Vinous (93-95)

The 2012 Clos Vougeot is one of the most impressive of the Grand Crus I tasted at Jadot this year. Powerful, rich and layered, the 2012 has more than enough fruit to balance the tannins. Dark red fruit, scorched earth, chalk and iron are all layered into the supple, racy finish. This is a surprisingly finessed Clos Vougeot. Hints of rose petal and mint add lift on the close. There is so much to admire here.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (98)

The 2012 Cristal is the first made entirely from biodynamically farmed vineyards. Passionfruit, mango, spice and ginger open first, but it is the wine’s textural richness and volume that stand out most. The 2012 is one of the most opulent, flamboyant recent Cristals. Those qualities feel especially amplified in this tasting, perhaps because of the presence of wines from the surrounding vintages. It was a complicated season, as mildew reduced yields significantly, resulting in an especially rich Cristal that seems to be gaining intensity with time in bottle. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: 2020.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (98)

The 2012 Cristal is the first made entirely from biodynamically farmed vineyards. Passionfruit, mango, spice and ginger open first, but it is the wine’s textural richness and volume that stand out most. The 2012 is one of the most opulent, flamboyant recent Cristals. Those qualities feel especially amplified in this tasting, perhaps because of the presence of wines from the surrounding vintages. It was a complicated season, as mildew reduced yields significantly, resulting in an especially rich Cristal that seems to be gaining intensity with time in bottle. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: 2020.

Jeb Dunnuck (99)

Just about as good as it gets, the 2012 Cristal Rosé is a magical effort based on 56% Pinot Noir and 44% Chardonnay. It’s a powerful, medium to full-bodied, incredibly textured rosé offering a huge amount of salty, chalky minerality as well as awesome notes of white cherries, orange blossom, caramelized apples, and toasted bread. It shows the ripe, rounded richness of the 2012 vintage yet has bright, racy acidity, perfect balance, and a great, great finish. It opens up nicely with air and will ideally be given 2-4 years of bottle age, and it should evolve for 2-3 decades.

Jeb Dunnuck (99)

Just about as good as it gets, the 2012 Cristal Rosé is a magical effort based on 56% Pinot Noir and 44% Chardonnay. It’s a powerful, medium to full-bodied, incredibly textured rosé offering a huge amount of salty, chalky minerality as well as awesome notes of white cherries, orange blossom, caramelized apples, and toasted bread. It shows the ripe, rounded richness of the 2012 vintage yet has bright, racy acidity, perfect balance, and a great, great finish. It opens up nicely with air and will ideally be given 2-4 years of bottle age, and it should evolve for 2-3 decades.

James Suckling (96)

Just over two-thirds pinot noir (Verzenay) and the balance southeast-facing chardonnay from Chouilly. This has 30% of oak fermentation which has compressed the wine, lending it an air of extreme concentration. The nose is gently spicy, offering peaches and cherries as well as neat autolysis edge. The palate has a powerful, long and assertive feel, with peach and lemon pith, chalky minerals, and some grapefruit. A powerful vintage for Roederer.

Vinous (96)

The 2012 Barolo Le Vigne, here in a library release, is still a very young wine. Bright acids lift a core of red fruit in a Barolo that impresses with its vibrancy. Spice, blood orange, mint, rose petal and lavender open with a bit of time in the glass. The 2012 showed quite a bit of potential as a young wine, now, that potential is really starting to come through. This is a terrific showing.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 1990 Château Margaux is really beginning to hit its stride at age 31, soaring from the glass with aromas of blackberries and cassis mingled with notions of licorice, cedar and violets, framed by subtle hints of vanilla and spice. Full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, it's seamless and complete, its velvety tannins and ripe acids entirely cloaked in a lavish but vibrant core of fruit. This is an especially dramatic, fleshy rendition of Margaux, yet it remains impeccably balanced and has decades of longevity ahead of it.

The Wine Cellar Insider (100)

The perfume teases you with its depth and intensity of what’s to come with its aromas of violets, smoky oak, licorice, earth, vanilla and mélange of dark berries. From the first sip, the wine coats your palate and taste buds with pure, fresh, rich, thick, polished blackberries, silky tannins and a finish that builds and expands for close to 60 seconds! The wine continued to build and expand in the glass for the two hours we spent with the wine over lunch.

Wine Spectator (96)

This is smoky, with tobacco- and mineral-tinged cherry and strawberry flavors. Quickly gives way to firm, mouthcoating tannins, yet finds equilibrium overall, lingering well. Best from 2019 through 2035. 150 cases imported. -BS

Wine Advocate (95)

The 2010 Barolo Parussi hits its stride with an amazing bouquet that is as generous as it is complex and compelling. The wine boasts a dark ruby color with delicate amber highlights and shows a deep level of color saturation and richness. Its perfumes are redolent of sweet cherry, black fruit, dark licorice, cigar ash and wet earth. There’s a bright floral note of pressed red rose that lifts delicately as the wine warms in the glass. The meeting of the wine’s acidic component and its tannic firmness is absolutely seamless. Drink: 2017-2030.

Immerse yourself in the sublime intricacy of the Mischief & Mayhem Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Brulees 2012. This revolutionary creation hails from the illustrious vineyards of Vosne-Romanée, located in the heart of France's revered Burgundy region. Handcrafted by Mischief and Mayhem, a well-established and respected multinational team of wine experts, this 2012 vintage exemplifies the pinnacle of their passion for Viticulture and arbiters of sensual delight.

The wine is artfully assembled from hand-harvested, carefully selected 100% Pinot Noir grapes. The Mischief & Mayhem Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Brulees 2012 presents a mélange of luscious dark fruit aromas, delicately laced with enchanting earthy, smoky notes, beautifully balanced by fine-grained tannins and elegant acidity. Its sumptuous taste and lavish bouquet finish impeccably with a persistent, textured finish.

Enrich your collection with Mischief & Mayhem Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Brulees 2012: a quintessentially French expression of peerless wine craftsmanship.

The Wine Independent (100)

The 2010 Montrose is composed of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a lot of swirling and coaxing to bring out notes of baked plums, boysenberry preserves, warm cassis, and licorice, followed by hints of mocha, tapenade, crushed rocks, and cast-iron pan. The full-bodied palate has a formidable structure of very firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the voluptuous black fruit and mineral layers, finishing long, long, long.

The Wine Independent (100)

The 2010 Montrose is composed of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a lot of swirling and coaxing to bring out notes of baked plums, boysenberry preserves, warm cassis, and licorice, followed by hints of mocha, tapenade, crushed rocks, and cast-iron pan. The full-bodied palate has a formidable structure of very firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the voluptuous black fruit and mineral layers, finishing long, long, long.

Vinous (92)

(made from two-thirds grenache and one-third syrah): Opaque ruby. Heady scents of red berry preserves, lavender, anise and sandalwood, lifted by a peppery topnote. Offers intense, palate-staining raspberry and cherry-cola flavors that gain weight with air. Impressively lively and pure on the persistent finish, which features gentle tannins and a late note of bitter chocolate.

Wine Enthusiast (97)

#23 in top 100 wines of 2015 This is a beautifully opulent wine, great Mouton in its richness and succulent fruits. It's combines structure and obvious new-wood aging with hugely ripe black plum and currant flavors. While it is a pleasure to taste now, there is a great tannic structure in the background to give the sense of power and aging potential. Drink from 2024.

Jeb Dunnuck (98)

The 2010 Opus One is on another level and is a deep, concentrated, full-bodied, flawlessly balanced beauty. From a cooler vintage that saw significant heat spikes later in the year, it has incredible purity in its cassis and darker fruits as well as leafy tobacco, flowers, and background oak. With a great mid-palate, ripe, building tannins, and full-bodied richness on the palate, it’s a brilliant wine that has another two decades or more of prime drinking.

Experience the riveting allure of the distinguished Oreste Stefano Barolo Perno 2012, a timeless exemplar of the Piemonte region's grandeur. Produced by Oreste Stefano - a cellarer famed for a meticulous approach, this Barolo is a sumptuous homage to traditional vinification. Assembled entirely from Nebbiolo grapes, this vintage embodies a divine synthesis of finesse and potency.

Matured in Slavonian oak barrels, the Oreste Stefano Barolo Perno 2012 offers an opulent tapestry of harmonised tannins, combined with a brilliant acidity countenance. Its olfactory profile is a graceful serenade of roses, cherries, and hint of licorice. On the palate, one can expect a full-bodied wine with a seamless balance of ripe red fruits, laced subtly with earthy undertones.

Crafted in the verdant swathes of Barolo Perno, famed for its calcareous-clay matrix, this stellar wine faithfully represents the terrains' unique microclimate, culminating in a lasting, elegant finish.

Wine Enthusiast (93)

92-94 A gorgeous, opulently surfaced wine. The freshness cuts through the tannins to give the ripest of plum juice fruits. Powerful, while also deliciously juicy

Wine Enthusiast (94)

This powerful wine is dense with rich tannins and black fruits that are balanced. Full and concentrated, it's a wine with great potential.

James Suckling (97)

A tight and silky red with compacted fruit and tannin texture featuring blackcurrant, mushroom and bark undertones. Full body, firm tannins and a minerally finish. Excellent structure and mouthfeel. A cooler style of Ornellaia, bringing it back to the classicism of this celebrated region. Bordeaux blend. Better in 2018.

Decanter (94)

Notes of dried fruit and candied lemon dance out of the glass, with aromas of fresh pastry and ginger spice. There’s also a distinctive toasted hazelnut element with a honeyed richness developing. Initial freshness is there, reflecting the lovely balance of this fine 2012 vintage, while textural creaminess evolves into toffee caramel on the generous, spicy finish. There’s more Pinot Noir (49%) in this blend, from the north-facing slopes of Verzenay and Mailly, and that’s helping the freshness, with the Villers-Marmery Chardonnay providing the silky, mid-palate richness. A difficult growing year with a very cold, wet spring and wet summer, was saved by sunny weather in the last couple of weeks before picking and resulted in a small, concentrated, ripe harvest, widely compared with top predecessors like 2002 and 1990. Tasted from magnum. Dosage: 7g/L. Disgorged: November 2020. 49% Pinot Noir from Mailly and Verzenay; 46% Chardonnay from Trépail and Villers-Marmery; 5% Meunier from Ludes, Chigny-les-Rosé and Rilly-la-Montagne.

Decanter (98)

One of the great years of Bordeaux now at 10 years old and showing why this is such an unusual vintage in terms of the depth of structure and muscular concentration that was achieved. In fact, I am upping the drinking window from the last time I tasted this, as there is such a pulse of life and grip that shows no signs of going anywhere. The initial layers are starting to be peeled back, but this retains primary black and blue fruits that are still full of flesh alongside baked earth, tons of liquorice and black chocolate with a grippy tannic structure, fresh acidities and a serious attitude. Brilliant stuff, that is clearly going to power on for decades. Harvest September 22 to October 20.

Decanter (98)

One of the great years of Bordeaux now at 10 years old and showing why this is such an unusual vintage in terms of the depth of structure and muscular concentration that was achieved. In fact, I am upping the drinking window from the last time I tasted this, as there is such a pulse of life and grip that shows no signs of going anywhere. The initial layers are starting to be peeled back, but this retains primary black and blue fruits that are still full of flesh alongside baked earth, tons of liquorice and black chocolate with a grippy tannic structure, fresh acidities and a serious attitude. Brilliant stuff, that is clearly going to power on for decades. Harvest September 22 to October 20.

Wine Advocate (97)

Wow, this is really quite a wine. The 2010 Barolo Riserva Ginestra is guided by three lucky stars: First, it is made by an excellent producer. Second, it comes from an excellent vintage. And third, it comes from an excellent vineyard site. This is a stunning achievement that is teeming with life, intensity, elegance, pedigree and sheer excitement. The bouquet achieves impressive balance with fruit, spice, mineral and tertiary tones that are all played forward with equal intensity. There is a spot of sweetness on the close (with 15% alcohol) that adds to the volume and fullness of the mouthfeel. This wine merits a special place at the back of your cellar where it can age undisturbed for the next decade or two. Only 4,000 bottles exist.

Vinous (94)

The 2012 Barolo Ginestra Riserva is gorgeous. Fresh, aromatic and beautifully lifted, the 2012 is all grace. Ginestra Barolos are often brawny and powerful. Conterno's 2012 stands out for its sensuality, finesse and total sense of harmony. Bright acids perk up a core of sweet red berry fruit as the 2012 gradually reveals its many charms.

Wine Advocate (92)

The 2010 Barolo is sourced from five or six vineyards in Castiglione Falletto and Barolo. This is a gorgeous wine with a silky entry and loads of elegant fruit, cassis, licorice, tar and cola. There’s a real sense of energy and zest in the mouth that is not just due to the freshness of the acidity. It comes from the pristine quality of fruit in 2010. Drink: 2016-2028.

Wine Advocate (94)

The 2010 Barolo Bricco Ambrogio bursts open with an immediate whiff of fresh flowers and crushed roses. Paolo Scavino bought the four-hectare, south-facing vineyard in 2001 the same moment he saw the listing. Crushed mineral tones appear at the back but those delicate fruit and floral tones take center stage. The wine is smooth and silky, although the tannic presence and acidity are very much in play. Drink: 2017-2030.

Vinous (96)

Scavino's 2010 Barolo Carobric stands out for its focus and clarity. Sweet red berries, mint, crushed rocks and rose petals are some of the many notes that take shape in the glass. The 2010 Carobric is bright, aromatically lifted and gorgeous in its precision. Today the 2010 is an infant, but it has gorgeous intensity and length. All the elements are in the right place. This is one of the best vintages of Carobric I can recall tasting. As a reminder, Carobric is a blend of fruit from Cannubi, Rocche di Castiglione and Bric del Fiasc.

Wine Advocate (93)

The best Pauillac I ever tasted (and this wine has been a revelation ever since they first introduced it), the 2010 from Latour represents 24% of their production. It is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44.5% Merlot and .5% Cabernet Franc. An amazingly opulent, round, delicious wine, and a great buy when they finally release it – assuming it comes in under a three-digit price – it possesses wonderfully silky tannins, classic black currant, cedar wood and forest floor notes, and rich, full-bodied opulence as well as a terrific purity and palate presence. It should drink well for 10-15+ years.