Wine

The 2012 Chateau Fleur Cardinale presents a deep and dense color, a powerful nose of ripe fruits, with floral notes. From a feminine style, vintage charm with its noble and silky tannins. This 2012 Chateau Fleur Cardinale finish is long and balanced, offering great aging potential. The 2012 vintage comes with a deep, concentrated colour. The 2012 Chateau Fleur Cardinale wine’s bouquet is equally delightful, with its intense range of aromas dominated by ripe fruit with floral and spicy overtones. This red wine is charmingly balanced and generous on the palate with perfectly smooth tannins. The finish is long and aromatic. In short, a wine with an astonishing personality, embodying both power and elegance. The Château Fleur Cardinale wine is a Grand Cru produced on the Saint-Émilion appellation. Since 2001, the estate has been owned by Florence and Dominique Decoster, who has raised it to Grand Cru Classé status in Saint-Émilion.

Culinary Recommendation: To serve 18 C. Good match with a firm-fleshed fish for a perfect match.

Awards:
92 Decanter
93 Robert Parker
93 Vinous
90-93 Wine Spectator

The 2012 Chateau Cheval Blanc wine has a medium to deep garnet colored. This Saint-Emilion wine reveals lovely cassis, warm black cherries and redcurrant jelly notions with underlying hints of cedar chest, garrigue, Indian spices and damp soil. The Chateau Cheval Blanc wine has a medium to full-bodied, it possesses wonderful energy and freshness on the palate with a beautifully poised ethereal nature and long mineral-tinged finish.

The Chateau Cheval Blanc 1er grand cru classé A is elegantly crafted beauty should enter its drinking window in a couple of years and cellar gracefully for another 20+ years.

The 2012 Chateau Cheval Blanc wine is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised and grilled dishes. This Premier Grand Cru Classé “A”, wine is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms and pasta.

96 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
95 points Wine Enthusiast
95 points Wine Spectator

The 2012 Ducru Beaucaillou was broody and stubborn on the nose: the fruit remaining off-stage while earthy, leathery notes take the limelight. The palate is medium-bodied with quite a tart entry, a keen line of acidity here that lends this energy, a sense of frisson. It settles down as it approaches the finish, gaining harmony all the time with a smooth, lightly spiced finish that lingers in the mouth.

A big, powerful wine, the 2012 Chateau Haut Brion possesses stunning richness and intensity. This Chateau Haut Brion from Pessac-Léognan possesses remarkable depth and tons of raw, animal power that is going to require considerable time in bottle to soften. This Chateau Haut Brion wine is certainly one of the candidates for the wine of the vintage, with a dense purple color, classic nose of crushed rock, lead pencil shavings, black raspberry, blueberry and flowers. This is a Cellar Selection which is a powerful wine will need many years.

Chateau Haut Brion is Bordeaux oldest Grands Crus, with a wine making history dating back to the 5th century. From only 46% of the production, this is an absolutely remarkable effort from the Dillon family and their winemaking team of the two Jean-Philippes.

This 2012 Chateau Haut Brion wine has a blend of 65% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc.

98 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
96 points James Suckling
96 points Wine Enthusiast

In the glass, 2012 Chateau Lafite Rothschild wine presents a beautiful structure that is very precise with present tannins and a ripeness that is associated with freshness and precise acidity. This is the general impression that we have when the wine in the mouth. It allows us to understand that it is truly is a great wine from a great terroir. This 2012 Chateau Lafite Rothschild is truly magical to see that regardless of the reputation of the vintage with the help of scientific developments which we enjoyed for the past few years we get results that are extraordinary.

The 2012 Chateau Lafite Rothschild wine is a Cellar Selection. 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 fruits. This Lafite Rothschild is totally dominated by some of the finest Cabernet Sauvignon in Bordeaux, this wine has strength while also having great freshness. Drink from 2024.

96 points Wine Enthusiast
95 points James Suckling
94 points Wine Spectator

The 2012 Chateau Margaux wine is a Cellar Selection. This Chateau Margaux wine has a taut, linear, pencil lead-infused bouquet with pure blackberry and boysenberry scents, an undercurrent of tobacco that surfaces after five minutes in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity, a life-affirming sense of balance with well-integrated new oak towards the finish. The 2012 Chateau Margaux has become more structured and masculine in bottle, yet there is pedigree here from start to finish, a sense of effortlessness that is seductive. This elegant red wine is very much in the classic style of Margaux.

This First Classified Growth of 1855 benefits from vines planted on an outcrop of gravel, which is characteristic of the appellation. This 2012 Chateau Margaux wine has a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest mostly Merlot, as well as only 33% of their harvest.

95 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
95 points Wine Enthusiast
95 points Wine Spectator

The 2012 Chateau Montrose wine has a deep ruby-red. This Saint Estèphe wine has floral, mineral nose hints at fresh blackcurrant, but this sample seems tight and closed down currently. On the palate, somewhat strict and linear flavors of blackcurrant and wet stone are lifted by a repeating note of violet. The finish is long and clean but could use more flesh.

This 2012 Chateau Montrose wine is a classic Bordeaux. Produced in the magnificent new cellars at Montrose, this big, tannic wine is powerful and concentrated. It has something of the classic severity of a wine from this estate, but that’s mitigated by the ripe, generous blackberry fruitiness and the final freshness of a 2012. This 2012 Chateau Montrose wine is a Cellar Selection.

95 points Wine Enthusiast
94 points James Suckling
92 points Wine Spectator

The 2012 Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1er cru classe is powerful, impressive wine is comprised of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon. One of the top ten wines of the vintage, this 2012 Chateau Mouton Rothschild has a deep ruby color and perfumed nose of red berries, cassis, flint, vanilla and peppery spices. This Mouton Rothschild wine is seriously structured, with loads of black currants and dark tannin, and revels on the finish with the juicy, fresh acidity of this vintage. The palate is beautifully balanced with great vim and vigor.

A fine Mouton Rothschild, this is the first vintage produced in the chateau’s new cellar. For Chateau Mouton Rothschild wine, the 2012 vintage was year was full of contrasts. A cold and dry winter was followed by an unreliable spring and an exceedingly dry summer. The harvest began on October 1 and ended on October 15. 2012 will be a historic year as the new cellars, after almost three years of work, welcomed its first harvest.

98 points Wine Enthusiast
97 points James Suckling
97 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

The Corte Giara Amarone Valpolicella Classico 2012 is a intense and inviting ruby red wine. The characteristic hints of cherries and pepper are particularly enjoyable in this wine, followed by subtle nuances of officinal herbs. Dry and well-balanced. The traditional acidic note combines well with the softness of the fruit to form a satisfying contrast and produce a supple, feisty wine.

The Double Bay Cabernet Merlot has a medium red with light purple hues color. This wine is a spicy and fruit driven. Medium bodied with delicated plum berry fruit flavours and a well round structure.

The 2012 Foppiano Estate Petite Syrah has dried blackberry, sweet cinnamon, coco powder and a hint of sage show in the aromas. This Syrah wine progresses over the palate with dark espresso, raspberry jam, dark chocolate covered blueberries and finishing with perfectly integrated oak spice. Concentrated fruit, balanced acidity and mature tannins will allow this wine to age for 10+ years.

Located just south of the town of Healdsburg, Foppiano vineyards sits on 160 acres in the acclaimed appellation of the Russian River Valley. Cool morning fog and warm summer days create an ideal microclimate for grape growing. The Foppiano family has been producing world class fruit on this land since its purchase in 1896. Today the vineyard is planted to Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, and Sauvignon Blanc on the warmer bench lands, and Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on the cooler land close to the Russian River.

The Henschke Lenswood Croft Chardonnay has bright gold-green in colour. Sweet, lifted ripe and complex with pear drop, peach, clove, spice, cashew nut, and hints, of grapefruit and lemon. This Chardonnay has a rich full complex concentrated and intense palate with layers of flavours, mineral and apricot kernel, good acidity and texture with excellent depth and length.

Voluminous and very well focused, the 2012 Inglenook Pennino Zinfandel displays a high degree of spice as well as big, juicy flavors of plums, cherries, and red fruits that are beautifully offset by a bright, balsamic-like acidity. Nuances of ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon mingle with notes of Mexican chocolate. One may even detect a hint of cherry blossoms. This Zinfandel wine has an integrated tannins support the structure and there is a succulent mouthfeel with a long, satisfying mocha finish.

The Zinfandel for Edizione Pennino is grown in a variety of vineyard blocks scattered across Inglenook’s 235 contiguous acres. The old dry-farmed, head- pruned vines, which provide the backbone of the blend, offer concentrated berry flavors and spice; younger plantings of the historic Morisoli clone contribute fresh raspberry fruit flavors, lively acidity and spice notes; the historic Werle selection adds dark boysenberry aromas and a round texture. Because we farm organically on the estate, it requires extra effort to cultivate our Zinfandel, as this varietal is one that’s susceptible to mildew and botrytis, but we think the rewards outweigh the added work that goes into creating this wine.

The wine is brilliant and violet-edged ruby in color, the 2012 Inglenook RC Syrah shows fresh, vibrant aromas of plum, blueberry, tobacco, and forest floor. The wine is superbly balanced on the palate, with well-defined notes of fennel, cedar, and allspice, which emerge gradually. The texture is velvety, supported by extremely well-integrated French oak, and the long, aromatic finish resolves perfectly.

Roman Coppola, a Syrah aficionado fond of both the Australian heavyweights as well as the more pedigreed Syrah-based wines from the Northern Rhone, worked with the Inglenook winemaking team to create an estate Syrah that combined the nuance and texture of ‘old world’ Syrah with the powerful fruit of ‘new world’ Syrah. Our terroir provides optimal conditions for producing this rich, opulent wine.

The KWV The Mentors Orchestra 2012 is a modern, multi-layered and Bordeaux-style blend shows aromas of blackcurrants, plums and black pepper with nuances of pencil shavings and wild fennel. On the palate, the intense concentration is prompted by a firm tannin structure and layers of dark berry fruit with an excellent follow-through. The wine can be enjoyed on its own or paired with braised lamb shoulder or fillet mignon.

The 2012 Opus One wine is a classy, complex, suave and savory. Glorious purity of fruit here with blackcurrants, blueberries, dark chocolate, fresh herbs and forest floor. Hints of mint. Full body, seamless tannins and wonderful balance. Tight and compacted tannins with beautiful fruit and great length. Notes of hazelnut and chocolate. One of the best Opus One wine in years. This Cabernet Sauvignon wine is compacted and beautiful.

The exceptional style of Opus One resulted from the combination of their talent, their vision and the unique terroir of the Oakville AVA an Eden for Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, this highly sought-after wine is produced from four different parcels, two parcels making up the famous 40-hectare To-Kalon vineyard, along with the River and Ballestra Parcels surrounding the Opus One winery.

The iconic 2012 Proprietary Red Opus One wine is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot and 2% Malbec aged 18 months in French oak.

97 points Decanter
97 points James Suckling
96 points Wine Advocate