Revisiting Bordeaux 2012

In the latest issue of The Wine Advocate, not only were Neal Martin’s maiden EP scores released but Parker also released the final in-bottle scores for the 2012 vintage. The development of the 2012 wines was a popular topic of discussion with winemakers and estate technical teams in Bordeaux earlier this month, with the general sentiment a positive one in regards to their progress in barrel, particularly for estates located in Pomerol, St Emilion and Pessac. This was also reflected by Parker himself when he released the following quote during his ‘arduous’ tasting session:

“Just finished tasting over 700 bottles of 2012 Bordeaux. Still have about 40 or so to finish, but my initial report in April 2013 looks to be on the money... with a big exception... the wines are performing better than I originally estimated... which is great considering the ultimate truth is after bottling... a full report will emerge in the April issue.

“The strengths of the vintage are the Pomerols and Graves (not far off the peaks of 2009 and 2010), some St Emilions and some Medocs. Merlot and Cabernet Franc clearly excelled. Now, this was the smallest crop in Bordeaux since 1991, and initially prices for the unbottled futures were too high. Moreover, they have not moved. Where the market goes from here will be interesting, but the strong dollar, and appealing ripeness and concentration of the top wines will appeal to wine consumers, especially Americans who can buy these with a dollar that is 40% or so stronger than what it was in spring 2013. I had thought this might be THE FORGOTTEN VINTAGE, but I don't think so.”

So how did the scores match up to those the winemakers and Parker discussed earlier this year? Below is a list of the top wines from the vintage (highlighted lines are of particular interest, as they are held by Cult Wines’ clients):

Below is a list of wines also of interest for clients:

*Change calculated from mid-point of barrel score

Chateau Cheval Blanc and l’Evangile were left without a score by Parker. For two estates of this caliber not to have their wines tasted is usually down to the estates themselves not being ready; this is not unusual and they will have their tasting notes and scores released in due course.

From the final scores given it is clear that the 2012 wines were somewhat underestimated during their initial in-barrel tastings. The wines have developed well, particularly for the right bank and Pessac, and with yields for 2012 the lowest since 1991 they are sure to prove more successful for investors than the overall feeling of the vintage originally suggested.

As expected the market has already begun to react to the scores released on Friday with Pape Clement and Haut Brion making the most significant early jumps in price. Having traded at £450/12 last week the cheapest available listing of Pape Clement is now £540/12 representing a jump of 20% in three days. The cheapest available listing of Haut Brion is now £2,800 which is 15.4% more expensive than its market value last week of £2,425. Given the number wines that have had a successful rescoring from Parker there are sure to be plenty more that follow the same trajectory, albeit over a more extended period.