2012 Bordeaux: classic Merlot wines made by the perceptive winemaker

Elegant classic Bordeaux wines with velvety purity were made this year by those winemakers with sensitive insight. The top wines were Merlot dominated (as this variety was able to ripen before the rains) with the top appellations being St Emilion, Pomerol, Pessac-Léognan (red and whites) and some of Margaux. Those in touch with their vines, with nature, who got out of …

2012 Harvest Bordeaux – is there time for the Cabernets to ripen now Autumn is here?

  Some producers (St Emilion on the plains and pied de côtes, Pomerol) are celebrating the 'gerbebaude' this weekend, the French harvest festival. Many producers are still harvesting as the cooler, autumnal weather arrives. Most Merlot is in now even in the Medoc and Graves (apart from the plateau of St Emilion. There is not …

2012 Vintage Bordeaux – mix of stages at flowering

Four days of rain has meant that even on the same vine, there is a mix of stages of flowering. Some bunches have not yet started flowering, others are almost finished and others (as in the photo above) the bunches of grapes are 'approaching the important stage of 'fermeture de la grappe'. These small green …