Bordeaux 2012 Primeurs: Primeur Picks
Somewhere in this report on the 2012 Bordeaux vintage, all 47 pages of it, I extolled the benefits of going it alone during the primeurs. This was the first year I did the tastings solo, rather than part of a group. And there were certainly some advantages to this.
I particularly enjoyed the freedom of being able to draw up my own timetable, flying out and returning at times that suited me, and arranging all my appointments to make a schedule that allowed me more time at some tastings where I had previously felt rushed, less time where it wasn’t needed at others. Perhaps more importantly, the extra time allowed me to slot in visits to many estates not previously (or rarely) bothered by my footfall, with Pomerol and St Emilion being major beneficiaries. It was, I felt, what Winedoctor subscribers expected and deserved. I was only too happy to oblige!
The whole affair was thus liberating and enjoyable; sure, there were some early starts and some long drives, but the memory of these intrepid treks will fade with time, whereas the memory of tasting the 2012 L’Église-Clinet for the first time (and sadly perhaps the last time!) will last for a very long time. That was a really exceptional wine, full of wonderfully bright colour (it was surprising to me how some wines in this vintage already bore tinges of the hue of maturity), perfectly balanced substance on the palate, with correct acidity and tannic underpinnings. It was easily, for me, the wine of the vintage. It was something of a surprise to see Parker also put the wine right at the top of his report with the highest score when he released his Wine Advocate report. I hadn’t ever thought we had similar tastes in wine.
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