En Primeur Bordeaux 2012

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.

Score: 92 - 95 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate Maturity: 2013-2033

This is bouncy, with a briary backdrop to the blueberry, lingonberry and cherry fruit. Delivers a mouthfilling finish of fruit cake and anise.

Score: 89 - 92 James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

Lovely silky texture with very pretty fruit and character. Medium to full body. Well-integrated and a fresh finish.

Score: 91 - 92 James Suckling, Jamessuckling.com

Inky with black core. Intense, very dark yet fresh fruit, heading towards savoury with all that intensity. Lighter on the palate than I expected, the tannins fine and reined back. A little abrupt on the finish.

Score: 16 Julia Harding MW, Jancisrobinson.com Maturity: 2016-2023

The 2012 exhibits a black/purple color along with a striking nose of incense, spring flowers, blueberries, blackberries and hints of mulberries and crushed chalk. The sumptuous aromatics are followed by a full-bodied, super-concentrated, rich, layered wine that builds incrementally across the palate, finishing with an explosion of fruit, spice, tannin, glycerin and minerality. While neither as backward nor impenetrable as the 2009 and 2010, the 2012 should be approachable in 4-5 years and keep for 2-3 decades. A massive, concentrated effort from this great terroir, the 2012 Beausejour Duffau comes from a 16+-acre vineyard located on the clay and limestone southern slopes of St.-Emilion. It was cropped at 23 hectoliters per hectare, and the final blend was 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. Only 66% of the production went into the top wine, which boasts 14.3% natural alcohol. Readers can usually count on this cuvee being one of the finest wines of the vintage given the talented team behind it, Nicolas Thienpont, Stephane Derenoncourt, David Suire and Julien Lavenu. (93-95+ Points)

Score: 93 - 95 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate Maturity: 2017-2047

Quite juicy, with notes of anise, blackberry, blueberry and raspberry all wrangling with one another, while singed wood spice and licorice snap fill out the finish. A touch chewy and briary in the end, but there’s ample fruit in reserve.

Score: 91 - 94 James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

The ripest of the Nicolas Thienpont line-up so far. Ripe sweet cherry. Merlot energy and generosity. Rich but held in check by the finesse of the tannins and the freshness. Lovely and long too. All well judged. But has the firmness and freshness for a good long life. (17+ Points)

Score: 17 Julia Harding MW, Jancisrobinson.com Maturity: 2017-2025

Yields for the 2012 Bellevue were 27 hectoliters per hectare and the wine came in at 13.8% natural alcohol. The final blend was 98% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. The harvest occurred between October 10-12. Dense, rich, full-bodied and concentrated with a strikingly intense chalkiness/minerality that gives it a formidable personality as well as sweet tannin, it appears to be slightly closed at present despite its obvious concentration and depth. Forget it 4-5 years then keep your fingers crossed as, hopefully, the fruit will hold up to the wine’s structural components. This will endure and evolve for 20+ years. (91-93+ Points)

Score: 91 - 93 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate

Shows good cut, with a piercing edge to the red currant, cherry pit and blood orange notes. The long, chalk-driven finish exhibits lots of spine.

Score: 89 - 92 James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

A wine with blueberry, chocolate and spice character. Full body, with silky tannins and a refined and pretty finish. Long and polished.

Score: 92 - 93 James Suckling, Jamessuckling.com

Inky with black core. Deep cassis fruit overlaid with strong savoury oak char. Dense and dark, with dark chocolate finish. Powerful but not a lot of charm, though the fruit fills the structure. Just a bit tough on the finish.

Score: 16 - 17 Julia Harding MW, Jancisrobinson.com Maturity: 2018-2025

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, crème 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).

Score: 94 - 97 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate Maturity: 2013-2038

Smell of chalk and minerals with dark fruits follow through to a full body, with chewy tannins and structure and a long finish. Bitter chocolate and dark fruits. 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Score: 91 - 92 James Suckling, Jamessuckling.com

90% Merlot, 5% each of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. 100% new French oak. Colour of elderberry juice. Smells rather like it too. Very ripe, very intense but not porty! Highly extracted, deep in char but the fruit is compact. Tannins also compact and firm but not hard or bitter. Extreme but balanced. Just not my style. (16.5+ Points)

Score: 16 - 17 Julia Harding MW, Jancisrobinson.com Maturity: 2020-2035

A strong, solid effort from Beychevelle, the 2012 exhibits a deep ruby/plum color in addition to a sweet perfume of mulberries, black currants, jammy cherries, vanilla and damp earth. With good power and more depth than many Medocs as well as the estate’s hallmark finesse and elegance, this excellent, possibly outstanding wine possesses sweet tannin and more mid-palate depth than many of its peers.

Score: 89 - 91 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate

Particularly dark purple. Minerals and oyster shells on the nose. Then unexpectedly sweet on the palate. Gratingly green on the finish. A bit brutal.

Score: 16 Jancis Robinson MW, Jancisrobinson.com Maturity: 2020-2032

Features plum and blackberry fruit, with ample singed anise and fig paste notes. Juicy and briary, this delivers solid, chewy grip. Not as dense as in top years, but true to to the house style.

Score: 89 - 92 James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

Blackberry and blueberry character. Full body, with ultra-fine tannins and a pretty finish with finesse and refinement. Beychevelle is very consistent in quality these days.

Score: 90 - 91 James Suckling, Jamessuckling.com