2012 Pauillac Bordeaux Wine Tasting Notes In Barrel Ratings

2012 Pauillac is not going to make anyone forget about 2010 Pauillac or 2009 Pauillac. But it does not need to. The wines are not for long term drinking, which is a good thing for fans of Pauillac, which often takes a decade or decades before they are ready. 2012 Pauillac is not a powerful vintage, the wines are on the light side, but with freshness to the fruit.

2012 d’Armailhac – From a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, the wine reached 13.4% alcohol. Tobacco, stone, pepper and black cherry notes open to a soft, forward, medium-bodied Pauillac that ends with fresh black plums. 89-91 Pts

2012 Clerc Milon This vintage represents the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon used in the blend over the past several decades at 60% . The rest of the blend includes 29% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Carmenere. The wine reached 13.6% alcohol. Graphite, jammy black cherries, licorice and coffee bean scents open to a soft, fresh black raspberry-filled wine that should drink well with just a few years of bottle age. 90-92 Pts

2012 Duhart-Milon – 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot – The wine offers sweet dark berries, freshness and a sweet and tart, red and dark berry finish. 89-91 Pts

2012 Grand Puy Ducasse – Blending 53% Merlot with 47% Cabernet Sauvignon produced a medium bodied, cassis, earth and cranberry leaning wine with a short, bright and slightly tart, austere finish. 86-88 Pts

2012 Grand Puy Lacoste – Blending 76% Cabernet Sauvignon with 24% Merlot, the wine will be aged in 75% new French oak barrels. With coaxing, cassis, cedar and earthy aromas could be discerned. On the medium-bodied palate, black cherry, spice and cassis sensations end with a hint of fennel in the finesse finish. 90-92 Pts

2012 Haut Batailley – 71% Cabernet Sauvignon and 29% Merlot make up the blend. The wine will be aged in 60% new French oak barrels. Smoke, licorice and cassis notes open to a medium-bodied, black cherry-filled wine with some dryness in the finish. 88-90 Pts

2012 Lafite Rothschild – 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% and .5% Petit Verdot produced a restrained, medium bodied, lighter style of Lafite Rothschild which offers an elegant, refined, red berry profile with polish and freshness. A strict selection and extensive sorting was required for the vintage. In fact, optical sorting was performed for the first time at the estate. 37% percent of harvest was used the grand vin. This is the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon used in the blend since 2000, when it was 94% 92-94 Pts

2012 Carruades de Lafite – 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot – Light in color, medium bodied, with a short, blackberry and cherry finish. 87-89 Pts

2012 Latour Crafted from 90.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.6% Merlot, and 0.2% Petit Verdot, this wine reached 12.8% alcohol. The Grand Vin represents just 35.6% of the crop. The color of a gleaming dark ruby, the wine is elegant, soft, plush and polished in texture. There is a core of sweet, racy cherries and cassis with hints of vanilla and earth. The wine offers purity, symmetry, freshness and balance. This is a refined style of Latour. According to Frederic Engerer, the key to the success in this vintage was working on a parcel-by-parcel and row-by-row basis, monitoring the needs of the vineyard with specific attention to the amount of hydric stress each vine endured. 94-96 Pts

2012 Les Forts de Latour – Aromas of cedar chest and cassis led to a polished wine with soft textures and refined tannins which produced an elegant style of Forts de Latour. Reaching 12.8% alcohol, the wine ended with fresh, polished black raspberry fruits. 90-92 Pts

2012 Pauillac de Latour – From a Merlot-dominated blend, the wine offers cassis, black raspberry jam and earthy scents. This is a medium-bodied, delicate and soft Pauillac with a gentle red berry finish. Enjoy this fresh Pauillac on the young side. 87-89 Pts

2012 Lynch Bages – 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot created a wine that will be aged in 75% new French oak. It took some effort to find the cedar, cassis, coffee and earthy notes. The ample tannins are refined, ending with spicy creme de cassis sensations. This will take time to soften. 90-93 Pts

2012 Lynch Bages Blanc – From a blend of 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 27% Semillon and 13% Muscadelle, the wine will be aged in 50% new French oak. Honeydew melon, lychee nut, lemon peel and orange scents pop with no effort. Zesty, bright and fresh, the wine ends with invigorating citrus, pineapple and lemon zest. 90-92 Pts

2012 Mouton Rothschild 2012 marks the debut vintage utilizing the new facilities at Mouton Rothschild. Blending 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the wine reached 13.2% alcohol. Stone, cedar, tobacco, cassis, orange liqueur, slate and fresh herbs create the perfume. The wine is structured, refined, masculine and tannic. The tannins are ripe, powerful and strong, giving the structure to age for patient consumers. 94-95 Pts

2012 Petit Mouton – Using 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the wine reached13.2% alcohol. Mint, floral and jammy raspberry notes lead to a medium-bodied, cassis-filled wine that could use a little more depth. 88-90 Pts

2012 Aile d’Argent – The wine pops with fresh grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach and waxy notes. The wine is fresh, lively and bright with an orange- and lemon-filled finish that’s easy to drink. 89-91 Pts.

2012 Pedesclaux 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc which reached 13.2% alcohol. The wine opens with cassis, stone and lead pencil notes. Medium/full-bodied with fresh, crunchy cassis flavors, the wine shows a bit of dust in the tannins. 89-91 Pts

2012 Pibran – Notes of boysenberry, earth, fennel and leaf introduce the blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon. This fresh, cherry-driven wine will be aged in 50% new French oak barrels and should offer pleasure early. 87-89 Pts

2012 Pichon Comtesse de Lalande – Produced from a blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, the wine reached 13% alcohol, with a pH of 3.8. Sporting a deep color, the wine offers dark chocolate, black raspberry, mint and caramel scents. Soft, medium-bodied and silky, the wine ends with black and red berries, cocoa, and fresh herbs in the cherry-dominated finish. 91-93 Pts

2012 Pichon Longueville Baron – Utilizing 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, the wine reached 13.1% alcohol. With a deep crimson ruby color, it’s easy to find forest, tobacco, earth, cassis and blackberry notes. Once past the aromatics, the wine is fresh and lively with black raspberry, vanilla, soft textures and an inner core of crème de cassis, which will only improve with age. The wine will be aged in 80% new French oak. 92-94 Pts

2012 Les Tourelles de Longueville – A quiet red and dark berry-driven wine with a high Merlot content that will allow it to be enjoyed on release. 86-88 Pts

2012 Pontet Canet – Produced from an assemblage of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, this is one of the darkest wines of the vintage. The nose offers ripe dark berries, licorice, clay, minerality and fresh dark berries. Polished tannins, plush textures and layers of sweet, ripe berries fill your mouth. The suave, fresh wine ends with an expansive, rich finish in the mouth. Very successful for the vintage. This is the first year where Pontet Canet began using a percentage of amphore for the vinification. Alfred Tesseron is clearly on a roll. 94-96 Pts