Robert Parker commented last week on the 2012 Bordeaux:  "..the wines are performing better than I originally estimated...which is great considering the ultimate truth is after bottling.....a full report will emerge in the April issue".

We tasted Fleur Cardinale 2012 in the office last week and were very impressed - lots of rich black fruits, licorice & chocolate, full bodied with polished tannins and lovely freshness. This represents extremely good value at under £25 per bottle with taxes and we wholeheartedly agree with Parker's tweet below... 

"want a great Bordeaux for a moderate price...$45 or so the St Emilion Fleur Cardinale...try the 2008, 2009, 2010 and in several years 2012"

Robert Parker, March 2013 tweet

Further endorsement for this Chateaux was seen in last month's Wine Spectator, when James Molesworth placed Fleur Cardinale 2005 at the top of his Top Value wines.

"This full-bodied beauty exhibits a dense opaque purple color in addition to copious notes of creme de cassis, kirsch, licorice and incense. It should drink well for 15-20 years. This will be a sleeper of the vintage. A superstar of the vintage (not surprising given how successful the proprietors, the Decoster family, have been over the last decade or more), this 58-acre vineyard located near the village of St.-Etienne de Lisse enjoyed yields of 34 hectoliters per hectare. The harvest took place extremely late - between October 22 and November 3. The final blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon came in at 13.5% natural alcohol. Every detail, both in the vineyard and the winery, is looked after by the meticulous owners. This will be a sleeper of the vintage as the Decosters have been among the most realistic proprietors in Bordeaux when it comes to pricing their wines"

92-95pts Robert Parker, April 2013