It’s always fun and educational to compare similar varieties from different regions. This small article looks at Bordeaux varieties from the 2012 vintage in Bordeaux and in Washington State.
2012 Washington State
The 2012 vintage in Washington State, this was a truly great vintage for the region. It was a warm, even year, not too dissimilar to 2007, and the wines are powerful and concentrated, yet also balanced and structured, with terrific purity of fruit. As I said when tasted these wines on release, 2012 is certainly the greatest vintage since 2007, and one of the top vintages in the region in the past two decades.
The Crème de la Crème of Washington Bordeaux Blends
2012 Bordeaux
In contrast, the 2012 Vintage in Bordeaux was slightly less consistent and favored the Right Bank as opposed to the Médoc. This vintage started off with a dismal spring and early summer but turned around dramatically in July with terrific weather holding through the first part of October. This allowed those with warmer terroirs and more early-ripening Merlot to harvest fully ripe grapes. The cooler regions of the Médoc and late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon suffered from storms in October. Nevertheless, there are some sensational wines made in the vintage (mostly in Saint Emilion, Pomerol, and Pessac) and as these notes show, the wines showed beautifully.
This tasting was held with a group of enthusiasts here in Boulder, CO and was done completely blind. I think the group was surprised at the similarities between the wines and the difficulty in telling the regions apart.
Thanks for reading,
Jeb