The nine wines from Pomerol shown at last month’s UGCB tasting were forward and delicious. It’s a small snapshot of the appellation obviously but there was nice life and zest in the wines shown. Château La Conseillante, Château Gazin and Château Petit-Village led the pack, along with Château Clinet. Château Beauregard, Château La Croix de Gay and Château La Pointe looked very good too.
2012 is a very good vintage in St Emilion. There are lovely fruit tones to the wines and many have an attractive freshness that keeps them nimble. The wines are generally ripe and forward and many are good to drink already, though the best will age nicely in the medium term. I was especially impressed with Château Canon, Château Canon-la-Gaffelière, Château La Dominique [a real beauty], Château Figeac, Clos Fourtet, Château Pavie-Macquin [very strong], Château Troplong-Mondot and Château Trottevielle.
The red and white wines of Pessac-Léognan are looking good now they are in-bottle. The whites have good aromatic profiles, plenty of flavour and nice acidity. The reds are medium bodied, forward and attractive. 2012 would appear to be an early-maturing vintage for both styles. Top of my list for red and white would have to be Château Smith Haut Lafitte. It had produced two very impressive wines. Close behind are Château Bouscaut [two outstanding efforts from this property], Château de Fieuzal, Château Malartic-Lagravière, Domaine de Chevalier and Château Pape Clément. Château Haut-Bailly has made an impressive, masculine red, and Château Olivier and Château Carbonnieux have made lovely vibrant whites.
An enjoyable, forward set of wines were shown at the UGCB’s 2012 in-bottle tasting in London on Thursday, their annual gathering held at the Royal Opera House in London. Pessac-Léognan’s whites were generally delicious as were their reds but there were successes in most appellations with some good showings in Margaux, St Julien, Pauillac and St Emilon and Pomerol especially. It doesn’t appear to be a long-term vintage but there is genuine charm here and more harmony shown in the wines than in 2011. Overall the reds seem more enjoyable now [and perhaps more consistent] than that vintage at the same stage.
