One of the winery's most celebrated releases each year, this blend of all five major Bordeaux red varieties is an excellent showcase of Carmel Valley's class. Freshly squeezed blackberry and blackcurrant fruit meet with...

Juicy, with still-youthful plum, cherry and blackberry compote flavors, flanked by hints of ganache, licorice and bramble, which keep the finish lively. Drink now through 2023. 80,000 cases made. — JM

Cassis puree, with gourmet edges of smoked caramel, blacberry and spiced plum. This is tight at the moment, needs a good few hours in a carafe to really show itself, and will improve further over next few years. 40% new...

A mouthwatering Champagne, with a lovely sense of vibrant buoyancy to the flavors of patisserie apple and pear fruit, chopped almond, spun honey and grated ginger as they ride the fine, lacy mousse. Offers an expressive...

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...

This delightful wine is a benchmark for the Aube. Its exquisite texture boasts a delightfully creamy, dense feel and vibrant energy. The fruit aromas range from ripe pear to apricot and quince, accented by fresh white...

(WE93-95 points) Barrel sample. This is a finely balanced wine that’s ripe and structured at the same time. It has richness and spice, with a powerful context of wood, juicy blackberry fruits and delicious acidity. With...

(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

(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

Slightly more reserved now than on release, the 2012 Ermitage le Meal Blanc offers tons of honeyed minerality, caramelized peach, toasted bread and liquid rock-like aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, rich, vibrant and with...

Cassis puree, with gourmet edges of smoked caramel, blacberry and spiced plum. This is tight at the moment, needs a good few hours in a carafe to really show itself, and will improve further over next few years. 40% new...

The 2012 Latour…wine of the vintage? It has to be a serious contender. In this blind taste-off between the five First Growths, its quality shines through. With exceptional delineation on the nose, it just oozes class with...

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 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.

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.

Young, and filled with promise, due to its multiple layers of sweet, silky, ripe, juicy, red fruits, licorice and spice. Round in texture, if you can't keep your hands off your stash, I understand as it's tasting great...

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...

From the Latour domaine, this dense wine is full of plum and sweet strawberry. At the same time, it is solid with an undertow of tannins and a dark texture. The acidity is already well integrated into this ripe and...

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...

The 2012 Chardonnay Isobel (980 cases) comes from 31-year-old vines planted in the Charles Heintz Vineyard, and spent 13 months in 39% new oak. It offers classic notes of tangerine oil, apple blossoms, caramelized citrus...

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 Amabile del Cerè is flat-out stunning, boasting a seductive display of baked apple, fig paste, mint, spiced orange and hints of burnt sugar. It’s weighty and textural yet full of vibrant energy, as floral-laced...

The Quintarelli Giuseppe 2012 Cabernet Alzero (packaged in a heavy glass bottle) is a stunning wine that delivers a level of cautious brawn, intensity and fruit weight that sets this wine apart within the portfolio. The...

(92–94 points) Barrel sample. With so much spicy fruit, intensely ripe blackberry flavors and solid tannins, all the elements of excellence are here, and powered by a firm structure. This wine has weight and a fine...

The 2012 Haut Bailly is brilliant and does nothing to damper my belief that this vintage is underrated in the market. Offering up a classic bouquet of tobacco leaf, cigar wrapper, blackcurrants, lead pencil, and graphite...

A beautifully reductive nose smoulders with hints of flint, smoke and molten candlewax but also gives glimpses of ripe stone fruit and lemon. The palate carries on in this rich vein that suggests sumptuousness but is in...

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...