2012 Right Banks reign in Robinson scores

Wines from the Right Bank dominated the top places in Jancis Robinson MW’s latest report on the Bordeaux 2012 vintage, with one seeing gains on Liv-ex as a result.

Based on the annual blind tasting held in Southwold, Robinson said that the review had revealed “some nice surprises” – much in the same way that Robert Parker in his own in-bottle review last May noted there were “cherries to be plucked” from the otherwise overlooked and underrated claret vintage.

Robinson picked up on the excellence of the Right Banks, in particular those from Pomerol the best of which she said were “a real high point”.

Likewise, she had warm words for St Emilion at its best (Troplong-Mondot was an apparent favourite) and noted that the year was a good indication that the “tendency to exaggeration of alcohol and oak seems, fortunately to be in retreat.”

The stars of the Left Bank “did not shine as brightly” she continued, again much like Parker’s assertion that the Médoc remains more of a “mixed bag” in 2012.

She noted that the quality in Pauillac was “variable” and the St Julien’s ranged from “workmanlike” to “stodgy”.

Once again, however, the very best examples showed “sheer winemaking craft” with touches of “real glamour” in Margaux and “something king to charm” in the Calon-Ségur, Cos d’Estournel and Montrose “triumvirate” of St-Estèphe.

The Pessac-Léognan reds she described as showing less greenness than those of the Médoc but added that while “attractively fresh” their lack of concentration meant it was unlikely they would stand cellaring for too long.

She finished by saying that the white wines (dry not sweet, it was a terrible vintage for most Sauternes) were the “sure-fire success of the vintage”.

In general, Robinson’s notes strike many chords with Parker’s and their top wines are broadly similar as well.

Parker had Haut-Brion topping the charts on 98-points ahead of Eglise Clinet which had formerly been given 100-point potential in 2013 but only realised 96 after the 2015 in-bottle scores.

Robinson stuck largely to the Right Bank with Lafleur, Clos l’Eglise, Eglise Clinet and Margaux all gaining the top mark of 18.5 (out of 20).

La Mission Haut-Brion was rated 18+ and Ausone, Haut-Brion and Petrus were among a clutch of 18-point wines.

Parker’s lowering of Eglise Clinet’s score also saw its price on Liv-ex dip from a high of £2,000 a case to £1,448.

The recent positive review from Robinson though appear to have “contributed to a bounce” said Liv-ex.

Standing at £1,430 a case this January, its last trade was at £1,722, a 20% boost. It would not appear to be a case of the 2012 being particularly cheaper than other vintages either.

It is for example more expensive than the similarly scored 2006 (96 Parker points), the 2004 (93-points) and the 2008 (95-points).