This is an incredible 2012 with fantastic depth, richness, focus and tension. Full body, polished and velvety tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Goes on for minutes. Better in 2020 but a joy to taste now. One of the...

The 2012 Haut Bailly is brilliant and does nothing to damper my belief that this vintage is underrated in the market. Offering up a classic bouquet of tobacco leaf, cigar wrapper, blackcurrants, lead pencil, and graphite...

Plenty of exotic spices, saffran, clove, black pepper, turmeric, cassis, with sandalwood, gunsmoke and cedar smoke. Both character and bite, with plenty of impact. 50% of overall production, this is a successful Cos...

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.

(NM94-96 points) What is a primeur report without one of Pauillac’s most dynamic estate? I made the trip through the rain to taste their 2012. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 30%...

One of the winery's most celebrated releases each year, this blend of all five major Bordeaux red varieties is an excellent showcase of Carmel Valley's class. Freshly squeezed blackberry and blackcurrant fruit meet with...

(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 delivers intense balsamic notes of juniper, wild rosemary and sage, along with rose, cherry and berry aromas and flavors. Elegant and saturated with flavor, supported by a vibrant structure. Ends with energy and...

(92-94 points) Barrel sample. Solid and concentrated, this wine certainly shows great dryness as well as fruit. It has power and density, and a texture that balances new wood as well as the fruitiness. ROGER VOSS

(WE93-95 points) The wine is very dry, layered tannins giving a major sense of structure. It will always have this dry, dense character, very firm, solid and powerful.

The 2012 from Larcis Ducasse is a stunner, and not far from the otherworldly 2005. Made from 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc, this sensational 2012 offers a gorgeous bouquet of ripe black cherries, blackcurrants, cedary...

The 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes is in the top 2-3 wines in the vintage. Possessing rock-star concentration and depth, full-bodied richness and loads of sweet tannin, it offers layers of ripe blackberry...

The opaque bluish-purple 2012 Smith Haut Lafite offers up notes of licorice, graphite, blueberry and blackberry fruit, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, stunningly ripe, velvety tannins and a long, long finish. This is...

Graceful, nuanced, totally moriesh. Hugely successful at the 10 year mark, this is rippled with raspberry, white pepper, smoked earth, blond tobacco, cold ash, blueberry and star anise. One of my stars of the lineup...

(WE93-95 points) This is a solid effort that showcases both great blackberry fruit and sweet tannins right at the forefront. There is also fine acidity and a layer of wood that gives a dry, firm, age-worthy aftertaste.

The DNA of Remelluri is here. Wild mountain herb character, structured and firm, these tannins are succulent and deeply expressive. Powerful and assertive red plums, wild cherries and roasting herbs with the oak sitting...

The Jaboulets need little introduction, being as they are one of the leading winemaking families in this small part of the world. This Crozes-Hermitage has structure and breadth thanks to 12 months spent in new French...

(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

A decadent nose of treacle tart, chocolate, tar, tons of black fruit such as blackberries and mulberries and even ash and licorice. A dense, layered mouthfeel makes for a full-bodied palate that's explosive yet somehow so...

Cherry, strawberry and floral notes are hallmarks of this elegant, smooth red. Picks up spice and earthy accents, along with a cigar box element, as this builds to a long conclusion. Shows fine balance, with a line of...

This will be by far the biggest release since Latour brought in the new system, as the 2012 has not been on the market before. It's a good one to start with as this is a vintage where the drinking window is starting to...

The current release, the 2012 Imperial Gran Reserva checks in as a blend of 85% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano. Classic Rioja notes of blackcurrants, tobacco, toasted spices, balsamic, and lead pencil give way to a...

Very perfumed with black currant and cassis bush character. Medium to full body, fine and chewy tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Still a little tight but fun to taste now. Better in 2018.

(91-93 points) There are just two one-year-old barrels of the 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets. Bouley’s parcel comes from 0.16 hectares of 9-year-old vines, but 85% was destroyed by hail in this year. It has a subtle...

Young, and filled with promise, due to its multiple layers of sweet, silky, ripe, juicy, red fruits, licorice and spice. Round in texture, if you can't keep your hands off your stash, I understand as it's tasting great...

Tasted blind at the 2012 Southwold tasting, the 2012 Château Margaux has a taut, linear, pencil lead-infused bouquet with pure blackberry and boysenberry scents, an undercurrent of tobacco that surfaces after five minutes...

Aged in 100% new wood, this massive wine is full of dark plum and fragrant strawberries. It is also packed with dark tannins that give the wine a dry core. The fruitiness has a strongly juicy character, fragrant with...

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Mon Chevalier is composed of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, 3% Merlot and the rest Malbec and Petit Verdot, all from Knight’s Valley and aged in large oak puncheons. The least...