(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 second wine of Château Montrose is ripe and structured. In 2012, it formed 29% of total production at Montrose. It opens with severe tannins that transform into ripe blackberry as the wine opens out. Solidly...

This is a fantastic and refined Blanc de Blancs. So layered and complex, with lemon curd, chalk, hazelnuts, pastries, baked apples and almond croissants. Structured and tightly wound, with almost imperceptible bubbles...

(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

Dark and winey, with a grippy, brambly frame and a solid core of raspberry, black currant and boysenberry fruit. The backdrop reveals lots of anise, bay and black tea notes. Still backward, with an ironclad finish, this...

A great second wine for drinking now, this has lashings of damson fruit to back up the acidity. The tannins are not as intense as they would be in a great vintage but it's good quality, with polish and real appeal.

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2012 Canon is a little closed to begin, soon opening to deliver baked plums, dried mulberries, and mince pie scents with touches of sauteed herbs, tobacco, and tar. Medium to...

Such purity of fruit to this wine with plum, currant and berry character. Solid core of fruit and fine tannins. Full and balanced. Very successful for the vintage. Better in 2017.

Pure perfection in Syrah, the 2012 Ermitage Le Pavillon comes from the pure granite soils of the Les Bessards lieu-dit and was brought up in around 30-35% new demi-muids. This blockbuster yet magical wine offers...

The 2012 Grand Village, from the Guinaudeau family of Château Lafleur fame, is really lovely this year and one of the great bargains to be found in the vintage. As readers may recall, this is in reality a Lalande de...

Seductive, rich flavours, far more creamy in its fruit expression than many of the top Left Banks in the 2012 vintage, and yet also higher in fresh acidities, giving a lovely push-and-pull contrast. Persistent, with sage...

A very pretty wine for the year, the 2012 d'Armailhac is plush, open and seductive. Dark red cherry, tobacco, wild herbs, smoke, leather and game are all pushed forward in a pliant, supple Pauillac that is already quite...

The wine is beautifully balanced, poised between ripe yellow fruits and a tight, taut acidity and minerality. It shows roundness initially, then offers a long-term prospect of intense fruit and a strong structure. Drink...

This structured wine with big, bold red fruits offers ripe acidity, a dense texture and considerable concentration. It also has the hallmark freshness of the vintage that balances the strong aging potential. Drink from 2022.

(91-93 points) Jadot's 2012 Beaune Theurons is quite a bit firmer and more structured than the Greves. Iron, red fruit, minerals, chalk and smoke are some of the many notes that open up in the glass. The 2012 is going to...

Coming from Verzy and made from equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the 2012 Champagne Montagne Grand Cru pours a medium straw hue with a hint of copper and takes things up a notch with its aromas of framboise...

This wine is soft and round, with attractive acidity as well as a light sense of structure from tannins. It features considerable acidity along with wild strawberry flavors that keep it lifted and aromatic. Drink from...

This has ripe fruit, packed with strawberry jam with a good concentration as well as red plums and rounded tannins. It is rich and smooth, although well cut with tannins and acidity. This balanced wine will age well...

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.

The 2012 Grand-Puy-Lacoste has an impressive cassis-tinged bouquet with fresh tobacco and graphite infused black fruit that are very well focused and neatly integrated with the oak. The palate is medium-bodied with fine...

(96+) The 2012 Hermitage Ex Voto (which I suspect won’t be produced again until 2015) was bottled in January of this year and it’s a big, voluptuous beauty that’s loaded with fruit and texture. Crème de cassis, black...

Medium-bodied, silky, energetic, bright style of Haut Bailly, with a lean to its lifted, red fruits, and a dash of cocoa in the finish. This is ready to go. Drink from 2023-2032.

Whiff of gunsmoke reduction, opening up to show concentrated dark berry fruit with liqourice, pencil lead, campfire and black truffle. Stately and muscular, a brilliant counterpoint to the grace of La Mission Haut-Brion...

Showing the serious side of Lafite, this is big and dark, powered by tannins as much as fruit. The wood aging is still showing, although that will integrate into the great structure that holds up the ripe black currant...