En primeur tasting of the 2012 vintage at Château Haut-Brion

En primeur tasting (but after the "main" en primeur "circus" in April) of the first and second wines of the three châteaux that belong to Domaine Clarence Dillon, which meant six red and three white wines.

Just as expected from a second wines they are definitely less concentrated, but the varietal composition of La Chapelle and Le Clarence, with a high proportion of Cabernets and less of the Merlot fruit, make them come across as slightly hard in style at present. It is not obvious to me that those two second wines, when released, will be very easy to drink when young.

• 2012 Château Quintus Le Dragon de Quintus 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Nose with ripe and sweet dark berries including dark cherries, fruity impression. Palate with ripe and sweet fruit, mostly red berries, good acidity, medium(-) tannins. Fruity and accessible. (88-89)?

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• 2012 Château La Mission Haut-Brion La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Nose with blackcurrants and other dark berries, some tar, some dried herbs, a hint of violets. Palate with rather ripe and sweetish dark berries, medium concentration of fruit. Rather noticeable tannic bite, medium+ tannins. Good structure, firm aftertaste, slightly difficult to evaluate. (90-92)?

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• 2012 Château Haut-Brion Le Clarence de Haut-Brion 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Nose with dark berries, in particular sweetish blackcurrants, slightly green notes with herbs, some earth, very faint note of violets. Slightly more muted than La Chapelle. Palate with dark berries, rather hard, medium+ tannins. Difficult to evaluate, closed on the palate. Out of the tasted wines this one is the most difficult to judge where it will go. (89-91)?

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Unusually much Merlot in Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion in this vintage, as this variety was much more successful. Despite this, they are definitely classically styled. Possibly, the dominance of Merlot has to some extent shifted the fruit component from blackcurrants to dark plums, but the other aromas are definitely as expected.

• 2012 Château Quintus 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Nose with sweetish and ripe red and dark berries, including cherries and red currants, slightly flowery notes with a herbal hint. Palate with ripe red and some dark berries (but not as sweet fruit on the palate as the nose hinted at), good concentration, spice, mediu(+) tannins, some minty minerality. (91-93)?
  More tannic than the second wine and less accessible.

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• 2012 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Nose with dark and red berries, including blackcurrants and dark plums, a hint of tar, spice, a hint of barnyard aromas, and some mint. A more expansive nose than the previous wines. Palate with dark berries, blackcurrants and some dark plums, good concentration of fruit, medium++ tannins that are better embedded in the fruit compared to the second wine, leather, spice. Long and tannic aftertaste. (92-95)?

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• 2012 Château Haut-Brion 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Nose with ripe dark berries, dark plums and some blackcurrants and dark cherries, a hint of mint and some cedar wood, some violets. Quite elegant, more complex than the others, the best and biggest-sized nose of the reds. Palate with rather sweetish dark berries, blackcurrants and dark plums, rather tough on the palate, medium++ tannins, some leather, earth, some spice, long aftertaste. Tougher on the palate than the nose indicated, slightly difficult to evaluate. (93-95)?

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Confirmed that the 2012 vintage is highly successful for white wines. To me, a dead race between Haut-Brion Blanc and La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc. In terms of style and aromas, there were more similarity between the first and second wines on the white side than on the red side. La Clarté showed slightly less depth and was closer to La Mission Blanc in style.

• 2012 Château Haut-Brion La Clarté de Haut-Brion Blanc 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  The nose is smoky, with wax, yellow apple, some white peach, slightly aromatic. The palate is rather accessible, with yellow apple, slightly oily, and with mint and straw notes, medium acidity. (90-92)?

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• 2012 Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  The nose is smoky with wax, yellow apple, pear, hints of honey, some white flowers, some mint. More aromatic than the Clarté but much similarity in the nose. Rather full-bodied on the palate, yellow apple, citrus notes, oily, noticeably minty, medium+ acidity, good freshness, long aftertaste. Clearly more freshness than the second wine. (93-95)?

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• 2012 Château Haut-Brion Blanc 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  The nose is slightly smoky, with gooseberry, yellow apple, wax, some honey, a hint of mint, some white flowers and other aromatic notes. Full-bodied on the palate, with yellow apple, citrus, some white peach, oily texture, straw, some honey, some mint, spice, medium+ acidity, and a long aftertaste. (93-95)?
  A heavier style than La Mission Blanc.

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