2015 UGC de Bordeaux / 2012 vintage

[jckba]

It's that time of the year again and this past Monday I attended UGC tasting in New York. I think that tastings of this nature are invaluable as you get to taste a bunch of properties from each of the appellations which in turn allows you to form an opinion on the vintage and which wines fared better. Please note that not all properties are members of the UGC and therefore this is not a comprehensive tasting of 2012's, and also that not all members attend each year (ie. notable missing properties from NYC were Figeac, La Conseillante, Pavie Macquin and Suiduiraut that either weren't there or that I somehow managed to miss). Personally I found the 2012's to be the second below average vintage in a row and one where the wines were more variable in terms of consistency. While there were certainly some that might be worth seeking out, I would however have to suggest waiting until newer purchases start hitting our shores as with the ever weaking Euro we should eventually start seeing some nice price drops. Onto the wines:

Wines I really liked and stood out from the others:
Climens
Pichon Lalande

Wines I liked in order of preference:
Troplong Mondot
Pape Clement Blanc
SHL Rouge
Clos Fourtet
Pichon Baron
Clinet
Saint Pierre
Leoville Barton
Pape Clement Rouge
Clerc Milon
Lascombes

Wines I did not like:
Lynch Bages = while the nose is good, the mid palate just drops off a cliff
Leoville Poyferre = usually one of my top wines but not this year, just did not stand out
Grand Puy Lacoste = lighter styled and lacking
Gazin = couldn't get past the paint thinner found in this wine

And I am interested in hearing what others thought?

[Nicklasss]

Thanks for your impressions.

I only bought some Beauséjour-Duffau and... I don't remember the other!

So depending of prices, won't buy very much more.

Nic

[Chateau Vin]

I was keen on 2012 vintage and attended the 2012 Vintage UGC tasting in Chicago...Here are my 2 cents....Overall I find it a decent vintage with right bank shining better than the left...My picks for the left bank are St Julien and Pauillac (there were only 2 or 3 chateaux from St Estephe and have not tasted St Estephe), and Pomerol for right bank...I reckon 2012 is an early drinkable vintage, IMO, even earlier than 2011s in some cases..

Bordeaux Blanc Notables...

Domaine de Chevalier...Nose a bit muted, but showed notes of pear and citrus...Good acidity and tart apple flavors
SHL...Apple, gooseberry flavors with higher acidity...Liked the second best
Pape Clement...Multidemensional on the nose with pears, sweet apple and a bit of hay grass...Although good in acid, I felt a bit dominated by oak

Bordeaux Rouge Notables...

Margaux...
Standouts for me are Du Tertre, Lascombes and Giscours

Du Tertre...Nice margaux berries character with round tannins and will be in good spot in the next 5 to 6 years...
Lascombes...Wild cherries with a bit higher tannins (although a bit rough around the edges) than Giscours, but overall good length considering the vintage.
Giscours...Lush, round tannins and has ample weight on the middle palate. Liked it, but not in the same way I did the 2010 and 2009

Pauillac...
Standouts for me are Pichon Baron, Pichon Lalande, Lynch Bages and Armailhac

Pichon Baron...This is my second best choice after lalande...Masculine and showing off notes of cassis and pencil shavings in ample quantities. Granular tannins at the moment, but exhibiting typical Pauillac stuff...
Pichon Lalande...Liked the best...Very soft and velvety tannins laced with pencil shavings, some earth and cassis...
Lynch Bages....Although not upto the mark compared to Pichon's pedigree this vintage, I think it's not bad at all. In fact, I liked 2012 better than 2011 vintage in UGC tastings...Exhibiting nice Pauillac characters with lush soft tannins.
Armailhac...Nice pencil shavings and cedar notes on the nose with some spice notes at the end on the palate...Angular tannins, but should be fine once they are integrated...Can't go wrong considering the price point IMO...

St Julien...
Standouts for me are Leoville Barton and St Pierre

Leoville Barton...I liked this best among St Juliens...Nice notes with cherries, violets and cassis...Unlike its sibling langoa, not thin, but with good concentration and decent length...
St Pierre...Soft and round tannins with notes of cherries and cassis...
Langoa Barton...Felt rather thin but not really exciting...
Talbot...Better than Langoa, but decent for the kind of vintage...
Gruaud Larose...I liked 2011 version of this wine, better than that of 2012...It felt rather thin with candy flavor in the forefront...No grip in the tannins either. Bit disappointed...

Pessac & Graves...

Have not tasted enough, but from what I have tasted, I liked Haut Bailly the best. SHL was ok for me and felt a bit oaky for my taste...

Right Bank...
Surprised not many right bank wines this time compared to last years...Standouts for me are Clinet and Canon la Gaffeliere...

Clinet...Good concentration and volume with weight. Round soft tannins with ample acid...
Canon la Gaffeliere...A little more traditional style with less fruit forward than Clinet. Good lingering tannins and with notes of cherries...
Troplong Mondot...More fruity than the above two. Although I liked it Ok, some might not like due to its fruity nature...
Gazin...Felt a bit thin and lean to my liking...

Sauternes & Barsac...
I generally prefer lighter wines, so I prefer Barsac wines to Sauternes. Standouts for me are Doisy Daene and Lafaurie-Peyraguey. Climens was not pouring and did not taste it...