For a long time this 2012 vintage was more flattering than the 2011 and it is still very attractive, with a smoky edge from the first nose, followed by welcoming red fruit that is very enjoyable. Far less reserved than the 2011, but it may not last as long.

91+ The 2012 Château Corbin is a superb wine and very classic in profile, as Annabelle Bardinet Cruse moved briskly to bring in all of her grapes in the first week of October, with the grapes “beautifully ripe and with the picking teams just one step ahead of the rot that was threatening the crop at this time.” The yields were only thirty seven hectoliters per hectare this year, due to the difficult flowering, but the wine that has been produced here is one of the stars of the commune. The 2012 Château Corbin is an absolute classic, comprised of a blend of ninety percent merlot and ten percent cabernet franc and was raised in forty percent new wood this year. The alcohol is around 13.2 percent alcohol, which, to my palate is a welcome respite to the mid fourteens here of the last couple of vintages (I got the alcohol level wrong on the 2011 Corbin, which actually finished up at 14.6 percent- I had reported it to be a full degree lower in alcohol last year.) The deep, nascently complex and utterly pure nose wafts from the glass in a constellation of black cherries, dark plum, coffee bean, cigar smoke, a lovely base of soil, a touch of tobacco leaf and a discreet base of nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and vibrant, with a lovely core of fruit, ripe tannins and a long, classy and tangy finish. Madame Bardinet Cruse will be the first one to tell you that the terroir at Corbin is not one of the great terroirs in St. Émilion, but she is clearly fashioning one of the best wines in the appellation and it is rather a joke to see some of the properties promoted recently here, while Corbin remains ranked simply as a Grand Cru Classé. In any event, it is great for savvy Bordeaux lovers today, as it allows us to buy one of the best-made wines on the Right Bank at prices that harken back to the golden age of the Bordeaux market in the decade of the 1980s. (Drink between 2020-2040)

Proprietress Annabelle Cruse-Bardinet oversees the winemaking at this excellent estate on the Pomerol-St.-Emilion border. Ruby/purple in color and nearly opaque, the wine has concentrated notes of crème de cassis, black cherry and licorice as well as a hint of truffle. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and pure, this is an impressive, outstanding St.-Emilion to drink young or over the next 10-12 years. Her final blend in 2012 was 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc.- RP