a stellar example of the vintage, wafting from the glass in a stunning and very flamboyant nose of red plums, red and black cherries, cocoa, hints of the grilled meats to come, a brilliantly complex base of soil tones, exotic spices and vanillin oak. I think this wine was raised in sixty percent new wood this year, but the depth of fruit has positively eaten up the impression of new oak, and if you told me it was raised in twenty percent new oak, I would think that it was probably just about right! On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and stunningly suave on the attack, with a great core of sappy fruit, a very refined sense of soil, fine-grained tannins, outstanding focus and grip and a very, very long, unrepentantly elegant and velvety finish. The synthesis here of soil and gloriously sappy fruit is remarkable. (Drink between 2022-2060).John Gilman | 96 JG(Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin "Clos St. Jacques" 1er Cru Red) There is a deft touch of wood to the reluctant but ultra-elegant essence of red pinot fruit, floral elements and wet stone scents. This is splendidly well-detailed with a terrific sense of underlying tension adding energy to the medium weight flavors that brim with a fine minerality before culminating in a balanced and stunningly long finish. This ageworthy effort is the most refined wine among these four 2012s and dances across the palate. In a word, dazzling. (Drink starting 2027).Burghound | 95 BHTasted blind at the annual 'Burgfest' tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint Jacques from Armand Rousseau has the most sensual nose of the quintet, perhaps the ripest with maraschino cherries, fresh strawberry and fruits pastilles. This is certainly the most generous nose. The palate is medium-bodied with supple ripe tannin, more modern in style but very pure and harmonious. The oak is a little more pronounced on the finish but that will be subsumed in time, and then it will be a Clos Saint Jacques that you'll wish you could drink every day.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 95 RP-NM

The 2012 Thorevilos is flamboyant, phenomenally concentrated, full-bodied, majestic and totally prodigious. It can be drunk young, but most readers will probably prefer to give it a few years of bottle age and consume it over the following 30+ years.Robert Parker | 99+ RPAbreu’s 2012 Thorevilos boasts remarkable depth, power and intensity. Distinctly ferrous, savory notes open up in the glass, followed by game, tobacco, smoke and bright red stone fruits. A huge, explosive wine, the Thorevilos is the most tannic and structured of Abreu’s 2012s. Accordingly, it is likely to require the most time to come around. When it does, it will be magnificent.Vinous Media | 99 VMA juicy and savory red with black fruit, pomace and toasted oak. Powerful and tannic. Muscular with amazing form. Full body, bright and beautiful fruit. Grabs your attention, yet subtle. Persistent. Try in 2020. About 300 cases made. March release.James Suckling | 98 JS

There’s great concentration here, on this powerful wine with very dry structure and dark character. The palate hints of a more perfumed character with fine fruitiness and lingering freshness on the finish.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEFine depth of fruit, with suppleness and charm. Drinking Window 2016 - 2028.Decanter | 91 DECPlenty of juicy blackcurrant fruit and background oak are present in this plump, medium to full-bodied, ripe, well-made wine. Not nearly as tannic as I feared, this wine shows a forward plumpness, excellent purity, texture and length. Drink it over the next 15-20 years.Robert Parker | 90 RP

A luscious red with dried berry, cherry and hints of cedar and tea. Full body, fine and velvety tannins and a long and flavorful finish. This is compacted and tight with great depth. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2012 Colore is on the market now. Production of 2013 and 2014 was skipped, and the next vintage we shall see (very soon) is 2015, which is also reviewed in this report. This vintage produced large berry sizes for Sangiovese—something Bibi Graetz is always happy to see because it is an indicator of elegance and finesse within the context of the house style. If you consider this wine, his observation makes perfect sense. This warm vintage is powerful and rich in its natural state, so any additional berry density might easily lead to overextraction and heaviness. However, the mouthfeel is objectively thinner and more compact in this vintage. Colore represents a blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino in equal parts. The bouquet is redolent of wild berry, dried cherry and toasted spice. This vintage offers a very attractive mineral note as well. Fruit is selected from three of Bibi Graetz’s favorite vineyards with ancient vines: Lamole (in Chianti Classico), Vincigliata and Siena. Only 5,000 bottles were made.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPMuscular and concentrated, yet with a sense of elegance derived from vibrant acidity, this red displays black cherry, blackberry, leather, iron and tobacco flavors. Consistent from the start to the long finish. Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino. Best from 2020 through 2028. 100 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA tricky year with a very hot dry summer that resulted in low yields, but also marked by a wet September. The sour-cherry nose is fresh and lively. It’s medium-bodied but still quite concentrated, and while no blockbuster, it has density. It lacks some flesh and weight of fruit, resulting in a somewhat hollow mid-palate, but it’s attractive and already drinking well. Drinking Window 2021 - 2026.Decanter | 90 DEC

The second wine of Château Latour, the 2012 Les Forts de Latour is a smoking good, rich, concentrated effort that most likely wins the battle of the second wines in the vintage. Crème de cassis, graphite, crushed violets, cedar pencil and tobacco notes all flow to a medium to full-bodied 2012 that has rock solid mid-palate depth and a great finish. It doesn’t come cheap but is a beautiful, classic Les Forts de Latour that will drink nicely for another 10-15 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDA juicy and rich red, offering chocolate and hazelnuts. Plum and berry undertones. Full-bodied with angular tannins that are firm and muscular. Needs a year or two to soften still.James Suckling | 93 JSComposed of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2012 Les Forts de Latour has a medium to deep garnet-purple color and nose of redcurrants, black cherries and kirsch with menthol, cigars and dried herbs. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is soft and vibrant with a lively line and an herbal lift on the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThough I tasted the 2012 Les Forts de Latour, a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, during en primeur back in 2013, this marks the first commercial release for this vintage. It boasts devilishly attractive pencil lead bouquet with blackberry, bilberry and a light sea spray influence. The palate is clean and fresh with very fine, almost edgy tannins. The precision here is undeniable, a tensile Les Forts de Latour that similar to many 2012s has blossomed during its bottle maturation. There is a mote of signature Pauillac mintiness that pop up towards the persistent finish, completing an assured Les Forts de Latour that might tempt those whose pockets are not deep enough for the co-released 2006 Latour.Vinous Media | 91 VMAdmirably rich for the vintage, with solid plum and black currant paste flavors, allied to a decidedly brisk and racy structure and backed by plum pit, iron and singed alder notes through the finish, giving this a rather linear feel overall. Should age well, and will likely always have more cut than breadth. Best from 2017 through 2025. 11,933 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WSSuperb colour, cassis fruit and the classic graphite grip of top Pauillacs, fragrance, precision and great class. [NB: Tasted en primeur and originally rated as 17.5 points under the 20-point scale used by Decanter at the time] Drinking Window 2017 - 2030.Decanter | 91 DEC

The 2012 Richebourg was just a touch reduced at the time of my visit, but underneath is another legend in the making. The bouquet is a blend of cherries, red plums, cocoa, gamebirds, a very minerally signature of soil, woodsmoke, fresh nutmeg and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very sappy at the core, with stunning depth, fine-grained tannins, superb precision and a very, very long and tangy finish. This is a very elegant and refined vintage of the Hudelot Richebourg and it will be one of the greatest wines ever produced in the long history of this illustrious domaine. (Drink between 2025 - 2075)John Gilman | 97 JGThe 2012 Richebourg Grand Cru, which comes from a 0.28-hectare parcel planted in 1950, this year contains 20% whole bunches and the domaine were graced with five barrels. It has a very refined and distinctly aristocratic bouquet adorned with beautifully defined black and red fruits, perhaps leaning towards the former with aeration. Touches of seaweed and tilled earth emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins. It does not have the charm of the RSV at the moment, but there is beguiling structure and symmetry with a long mineral laden finish. Superb.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RPBright medium red. Darker and more primary on the nose than the RSV, showing lovely lift to the aromas of dark berries, violet and minerals. Quite tight and high-pitched in the mouth, with strong, ripe acidity accentuating the impression of density. The crop level here was a bit higher than that of the RSV, at 30 hectoliters per hectare, but the wine is still wonderfully sappy, taut and concentrated, not to mention beautifully balanced. Lovely lurking saline minerality here. Lay this one down for a decade.Vinous Media | 94+ VMThere is a whiff of reduction lurking in the background of the otherwise pretty and spicy red and dark berry fruit aromas that include hints of Asian-style tea, cinnamon and sandalwood. The middle weight flavors possess a sleek and nicely intense mouth feel along with good detail on the lightly stony, delicious and sneaky long finale. For my taste, while this solidly powerful effort could certainly be enjoyed now, there remains enough upside development potential to warrant holding it for another 5 to 8 years. Lovely and fashioned in an understated style.Burghound | 94 BH

The 2012 Romanée-St.-Vivant from Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat is glorious example of both this great terroir and this historic vintage. The very pure and very sappy nose soars from the glass in a mélange of red and black raspberries, cherries, roses, fresh nutmeg, orange zest, Vosne spices, a very, very complex base of soil tones, duck and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and sappy at the core, with a greater sense of reserve (or is that resolve?) than the Clos Vougeot, very elegant tannins, tangy acids and laser-like focus on the perfectly balanced, elegant and endless finish. Glorious juice! (Drink between 2022 - 2065)John Gilman | 97 JGThe 2012 Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru comes from 0.48-hectares of vine planted back in 1920 It already boasts a show-stopping mineral-rich bouquet that offers astounding definition and focus. Terroir, terroir and terroir. The palate is medium-bodied with superb definition and so much freshness it does not know what to do with itself. Beautifully focused, refined and feminine, this might be the quintessential R.S.V. of the vintage.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RPA buoyantly spicy nose displays elegant aromas of red currant, raspberry, sandalwood and soft floral nuances. As is almost always the case chez Hudelot this possesses the most refined mouth feel in the range with ultra-fine grained tannins adding to this impression. Notwithstanding the refinement exhibited by the mid-palate, the strikingly long and well-balanced finish seems to flirt with a touch of rusticity. Whether this quality will persist is hard to say but it would be fair to observe that 2012 isn’t the most refined vintage that I have ever seen for this wine.Burghound | 94 BH(totally destemmed but the stems were then added back for the vinification): Bright medium red. Knockout nose combines strawberry, raspberry, licorice, underbrush, spices and flowers. Plush and sweet but electric in the mouth, conveying terrific concentration to its sappy red fruit and spice flavors. The stems have contributed piquant energy but no herbacity. Finishes with firm but fine tannins and terrific building length. Made from a crop level of about 25 hectoliters per hectare, this wine should blossom beautifully in the cellar.Vinous Media | 93+ VM

Very perfumed with black currant and cassis bush character. Medium to full body, fine and chewy tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Still a little tight but fun to taste now. Better in 2018.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2012 Sammarco is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Merlot. Like with the d’Alceo, this hot vintage does not deliver the same soaring intensity and complexity as seen in past years. It shows added softness and succulence instead. The bouquet is driven by sweet fruit and dried berry aromas that underline the warm vintage. Allspice, clove and more sweet fruit appear on the close.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPFragrant purple flower, ripe black-skinned fruit and dark spice aromas slowly emerge on this savory blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 5% Sangiovese. Full bodied and succulent, the smooth structured palate delivers crushed raspberry, black currant, star anise and chopped mint alongside a backbone of firm polished tannins. Drink 2018–2024.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WECastello dei Rampolla’s Sammarco comes across as unusually medium in body in 2012, with a distinctly red-toned flavor profile. I have seen other lighter vintages blossom with time in bottle. That may very well be the case here as well. Readers should expect a floral, bright Sammarco built on mid-weight structure and finesse rather than power.Vinous Media | 92+ VMA light and supple, yet firm, red, offering strawberry, cherry and leafy flavors. Fresh and juicy, with a lingering aftertaste of fruit, herbs and earth. Drink now through 2023. 1,833 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The 2012 vintage is not one that I reach for right now, as this low yield and truly stunning vintage has been in deep hibernation for a few years already. This was true of the 2012 Chapelle-Chambertin from Cécile Tremblay, and yet its enormous potential was also manifest when she generously opened a bottle at the domaine in March. The very youthful bouquet is bottomless and loaded with sweet fruit and great soil signature, delivering a constellation of black cherries, sweet dark berries, gamebird, dark soil tones and smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very sappy at the core, with great focus, length and grip, ripe, buried tannins and a very, very long, still quite primary finish. This has the same potential for elegance and perfume as the stellar 2014 Chapelle here, but even more depth and length! A brilliant, brilliant young wine, but do not touch it for at least another decade! (Drink between 2029 - 2100)John Gilman | 97 JGTremblay’s daughter was born on July 28, and her new winery building was completed on September 10, in time for the beginning of harvest on September 15—so this was a busy year for Cécile. The 2012 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru is developing beautifully, having shed a touch of youthful reduction it exhibited on release to reveal, today, a youthful bouquet of wild berries, rose hips, exotic spices, musk and vine smoke. Full-bodied, velvety and textural, it’s a deep, powerful wine with lively acids and beautifully refined tannins. One of the least-evolved wines from this period of Tremblay’s career, the 2012 will continue to reward patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RP(95% vendange entier): Medium red. Knockout deep nose combines small red fruits, sexy vanillin oak, a distinctly wild animal quality, soil tones and a note of menthol. Powerful but youthfully closed, with intense raspberry and strawberry fruit flavors complicated by sweet spices and a rocky quality. The explosive, ripely tannic finish builds and mounts. This soil-driven grand cru will need patience.Vinous Media | 93+ VMAn interesting and slightly atypical nose displays notes of wild strawberry, lavender, warm earth, spice and a hint of underbrush. The wonderfully precise and almost painfully intense big-bodied yet elegant flavors possess both plenty of minerality and underlying tension before culminating in a balanced, gorgeously complex and seriously long finish. This is distinctly austere at present but the ripeness is such that it shouldn’t last.Burghound | 92-95 BH

There are three barrels of the 2012 Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru from 75-year old vines. It has a fragrant bouquet that offers a smorgasbord of red berry fruits and minerals to the point where the new wood in imperceptible. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent, ripe tannins and very well judged acidity. The finish is more linear that other vintages that I have tried from barrel, nicely focused with a touch of spice popping up on the extraordinary long aftertaste.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RP(these vines are 75 years old, according to Cathiard): Bright, dark red. Subtle aromas of crushed cherry, minerals and smoke verge on liqueur-like. Then creamy-sweet and superrich in the mouth, delivering outstanding plushness and a seamless texture. This very large-scaled wine boasts terrific volume. Finishes with substantial but firm tannins and lingering notes of sweet raspberry and spicy oak. I wanted a bit more complexity and grip for an even higher score: am I underrating this grand cru today?Vinous Media | 93+ VMA strikingly spicy nose offers up notes composed of essence of red pinot fruit, black currant, violets and sandalwood. In much the same fashion as the En Orveaux this possesses an ultra-refined mouth feel as the shaping tannins are quite fine-grained that could not be more different compared to that of the Malconsorts yet this is perhaps even longer. Even at such a young state of development this is a remarkably harmonious wine of understated grace. Wow.Burghound | 93-96 BH

Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru les Amoureuses from Christophe Roumier was showing just a touch of TCA on the nose. Yet the quality of this Amoureuses was not obscured, particularly on the beautifully structured palate that feels so long and tender. Damn those corks that try to ruin what is a fantastic wine clearly visible underneath.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPBright dark red. Pungent, high-pitched aromas and flavors of crushed raspberry, blood orange, white pepper and smoky minerals; this one has those ineffable high notes only a dog can hear. At once dense and bracing, showing razor-sharp definition and outstanding savory sappiness. This wonderfully taut, fine-grained Amoureueses finishes with almost painful rising length and chewy, utterly palate-staining intensity. Should be a cellar classic.Vinous Media | 96 VMAn exuberantly spicy nose combines both red and black pinot liqueur-like fruit, sandalwood, anise, violets and plum scents. There is a beguiling sense of freshness and energy to the very firmly mineral-inflected medium-bodied flavors that exhibit terrific delineation and outstanding depth on the strikingly long finish. This is the picture of refinement from tip to toe and should also age impressively well. In a word, terrific.Burghound | 96 BHThere are only four barrels this year of this magical elixir, so starting pleading with your Roumier merchant right now! The brilliant, pure and sappy nose delivers an exhilarating blend of black cherries, damsons, cocoa, gamebirds, kaleidoscopic soil tones, violets, a hint of nutskin and just a whisper of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very, very deep and transparent, with a sappy core, supreme elegance, fine-grained tannins and brilliant length and grip on the laser-like finish. A great wine. (Drink between 2025 - 2065)John Gilman | 96+ JGA dense version, marked by black cherry, earth and mint flavors. This features a nice beam of acidity and a tensile frame, ending with a stony accent. Shows a fine sense of place. Racy, firm and long, this gets better with air. Best from 2018 through 2032. 15 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Musigny Vielles Vignes Grand Cru from de Vogüé has slightly brighter and more vivacious fruit than J-F Mugnier, and in fact, the two wines seem to go in two different trajectories in the glass, this blossoming and the other becoming more occluded. De Vogüé’s Musigny is unashamedly floral in style, very elegant and yet delineated. There is a noticeable estuary scents, mudflats and seaweed, that begin to permeate the fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin, wonderful acidity and succinctly integrated new oak that is barely tangible. It is intense but elegant, long and tender in the mouth. It is a fabulous Musigny, one of the best that the domaine has produced in recent years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPA brooding but gorgeously spicy nose is comprised of liqueur-like dark berry fruit scents that also display plenty of floral influence that includes notes of lavender, violet and, somewhat curiously, honeysuckle. There is outstanding concentration and punch to the seductively textured and marvelously intense big-bodied flavors that are borderline robust as the supporting tannins are dense but refined. I really like the Zen-like sense of harmony to the explosively long and pungent mineral-driven finish that really stains the palate. This is flat out remarkable.Burghound | 97 BHThe 2012 Musigny Vieilles Vignes from the Comte de Vogüé is also a brilliant wine in the making. The deep, pure and nascently complex nose wafts from the glass in a stunning blend of red and black cherries, raspberries, red plums, cocoa, a stunning base of soil tones, hints of the smokiness to come, pungent (morning) violets and a discreet base of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and perfectly focused, with a sappy core of fruit, glorious transparency, fine-grained tannins and impeccable balance on the very, very long, pure and perfectly focused finish. A great wine. (Drink between 2025 - 2075)John Gilman | 97 JGDeep, bright red. Brilliantly complex, focused nose offers scents of redcurrant, blueberry, crushed stone, spices, red licorice, menthol and botanical herbs. Boasts extraordinary sweetness and depth to its chewy, sappy red and dark fruit flavors. Really bulletproof fruit here! Spreads out on the back half to saturate every square millimeter of the palate, finishing with penetrating berry fruit and salty minerality. Remarkably long and tactile.Vinous Media | 96+ VMFractionally more evolution to the colour compared to their Bonnes Mares. The bouquet is reserved but suggest great depth. There is a sensuality to the nose, and an assured length, but still we are waiting. This will grow from here, and has the weight of sensual fruit that we want, albeit for the moment in abeyance. Tasted Jun 2022.Jasper Morris | 94 JM

(13% alcohol; 60% new oak): Bright medium red. Very ripe aromas of black raspberry, smoky minerality and dried flowers. Plush, highly concentrated, outsized wine, combining grand cru volume with a surprisingly airy texture. Finishes with wonderfully suave tannins that saturate the entire palate and give shape to the wine’s fruit. Really outstanding soil-driven depth here.Vinous Media | 95 VMGorgeous texture with plush, velvety tannins and focused flavours. A stunning Malconsorts that has vibrant intensity. (Drink between 2019 - 2026)Decanter | 93 DECThis was sufficiently reduced to hide the fruit though not so much that the floral characters could not be perceived. This is a big wine even by the considerable standards of a classic Malconsorts with an overt muscularity to the concentrated yet impressively refined mouth feel to the utterly delicious flavors that are shaped by markedly firm tannins that are so well buffered by the rich dry extract that the wonderfully persistent finish is once again not especially austere. This should be excellent if given at least 7 to 10 years in a cool cellar though note that it should continue to improve for several years after that.Burghound | 92-94 BH

(this special cuvee is made from the southernmost of Faiveley’s three parcels in Clos de Beze; five barrels, three of them new): Good bright red. Very closed nose hints at rose petal and cinnamon. Wonderfully silky and sweet on the palate, with outstanding definition to the perfumed red raspberry and spice flavors. Finishes with explosive rising length and racy, fine-grained tannins. In its kernel of spice and its superb density and thrust, there’s something Musigny-like about this understated but potentially great wine.Vinous Media | 96+ VMThis is similar to the regular cuvée save for two aspects: this is a bit riper and notably more complex. The large-scaled flavors are also more concentrated with seemingly endless reserves of palate staining dry extract that also buffers the extremely firm tannic spine on the explosively long, balanced and powerful finish. This is stunningly good with massive potential though again, note that plenty of patience will be required.Burghound | 94-96 BH

Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru les Amoureuses from Domaine Robert Groffier was perhaps the biggest, and I should add, pleasant surprise of this marathon tasting. Whereas once I felt the wines could be over-extracted and too alcoholic, here was a wine that exuded elegance, finesse and terroir. It has a well-defined bouquet, raspberry and black berry fruit intermingling with black truffle and sous-bois scents. The palate is very "serious" on the entry, saline on the entry with touches of bitter cherry, brambly black fruit and a little tar. There is certainly very fine structure here and superb balance, although patience will be needed. What a fabulous example of the vintage. Bravo Nicolas Groffier!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RP(25% whole clusters): Bright medium red. Deep but reticent aromas of wild red berries, red cherry, cocoa powder and mint. Sweet and plush on entry, then savory and perfumed in the middle, with slightly high-toned raspberry and spice flavors lifted by notes of crushed stone, red licorice and flowers. Boasts considerable volume and density but finishes with a firm edge of acidity and a suggestion of peppery tannins. I would not be surprised if this wine evolved relatively quickly.Vinous Media | 92 VM