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 Pomerol, but some of the estate’s vineyards carry on over the communal boundary, and as these parcels are some of the oldest on the property, the Guinaudeau family prefers to simply label their Grand Village as a “Bordeaux Superiore”, so that they can use the old vines. The cépages of the 2012 Grand Villages is ninety-three percent merlot this year (reflecting the success of that varietal in this vintage- the vineyards include at least a quarter cabernet franc) and offers up a fairly ripe and very classy nose of plums, black cherries, chocolate, woodsmoke, dark soil tones and just a touch of spicy oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and very refined, with a good core, ripe tannins and a long and nicely tangy finish. A lovely bottle in the making.