Bordeaux 2012 Cru Bourgeois
The annual tasting of the latest Sélection Officielle des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc is now a regular fixture in my personal tasting calendar. I am sure everyone reading this is already aware that the once robust Cru Bourgeois classification, carved in stone in 1932, ultimately collapsed following a reworking in 2003 (if not, see my guide to the Cru Bourgeois Classification for more detail). After what was, on reflection, a remarkable salvage operation, the system has since been replaced by an annual ‘selection’ of wines that have passed a taste test for the vintage in question, the process overseen by an independent body, Bureau Véritas.
The new system is democratic and flexible, in that unlike any other classification system in Bordeaux it is renewed on an annual basis. Pull out all the stops in any one vintage here and reward will be almost immediate, in contrast to other classifications which might be reviewed only once a decade, and which are no less fraught with legal wranglings (as in St Emilion), or indeed never reviewed at all (as in the 1855 classifications of the Médoc and Sauternes). It is far from a perfect system though; it has its flaws, and I have already detailed my thoughts in this regard in previous articles, in particular my report on the 2011 Cru Bourgeois selection. For this reason I will not repeat verbatim my thoughts, but it is worth remembering a few facts before soaking up the detail of the latest selection.
