2012
2012
Contino 2012/18 Rioja Gran Reserva
Spanish Red
Contino Gran Reserva is a harmonious wine, with a great balance between silkiness and roundness in the mouth. On the nose it is fragrant, reminiscent of ripe black fruit, with floral and balsamic notes that provide freshness. All well balanced with subtle toasted notes from its ageing in barrel. On the palate it is fine, subtle, with pleasant tannins and perfect acidity, which make it a persistent wine with a long finish.
Macauley 2012 Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa Valley
American Red
Black fruit and cherry rise from the glass with wet stone, blackberry jam, raspberry and finely judged oak spice. The palate is warm and viscous yet remarkably balanced, bringing ripe cherry, clove and layered spice into focus. Stately, refined tannins give the Cabernet shape and carry its dark fruit through a long, composed finish.
Bruno Paillard 2012 Assemblage Champagne
French Sparkling
Candied citrus, kiwi and fresh lemon lead a bright, focused bouquet, with white fruit, ginger and a gentle brioche note adding depth. Low dosage keeps the palate taut and precise, while fine bubbles and a chalky mineral line carry the flavours cleanly. Serve well chilled with oysters, sashimi or gougères.
Cantina Zaccagnini 2012 Tralcetto Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
Italian Red
Intense ruby colour shows violet nuances. Ripe red berries and white pepper accompany a persistent palate with soft, harmonious tannins. Made from Montepulciano in Abruzzo, the wine carries thirteen percent alcohol. The grapes are destemmed and crushed, then macerated under a submerged cap. Temperature-controlled fermentation lasts about fifteen days, followed by ageing in steel on the lees.
Elderton 2012 Golden Semillon 375 mL
Australian Dessert
This Sémillon from the Barossa Valley is a sweet, medium-bodied dessert wine. Dried pear, apricot and fig shape the aroma, while dried pear and apricot marmalade define the flavour. Acidity balances the finish, and alcohol is 10.5 percent. The 375 mL bottle provides a compact format for serving with desserts or at the end of a meal.
Quinta do Poço do Lobo 2012 Reserva Bairrada
Portuguese Red
This red Bairrada wine blends fifty percent Touriga Nacional, thirty-five percent Baga and fifteen percent Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a violet colour, with spice, red berries, floral notes and field tones. The profile is balanced and lively, with marked acidity and persistent tannins. The estate covers about thirty-five hectares and was acquired by Caves São João.
Domaine Gauby 2012 Les Calcinaires Blanc Côtes Catalanes
French White
Grapefruit and plum appear with orange blossom, honeysuckle, nutty nuances and resin. The palate is ample, and the finish is persistent, fresh and mineral. The blend contains Chardonnay, Maccabeu, Muscat and Vermentino. Fruit was harvested by hand in boxes and sorted at the cellar. Whole clusters were gently pressed, indigenous yeasts were used without additions, and maturation lasted seven months in stainless steel and wood.
Summerhill Cipes 2012 Blanc de Blanc
Canadian Sparkling
Golden yellow colour accompanies honey, apple, straw, citrus, mango and a hint of biscuit. The palate includes citrus, lemon cream, apple, pineapple, peach and melon, with abundant mousse and a medium-long finish. Brioche, key lime and lemon are also present. This sparkling white comes from the Okanagan Valley in Canada and carries 12.5 percent alcohol.
Viña William Fèvre 2012 Quino Noir Pinot Noir
Chilean Red
Currant and raspberry appear with an herbal accent. The Pinot Noir comes from Malleco in Chile's deep south, where the project planted its vineyard at Quino on a northeast-facing hillside with stony clay soils. The wine is bottled directly from tank without barrel ageing or filtration. Its profile is fruit-led and refreshing, with acidity running through the palate.
Domaine Marcel Deiss 2012 Engelgarten Alsace
French White
Dry, mineral, warm and stony, the wine has a cold, vertical texture with breadth, strength and a salivating quality. Noble bitterness appears on the sharp finish. The field planting combines Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Beurot, Muscat and Pinot Noir. The gravelly white soil has a marked water deficit, while the older vineyard is managed with very short pruning, ploughing and composting. Serve at 10°C.
Hope Estate 2012 Signature Semillon Hunter Valley
Australian White
Bright lemon to pale straw colour accompanies lemon, lime zest, herbs and floral notes. Toast and honey appear with bottle age. The palate is crisp and focused, with vibrant, refined acidity and a light to medium body. Citrus peel and savoury notes are also present. The finish is clean and persistent, and the profile maintains its freshness.
Bussìa Soprana 2012 Barolo
Italian Red
Nebbiolo comes from about 2.5 hectares of vineyards in the Bussia Soprana area, on tuff and sand. The vines average fifteen to thirty years old and are trained to Guyot. Grapes are harvested in October. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel at twenty-eight to thirty-two degrees Celsius with selected yeasts, and maceration lasts fifteen days. Maturation lasts twenty-four months in thirty-quintal French oak casks. Alcohol is fourteen percent.
Masi 2012 Costasera Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Italian Red
Very dark ruby colour is joined by baked fruit, plum and cherry. Fruity flavours include coffee and cocoa, with a balanced palate. Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara form the blend. The grapes rest on bamboo racks during the winter for partial natural dehydration, concentrating colour, aromas and flavours. Alcohol is fifteen percent. The wine is made in the Valpolicella Classica area of Veneto.
Piper-Heidsieck 2012 Vintage Brut Champagne
French Sparkling
Tangerine, apricot, vine peach, mango, honeysuckle blossom, gingerbread and cocoa define the aromatic profile. The blend is fifty-two percent Pinot Noir and forty-eight percent Chardonnay. Ageing on the lees lasts more than five years, followed by at least twelve months after disgorgement. Fresh citrus, smoked notes, almond, pomegranate, honey, black cherry and blueberry are also present. The wine contains twelve percent alcohol.
Zenato 2012 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Italian Red
Dark prune, blackcurrant, black cherry, crushed raspberry, blue flowers, tilled soil, menthol, cedar, mocha, vanilla and nutmeg appear in the profile. Leather, tobacco, spice and a confectionery note are also present. The palate is rich and full, with firm, velvety tannins and fresh acidity. The texture is dense. It has a long finish and sixteen-and-a-half percent alcohol.
Felton Road 2012 Bannockburn Pinot Noir
New Zealand Red
Pinot Noir shows strawberry jam, black cherry, smoke, celery salt, barnyard, thyme, light vanilla and carrot top. Raspberry jam, coffee, tobacco leaf, saddle leather and herbs are also present. The palate is dry, fresh and juicy, with intensity, balance and slight astringency. Four vineyards supply the fruit. The colour is cherry red, and alcohol is fourteen percent.
Clos Pegase 2012 Hommage Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
American Red
The blend is ninety-nine percent Cabernet Sauvignon and one percent Petit Verdot. Black cherry, cassis, French plum, baking spice, iris, fresh pipe tobacco, liquorice and subtle toasted oak form the profile. Firm tannins accompany a mineral structure, and the wine carries fourteen-and-a-half percent alcohol. The texture is smooth and velvety, and the finish is long, balanced and seamless.
Château Pichon Baron 2012 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron Pauillac
French Red
Cassis, blackberry and spice accompany a tannic, fresh profile. The wine is made from sixty percent Cabernet Sauvignon and forty percent Merlot. It is a red from Pauillac in Bordeaux, with fruit drawn primarily from gravelly parcels near the Gironde estuary. Production for the inaugural release totalled forty thousand bottles. Maturation takes place in barrels. The wine has a pure, direct, vigorous and full-bodied character.
Champagne Forget-Brimont 2012 Millésime Premier Cru Brut
French Sparkling
Pale gold colour and fine, persistent bubbles accompany green apple, apricot and white peach. The wine is made from forty percent Pinot Noir, forty percent Meunier and twenty percent Chardonnay. The soils are mainly chalky across Premier and Grand Cru villages. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel, and malolactic fermentation is completed. Bottle ageing lasts about eight to ten years. Dosage is four grams per litre.
Guigal 2012 Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde de Guigal
French Red
Plummy fruit appears with ground clove and cracked pepper. The texture is ripe and creamy. Vanilla and bacon are present on a slightly dusty finish. The blend is ninety-six percent Syrah and four percent Viognier. Maturation lasts at least thirty-six months in oak, with forty percent new wood. The colour is dark ruby red, and the wine has round, soft tannins.
Fattoria Colmone della Marca 2012 1.618 I Terreni di Sanseverino Moro
Italian Red
Made entirely from Montepulciano, the wine has intense ruby-red colour. Red cherry and morello cherry appear with vanilla, spice and black pepper. The palate has structure, savoury character and complexity. Grapes are harvested by hand during the first ten days of October. Maceration lasts fifteen days. Maturation includes twelve months in fine-grained Allier oak and twelve months of bottle ageing. Alcohol is 13.5 percent.
Tenuta di Saragano 2012 Montefalco Sagrantino
Italian Red
Brilliant ruby-red colour appears with tobacco, leather and dried orange. The taste has precision and fine tannins, with silky, slender and persistent character. Made entirely from Sagrantino, the wine also shows undergrowth, black cherry and blackberry. It is tannic but soft, full-bodied and elegant. Maturation includes two years in barrique and two years in bottle. The vineyard sits at 500 metres on limestone and clay soil.
Château de Beaucastel 2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape
French Red
Nearly black colour accompanies red fruit, blackcurrant, blackberry, spice, thyme and lavender. The bouquet is elegant, rich and round, with fig, cherry, blackcurrant and stewed fruit, together with acidity and delicate tannins. Grenache and Mourvèdre each account for thirty percent of the blend, Counoise and Syrah each ten percent, and Cinsault five percent. Eight other permitted varieties make up the remaining fifteen percent.
Castiglion del Bosco 2012 Brunello di Montalcino
Italian Red
Ruby red shows garnet flecks. The Sangiovese has complexity, structure and a mouthfilling palate. Cherry appears with iron, earth, tar and tobacco. Forest berry, underbrush, wild mushroom, lavender, liquorice, balsamic herbs, cola and grilled rosemary are also present. Linear tannins accompany fresh fruit, while the finish is persistent. The wine comes from Montalcino in Tuscany.
Guerrieri Rizzardi 2012 3 Cru Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Italian Red
Ripe fruit and sweet spice sit with a compote-like character. The dry red is full and rich, with a round texture, balanced oak and freshness. Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Barbera comprise the blend, with Rondinella accounting for ten percent. The wine carries sixteen percent alcohol and is sealed under cork. It comes from Veneto's Valpolicella Classico zone.
Orofino 2012 Home Vineyard Old Vines Riesling
Canadian White
Crisp lime and mineral notes accompany a slightly sweet entry and mouth-watering fruit. The finish is medium-plus in length. The technical figures record 12.5 percent alcohol, nine grams per litre of titratable acidity and twenty grams per litre of residual sugar. This was the first vintage in which the estate bottled its single-vineyard Rieslings separately.
Le Preare 2012 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG
Italian Red
Dense ruby-red colour accompanies cherry, dried plum, dried flowers and sweet spice. The wine is full-bodied and smooth, with velvety tannins. Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella grapes undergo gentle drying before the wine matures in large oak barrels for at least twenty-four months. Further bottle maturation lasts six to eight months. The fruit comes from Veneto's Valpolicella Classica area.
Fairview Cellars 2012 Premier Series Cabernet Franc
Canadian Red
Plum and spice define the nose of this Canadian Cabernet Franc from British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. The wine is dry and carries medium-plus acidity together with substantial tannin. At a contemporary cellar tasting, the bottle remained quite closed but was already described as very tasty. Its tannic scale was recorded between medium-plus and high at that visit.
Quilceda Creek 2012 CVR Red Wine
American Red
Red fruit, herbs, smoke and anise accompany a rich, seamless character. The blend is 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc from Columbia Valley vineyards. It aged twenty-two months in 100% French oak. The three-grape blend, red-fruit profile and oak ageing are all part of this Washington red, with herbs, smoke and anise also present.
Château Rocheyron 2012 Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
French Red
Red cherry, wild strawberry and black raspberry lead a plush, polished bouquet. Liquorice, dark chocolate and exotic spice add depth, while rose petals, dried herbs and damp earth bring savoury detail. The palate is medium-bodied and supple, its ripe fruit framed by velvety tannins and fresh mineral lift. Long and composed, it closes with plum, smoke, spice and a gentle earthy edge.