The 2012 d’Aiguilhe enjoyed low yields of 25 hectoliters per hectare and the final blend was 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc that came in at 14% alcohol. This large production cuvee comes from a 175-acre vineyard. Full-bodied with beautiful black currant, licorice, lead pencil shavings and forest floor characteristics with a touch of smoky oak in the background, this opulent, round, complete wine should drink well for 7-8 years.

D’Aiguilhe has been a consistent winner for a number of vintages. One of the Stephan von Neipperg estates (all of which merit attention), Stephane Derenoncourt is the consultant.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

Probably the finest dry white the staff at Mouton-Rothschild has yet produced (although the 2010 was also very impressive), the 2012 Aile d’Argent is a blend of 62% Sauvignon Blanc and the rest Semillon and Sauvignon Gris and is put through partial malolactic. It is an exotic, tropical fruit-scented effort displaying lots of mango, pineapple, honeysuckle and wet gravel-like notes. Medium-bodied, intense and impressive, it should drink well for 5-8 years.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

Owned by Hubert de Bouard, the 2012 Angelus was harvested between October 8-18, yields were 34 hectoliters per hectare, and the natural alcohol was over 14%. The final blend was 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon. One of the superstars of the vintage, the dense opaque purple/blue-colored 2012 offers up notes of barbecue smoke, graphite, charcoal, blueberries, blackberries, sweet cherries and forest floor. With terrific fruit intensity, a powerful, layered, multidimensional mouthfeel and full body, it should be drinkable at an early age given the sweetness of the tannin. It should easily evolve for 15-20 years.  

A stronger effort than its stablemate, Clerc-Milon, the 2012 d’Armailhac is an intriguing blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Complex notes of menthol, coffee beans, black cherries and black currants are followed by a rich, medium-bodied wine with copious tannin as well as sufficient fat and flesh to cover the structure. The harvest took place during the first ten days of October, most of the grapes being brought in prior to the deluge that began on October 7 and lasted until October 9. This excellent Pauillac is a successful Medoc in this challenging vintage for this region.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

The 2012 Ausone is another prodigious effort that should turn out to be one of the longest-lived wines of the vintage. It boasts a dense purple color along with abundant notes of mulberries, black currants, blueberries and a hint of raspberries interwoven with spring flower and crushed chalk-like characteristics presented in a full-bodied yet ethereal, stylish, racy, noble manner. This is a high class, aristocratic, nearly perfect wine to cellar for a decade and then watch it unfold over the following 40-50 years.

The 2012 is a more rugged, slightly rustic style of St.-Emilion with excellent ripeness as well as some dusty, earthy notes intermixed with notions of tobacco leaf, black cherries, licorice and incense. Medium-bodied with ripe tannin and a good finish, it should be drunk over the next 10-12 years.

This was a good showing for this property, which has an irregular track record, but is capable of turning out impressive wines.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

This is a surprisingly fruity, attractive, elegant as well as inexpensive Haut-Medoc that should qualify as a sleeper of the vintage if it gets into the bottle at this level of quality. The wine is heady and round without the excesses of tannin or mid-palate deficiency that plague many 2012 Medocs.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

A spectacular wine from this nearly 50-acre vineyard situated atop St.-Emilion’s famed limestone plateau, the final blend for the 2012 Beau-Sejour Becot was 70% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. It achieved 14% natural alcohol and yields were 31 hectoliters per hectare. One of the stars of the vintage, it is elegant yet powerful, rich and authoritative with abundant black raspberry, blueberry, graphite and toasty vanillin notes. Full-bodied and super rich for a 2012, it is packed with potential. The tannins are ripe as well as abundant suggesting several years of bottle age will be required. It should turn out to be a 20 year proposition. Kudos to the Becot family for producing this beauty.

This blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 20% Petit Verdot displays the ripeness it was possible to achieve in this vintage as it boasts 13.5% natural alcohol. It is medium-bodied with cedary, herbaceously-tinged red and black currant fruit intermixed with a hint of loamy soil. Drink it over the next 4-5 years.

American broker Jeffrey M. Davies has an exclusivity for this modestly-priced Bordeaux.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

The 2012 Bellevue Mondotte may turn out to be just as powerful and exquisite as the 2010, perhaps even superior to that beauty. This full-bodied super-star of the vintage boasts deep notes of graphite, creme de cassis and blackberries as well as a full-bodied, viscous texture, a huge mid-palate (atypical for a 2012), and a whopping amount of fruit, glycerin and tannin in the finish. However, the tannins are ripe and remarkably well-integrated. Sadly, this amazing effort is extremely limited in production. It should drink well for 20-25 years.

A small, 5-acre jewel of an estate planted with 90% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, this property, which sits next to La Mondotte, hit 14% natural alcohol (just below the 14.3% achieved by their 2010).

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

A dark plum/purple color is followed by notes of forest floor, damp earth, crushed rocks, red and black fruits, new saddle leather and underbrush. Made in a medium to full-bodied, slightly rustic style with some tannin to shed, give it 4-5 years in the bottle and drink it over the following 15-20 years.

This blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon comes from a south-facing hillside vineyard in the lieu-dit of Mazerat, not far from Angelus. A late harvest between October 5 and October 17 produced only 30 hectoliters per hectare, and the grapes were sorted by the new toy of wealthy proprietors, the Vistalys Laser Optical System. The final blend was 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon (14.2% alcohol).

The 2012 Branaire Ducru is a seductive effort that is a credit to this chateau, which did not try to over-extract or push the fruit past what it was capable of providing. The result is an elegant, pretty, mid-weight wine with soft, velvety tannin, spicy mulberry and black cherry fruit, hints of spring flowers and loamy soil undertones, medium body and a moderate finish. Drink it over the next 10-12 years.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

A beauty from Henri Lurton, the 2012 Brane Cantenac exhibits classic notes of spring flowers intermixed with black raspberries, black currants and damp forest floor. This medium-bodied, sweet, ripe, quintessentially elegant, medium-bodied Margaux is nicely concentrated as well as sexy. Enjoy it over the next 10-12 years.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

A blend of 50% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2012 boasts a dense blue/purple color along with a sweet perfume of unsmoked cigar tobacco, bay leaf, black currants, plums and licorice. With medium to full body, impressive concentration, ripe, velvety tannins, decent acidity, and only a background note of wood, it can be consumed over the next 10-15 years. Owned by Helene Garcin-Leveque (also the proprietor of the neighboring Haut-Bergey), this small estate possesses an exquisite terroir. 

A blend of 50% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2012 boasts a dense blue/purple color along with a sweet perfume of unsmoked cigar tobacco, bay leaf, black currants, plums and licorice. With medium to full body, impressive concentration, ripe, velvety tannins, decent acidity, and only a background note of wood, it can be consumed over the next 10-15 years. Owned by Helene Garcin-Leveque (also the proprietor of the neighboring Haut-Bergey), this small estate possesses an exquisite terroir. 

This fresh wine exhibits notes of cranberries, red and black cherries, forest floor and hints of white chocolate as well as background earth. An excellent texture and medium body suggest this sleeper of the vintage will drink well for 7-8 years.

The consultant for this consistently fine Haut-Medoc is Hubert de Bouard. Yields were 36 hectoliters per hectare in 2012, and the final blend was 52% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

The 2012 Cantenac Brown, one of the most impressive Margaux I tasted, is the complete package – from the initial attack to the layered, rich finish. Dense ruby/purple-hued with notes of licorice, mulberries, black currants, asphalt and spring flowers, this medium to full-bodied, concentrated, rich effort does not reveal an excess of rusticity or astringency. It should drink well for 10-15 years. This under-the-radar chateau never receives much attention even though it is the beneficiary of a new, conscientious proprietor.

This straightforward cru bourgeois exhibits some herbaceousness and damp earth-like notes along with medium-bodied flavors of dusty black cherries and earthy currants. Drink it over the next 5-7 years.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

Another full-throttle 2012 dry white, this 2012 offers lots of honeysuckle notes as well as a full-bodied mouthfeel and beautiful purity, elegance and length. Lemon zest, grapefruit and subtle wood characteristics are found in both the aromatic and flavor profiles. Drink this stunning Pessac-Leognan over the next 6-10 years.

The second wine of Angelus, the 2012 Carillon Angelus, is more of a separate estate than a second wine. Composed of 50% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Cabernet Franc, with some malolactic in barrel, this wine is deep and richly fruity with lots of jammy black cherries and black currants intermixed with a hint of toasty oak. Lush and opulent, it is ideal for drinking over the next decade. Consumers should find it appealing as well as seductive.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

The second wine, the 2012 Carruades de Lafite is composed of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Soft, round, accessible and delicious, but uninspiring, it possesses a dark ruby/plum color, medium body and hints of lead pencil shavings intermixed with red and black currants and vanillin. Drink it over the next 7-8 years. Charles Chevalier was candid in saying that the tropical heat wave, along with the poor flowering resulted in intense labor in the vineyard and during the harvest where triage was the operative word, and had to be done thoroughly and consistently. The 2012 Lafite Rothschild, a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% Merlot and 0.5% Petit Verdot, was the result of a harvest that took place between September 28 and October 9 for the Merlot, October 9-16 for the Cabernet Sauvignon. The small amount of Cabernet Franc included in the Carruades de Lafite was harvested on October 11 - 12. Only 38% of the production made it into the grand vin. If the 2012 fills out completely it could turn out similar to the 1998 Lafite.

This property has ratcheted up the quality over recent years (the 2010 was a killer sleeper of the vintage, and the 2012 Chantegrive is as well). The 2012's dense purple color is followed by sweet notes of smoky black currants, vanillin, barbecue and graphite presented in a medium to full-bodied, layered, plush, heady style. This is a major overachiever in a vintage where over-achievement was rarely noticeable. Drink it over the next 7-8 years.

Not surprisingly, Hubert de Bouard is their consultant.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

The second wine, the 2012 La Chapelle d’Ausone, is an equal part blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc displaying an inky/blue/purple color as well as a sweet kiss of blueberry, blackberry, crushed rock and spring flower characteristics. Remarkably, no one at a blind tasting would ever believe this medium to full-bodied effort is a second wine – it’s that impressive! It should drink well for 15-20 years.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

The second wine, the 2012 La Chapelle d’Ausone, is an equal part blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc displaying an inky/blue/purple color as well as a sweet kiss of blueberry, blackberry, crushed rock and spring flower characteristics. Remarkably, no one at a blind tasting would ever believe this medium to full-bodied effort is a second wine – it’s that impressive! It should drink well for 15-20 years.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)

An exclusivity of American broker Jeffrey M. Davis, the 2012 Charmail is a blend of 47% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Yields were 40 hectoliters per hectare and the wine hit 12.8% natural alcohol, slightly lower than many of its peers. A typical dark blue/purple color (because Charmail extends the cold pre-fermentation maceration as much as possible) is followed by aromas of cassis, blueberries, blackberries, charcoal and acacia flowers. This medium-bodied, richly fruity, pure, attractive wine will not make old bones, but for drinking over the next 5-7 years, it is very well done.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206)