So much dried flower, mushroom, iron, rust, sweet berry, and grilled orange. Full-bodied with very elegant and refined tannins that melt in the mouth and give a real sense of place and integrity. Balanced and harmonious...

(92–94 points) Barrel sample. A solid effort, this is a wine with great fruit and firm structure to support it. Ripe and full in the mouth, it's a firm and complex wine with a delicious juicy aftertaste. ROGER VOSS

This second wine of Château Montrose is ripe and structured. In 2012, it formed 29% of total production at Montrose. It opens with severe tannins that transform into ripe blackberry as the wine opens out. Solidly...

Aromas and flavors of tar, berries and dark chocolate. Full body, relatively firm tannins and a finish that fills the palate. Well done. Second wine of Lynch-Bages.

This structured wine with big, bold red fruits offers ripe acidity, a dense texture and considerable concentration. It also has the hallmark freshness of the vintage that balances the strong aging potential. Drink from 2022.

(93–95 points) 93–95. Barrel sample. This firm, dry wine is solidly rich and full in the mouth. With fine acidity and black currant fruit that show through the tannins, it is a wine with considerable potential. ROGER VOSS

(98+ points) Bottled under a black label to celebrate Pavie’s addition to the Grand Cru Classé “A” classification, the 2012 Chateau Pavie is a brilliant wine, and readers with bottles in their cellars are in for a treat...

Whiff of gunsmoke reduction, opening up to show concentrated dark berry fruit with liqourice, pencil lead, campfire and black truffle. Stately and muscular, a brilliant counterpoint to the grace of La Mission Haut-Brion...

Unusually in terms of my recent experience, this is tasting far more plump and inviting than the 2011 right now - with well defined and purely-delivered cassis and bilberry flavours, some creamy texture and enjoyably...

Dark and winey, with a grippy, brambly frame and a solid core of raspberry, black currant and boysenberry fruit. The backdrop reveals lots of anise, bay and black tea notes. Still backward, with an ironclad finish, this...

Seductive, rich flavours, far more creamy in its fruit expression than many of the top Left Banks in the 2012 vintage, and yet also higher in fresh acidities, giving a lovely push-and-pull contrast. Persistent, with sage...

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2012 Canon is a little closed to begin, soon opening to deliver baked plums, dried mulberries, and mince pie scents with touches of sauteed herbs, tobacco, and tar. Medium to...

This wine is soft and round, with attractive acidity as well as a light sense of structure from tannins. It features considerable acidity along with wild strawberry flavors that keep it lifted and aromatic. Drink from...

A minerally red with blueberry and blackberry character. Stones, too. Medium body, fine tannins and a crisp finish. Layered and pretty. Second wine of Gruaud-Larose. Better in 2017.

A very pretty wine for the year, the 2012 d'Armailhac is plush, open and seductive. Dark red cherry, tobacco, wild herbs, smoke, leather and game are all pushed forward in a pliant, supple Pauillac that is already quite...

(WE94-96 points) Firmly tannic in character, this wine is dry and extracted. There’s potential for this powerful, impressive wine to bear the wine’s very dry character with the weight of its fruit.

Medium-bodied, silky, energetic, bright style of Haut Bailly, with a lean to its lifted, red fruits, and a dash of cocoa in the finish. This is ready to go. Drink from 2023-2032.

Such purity of fruit to this wine with plum, currant and berry character. Solid core of fruit and fine tannins. Full and balanced. Very successful for the vintage. Better in 2017.

This has ripe fruit, packed with strawberry jam with a good concentration as well as red plums and rounded tannins. It is rich and smooth, although well cut with tannins and acidity. This balanced wine will age well...

The 2012 Grand Village, from the Guinaudeau family of Château Lafleur fame, is really lovely this year and one of the great bargains to be found in the vintage. As readers may recall, this is in reality a Lalande de...

The 2012 Grand-Puy-Lacoste has an impressive cassis-tinged bouquet with fresh tobacco and graphite infused black fruit that are very well focused and neatly integrated with the oak. The palate is medium-bodied with fine...

Milk chocolate, butterscotch and black cherry dominate the nose on this deep-violet-colored wine. Rich flavors of black plum, black cherry, chocolate-covered espresso bean and lavender are nestled into a framework of...

Pure perfection in Syrah, the 2012 Ermitage Le Pavillon comes from the pure granite soils of the Les Bessards lieu-dit and was brought up in around 30-35% new demi-muids. This blockbuster yet magical wine offers...

(91+) When the rains were forecast to arrive on September 22nd, the team at Lafleur decided to pick all of the merlot vines destined for the grand vin on the single day of September 21st, but, there was not sufficient...

A great second wine for drinking now, this has lashings of damson fruit to back up the acidity. The tannins are not as intense as they would be in a great vintage but it's good quality, with polish and real appeal.

(91-93 points) Jadot's 2012 Beaune Theurons is quite a bit firmer and more structured than the Greves. Iron, red fruit, minerals, chalk and smoke are some of the many notes that open up in the glass. The 2012 is going to...

(91-93 points) Jadot's 2012 Beaune Theurons is quite a bit firmer and more structured than the Greves. Iron, red fruit, minerals, chalk and smoke are some of the many notes that open up in the glass. The 2012 is going to...

(96+) The 2012 Hermitage Ex Voto (which I suspect won’t be produced again until 2015) was bottled in January of this year and it’s a big, voluptuous beauty that’s loaded with fruit and texture. Crème de cassis, black...