Bordeaux 2012 Primeurs: St Emilion Tasting Notes
With such a broad range of wines and styles to chose from, in a vintage that did tend to favour Merlot over other varieties, it should come as no surprise that there are some very good wines to be found here in this vintage. Although it is tempting to liken it to 1998 in particular, a vintage in which the right bank appellations and Pessac-Léognan did best, I’m not sure the wines are as wholly convincing as would be required for such a parallel to be drawn with honesty.
So, having said that quality here can be good, this is not the same as saying 2012 is a ‘right bank vintage’ where one can buy blind with confidence. As all my reports hopefully indicate, the year was one where vineyard practices (pruning, yield control, leaf-plucking and so on) could make a real difference. Variety has also made a big difference. And I suspect soil made a huge difference too (although it can be difficult to elucidate when tasting finished blends, as soils and varieties are intertwined). Look to some of the little wines here, wines from lesser terroirs, and even if predominantly Merlot you can find stolid wines, or green and leafy notes to match those found in some admittedly much grander names of the left bank.
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