Bryant's 2012 DB4 is rich, round and silky in the glass, with plenty of the vintage's trademark silkiness and suppleness. Pliant and expressive, the 2012 offers gorgeous depth in its dark, resonant fruit. Savory herbs,... Read More
The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection is a very pleasant, mid-weight Cabernet Sauvignon. The modern-day Caymus style of sweetness and glycerin richness is very much in evidence, but at the same time, the elements are well... Read More
The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection is a very pleasant, mid-weight Cabernet Sauvignon. The modern-day Caymus style of sweetness and glycerin richness is very much in evidence, but at the same time, the elements are well... Read More
The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection is a very pleasant, mid-weight Cabernet Sauvignon. The modern-day Caymus style of sweetness and glycerin richness is very much in evidence, but at the same time, the elements are well... Read More
The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection has a dense blackish/purple color and creamy, sweet crème de cassis fruit, blackberries, a touch of graphite and vanilla, This exuberant, boisterous, in-your-face style of Cabernet... Read More
Another longer-term prospect is the 2012 Syrah Armada Vineyard. One of the more burly, structured releases from this estate, it's always poured after the Bionic Frog and is the last Syrah we taste in a vintage. The 2012 gives... Read More
While a lot of the 2012s came in near the bottom of the barrel score, that wasn't the case with the 2012 Syrah Bionic Frog and this beauty flirts with perfection. Inky colored and purple to the rim, it offers extraordinary... Read More
A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Merlot, the 2012 Camaspelo is more refined and elegant than the Lovers release, showing a seamless, elegant profile to go with lots of dark fruits, savory herbs, graphite and hints of... Read More
Structured and backward, the 2012 Grenache God Only Knows Armada Vineyard offers lots of framboise, black cherries, bouquet garni and spice to go with a full-bodied, seamless, elegant feel on the palate. It picks up more and more... Read More
Always coming from a small 2.5-acre block inside the En Cerise vineyard, the 2012 Syrah en Cerise is a fabulously complex, seamless and elegant Syrah that exhibits notes of dried cherries, currants, dried herbs, violets and cured... Read More
Their luxury cuvée, the 2012 Prima, is 100% Merlot. This is a fleshier, more opulently textured, medium to full-bodied wine with loads of cassis, kirsch, licorice and spice. It is plump, round, generous and could easily pass for... Read More
The 2012 Château Margaux is showing much differently from bottle than it did from cask. Seemingly much fuller and richer, it has a dense ruby/purple color, representing a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest mostly Merlot,... Read More
With a dense purple color and gorgeous levels of fruit, especially black raspberry and blackcurrant, this full-bodied, opulent style of wine is another great success for Clinet, a château that has been on top of its game for the... Read More
The wine that probably gets ignored, but shouldn't be, is their small production of 350-400 cases of Syrah from their estate vineyard. The 2012 IX Syrah Estate blew me away, and I've said many times that it always tastes... Read More
A close second (and who knows how they might perform at different times and with different foods) is the 2012 Cariad Proprietary Red Wine, made from grapes grown by David Abreu at his estate vineyards in Napa. This blend of 53%... Read More
The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Tychson Hill is an absolutely profound wine, dense, bluish purple color to the rim with a stunning nose of acacia flowers, graphite, blueberry and blackcurrant fruit. The wine is full-bodied and displays... Read More
A stronger effort than its stablemate, Clerc-Milon, the 2012 d'Armailhac is an intriguing blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Complex notes of menthol, coffee beans, black cherries... Read More
The 2012 Echezeaux Grand Cru includes one-third whole cluster fruit and the 0.55-hectares yielded 4 barrels this year (three new). It has a deep, very well defined bouquet with dark cherry, blackcurrant and incense that unfolds... Read More