Emerging from the renowned vineyards of Côte de Beaune in France, the Ballot Millot Meursault-Genevrieres 1er Cru 2012 is a remarkable testament to the vintner's craft. This exquisite white wine has been delicately crafted by esteemed winemaker, Domaine Ballot Millot, who are celebrated for their meticulous approach to viticulture and strict Old World production methods.

The wine is borne of 100% Chardonnay grapes from 40-year-old vines, meticulously farmed on limestone soils. The result is an elegant expression of Meursault, embodying a seamless blend of power and finesse. It boasts a vibrant, golden colour and hints of fragrant yellow fruits and hazelnuts on the nose. Well-rounded citrus and vanilla nuances glide sumptuously across the palate, culminating in a lengthy, mineral-rich finish. The Ballot Millot Meursault-Genevrieres 1er Cru 2012 rewards both immediate enjoyment and careful cellaring, offering exceptional ageing potential.

Savour the epitome of Burgundian excellence with Bart Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2012. Produced by the acclaimed Domaine Bart family, this elegant red wine embodies five generations of cherished winemaking practices. Predominantly yielded from old vines in the premium vineyards of Marsannay, its inception is rather meticulous. Unravel a complex bouquet, resulting from a meticulous fermentation approach with indigenous yeasts at controlled temperatures. Barrel ageing for up to 22 months in 20% new oak lends a striking depth.

Experience a harmonic symphony of ripe berry, delicate floral notes, rounded off by earthy undertones. This Pinot Noir's finesse lies in its silky tannins and lasting finish, a testament to the limestone-rich terroir. Bart Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2012 shines through in its vintage's character, reflecting an exceptional year of optimal ripeness and exemplary balance. Relish in the mastery of French oenology with Bart Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2012 - a sublime portrait of terroir and tradition.

Vinous (95)

We start with the 2012 Barolo from Bartolo Mascarello, which is everything I expect. Perfumed, gracious and utterly sublime, the 2012 is all nuance. It is a real treat to taste and drink after two weeks of tasting embryonic six-month-old Bordeaux. It is also absolutely gorgeous with some of the lighter first courses on the menu. I can see the bewildered faces of my guests, all them native or adopted Bordeaux locals. “How can a wine be so light and yet deliver so much depth and persistence?” That, in a nutshell is what Nebbiolo is all about.

Vinous (95)

We start with the 2012 Barolo from Bartolo Mascarello, which is everything I expect. Perfumed, gracious and utterly sublime, the 2012 is all nuance. It is a real treat to taste and drink after two weeks of tasting embryonic six-month-old Bordeaux. It is also absolutely gorgeous with some of the lighter first courses on the menu. I can see the bewildered faces of my guests, all them native or adopted Bordeaux locals. “How can a wine be so light and yet deliver so much depth and persistence?” That, in a nutshell is what Nebbiolo is all about.

Vinous (95)

We start with the 2012 Barolo from Bartolo Mascarello, which is everything I expect. Perfumed, gracious and utterly sublime, the 2012 is all nuance. It is a real treat to taste and drink after two weeks of tasting embryonic six-month-old Bordeaux. It is also absolutely gorgeous with some of the lighter first courses on the menu. I can see the bewildered faces of my guests, all them native or adopted Bordeaux locals. “How can a wine be so light and yet deliver so much depth and persistence?” That, in a nutshell is what Nebbiolo is all about.

The Bastide Saint Dominique Chateauneud du Pape Hesperides 2012 is an extraordinary embodiment of the finesse witnessed in fine wine craft. Produced with precision in the revered Chateauneuf-du-Pape region of southern Rhône, Bastide Saint Dominique masters the art of winemaking with a blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah grapes. The resultant wine is matured for a span of 18 months in French oak barrels, endowing it with a characteristically robust structure and a delightfully rich flavour profile.

The Hesperides 2012, a product of the notably steady 2012 vintage reflects deep, powerful notes of ripe black fruits, balanced with undercurrents of spice and earth. It owes its lingering finish and impressive complexity to the meticulous care taken by Bastide Saint Dominique. This offering is a testament to Bastide's heritage as one of Rhône's premium winemakers, upholding an unfaltering commitment to quality. The Bastide Saint Dominique Chateauneud du Pape Hesperides 2012 is an experiential delight for lovers of fine wine.

Wine Advocate (96)

What I think might end up being the best Beaucastel since the 1990 or 2001, the 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape offers a full-bodied, decadent style to go with awesome black and blue fruits, garrigue, licorice, crushed flowers and violets. The purity here is truly something, and it has fabulous mid-palate concentration, building tannin and massive texture. Given all of the fruit and texture here, it will no doubt drink well in its youth, but it should still be alive and kicking after two decades as well.

Jeb Dunnuck (99)

The wine of the vintage is the Perrins' 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin, which has a classic, sexy, accessible style yet is also going to age beautifully. Massive amounts of smoked black fruits, ground pepper, iodine, truffle, and bloody meat all emerge from this inky colored behemoth. With full body, building tannins, no hard edges, and a rock star of a finish, it’s primary and youthful, but incredible. Ideally, it would be given another 4-5 years of bottle age and will keep for another 3 decades or more. It’s an awesome wine!

Wine Spectator (96)

Remarkably pure, sleek and refined, with a faint chalk thread perfectly embedded in the core of red currant, cherry and damson plum fruit. Very sleek, with refined tannins and impressive length, this is balanced to a T. A wine of distinction that seems destined to improve as the remaining limestone portions of the vineyard are replanted. This is also the first vintage that includes the portions from the former Magdelaine estate. Tasted non-blind. Score range: 93-96 -JM

Wine Advocate (96)

The smallest of the Perse estates, this tiny property situated on pure limestone produces a wine made from a blend of 90% Merlot and the rest equal parts Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. One of the superstars of this vintage, the 2012 is opaque purple and exhibits tremendous concentration and richness, a full-bodied mouthfeel, and a layered texture that builds incrementally without any heaviness or cloying characteristics. This is stunning, great, old-style, yet progressively made Bordeaux to drink over the next 25-30 years. The alcohol level is 14.3%.

Wine Advocate (96)

Revealing the great blending skills of Beringer’s winemaking team, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is a winner. Having purchased Private Reserves for many years, I can attest that they age incredibly well. The 1991, one of the great successes of that vintage, is still aging beautifully at nearly 25 years of age. The sensational 2012 (10,000 cases) boasts an opaque purple color along with abundant aromas of charcoal, burning embers, crme de cassis, chocolate, blackberries and licorice. The long, complex, compelling, full-bodied texture along with terrific purity and a savory, rich mouthfeel result in a classic, quintessential Napa Cabernet Sauvignon to drink now and over the next 20-25 years.

Vinous (92-94)

The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Champeaux is laced with tobacco, earthiness, smoke and dark red fruit. The Champeaux is intense and a bit sauvage, with tons of personality. There is nothing subtle here. A virile, imposing wine, the Champeaux is endowed with considerable power and structure, both of which suggest it will need time to fully come together.

Vinous (95-97)

Rose petals, violets, anise and sweet red cherries lift from the glass in Dugat-Py's 2012 Mazis-Chambertin. The contours are refined, silky and polished throughout. This is a fabulous showing from a wine that is vibrant, crystalline and utterly breathtaking. Although the Mazis is quite floral and intensely aromatic, it also has plenty of depth and mid-palate pliancy.

Vinous (94)

The 2012 Chablis Les Clos is totally intriguing. Initially a bit reticent, the Clos only blossoms on the mid-palate and finish, where the wine's texture and breadth are most apparent. Silky, perfumed and polished throughout, the 2012 impresses for its fabulous balance and faithful expression of this great site.

Matthew Jukes (19+)

Made from 55% Chardonnay (Chouilly, Avize, Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cramant) and 45% Pinot Noir (Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Verzenay) and featuring only 2.9% oak, this wine spent 115 months on its lees and was bottled with a 3.8g/L dosage. 8.3% red wine from Mareuil was used, which is a little more than they use in the NV. The thinking here is it needs just a touch more depth of colour and intensity to keep its colour as it ages. We tasted in bottle and magnum with the same comparison of crown-sealed v cork-sealed and, again, the comparison was equally enjoyable. The bottles were superbly clean, amazingly delicate, and resonant, with crystal-clean fraise de bois notes dominating. Not surprisingly, with a Chardonnay-dominant recipe, the finish brings acres of chalk to scour the taste buds with glorious minerality and tension. Both the bottle and magnum have this superb engine on display, and the main difference at this early moment in the magnum’s life is that it appears, although the difference is not as stark as it is in Louis, to have more power pushed forwards on the palate. Both formats are superbly calm and controlled, and a vault of power in the core will send this wine down the line for a good couple of decades. Do I have a preference? Yes, with Elisabeth, I feel the bottle format will be the most alluring for the short to medium term and with Louis, I cannot resist the magnums! I scored both wines equally because they are beauties, and I cannot pick between them so that the choice will come down to your menu or your guests’ preferences.

Matthew Jukes (19+)

Named after the first chef de cave at Billecart, Louis Salmon, Billecart has been making this style since the ’60s, and it never disappoints. While 2012 had a very tricky start to the season, a remarkable vintage emerged because the summer was superb. The French expression, ‘Août fait le moût’, meaning ‘the month of August makes the must’, or rather, August is largely responsible for the calibre of flavour of any vintage, is startlingly accurate in this wine. With low yields, a lengthy hang-time, and decent natural alcohol levels of 10.5%, this 100% Grand Cru made up of 60% Le Mesnil, 23% Cramant, 11% Chouilly, and 6% Oiry is a ravishingly refreshing wine. 25% was vinified in barrel, and it was aged for a mighty 115 months before being bottled with a lean 3.9g/L dosage. Mathieu Roland-Billecart surmised that the 2012 sits between the 2002 and the 2008 in style – not as austere as ’02 and with “more meat” than ’08. Interestingly, the bottles were aged under crown caps, and the magnums were cork-sealed for maturation. We tasted these two formats side by side, and they indeed showed some fascinatingly different characteristics. The bottle format seemed lovely, silky, super-long and gloriously even. It is a slender, willowy wine with a palate that flows briskly with intent. Its flanks are glassy-smooth, and all of the acidity is reserved for the serious finish, which echoes the NV that proceeded it, except this time, there is much more tension and verve on display. The cork-cap-aged magnum discreetly showed more breadth on the nose and a hint of toastiness on the palate. It seemed to have picked up more of the oak nuances, carrying them further forward on the palate. The other difference is that the magnum appears more profound, as it billows on the palate initially, however I can see both formats converging somewhat over time. While they are both exactly the same wine, they might never end up tasting identical because every time you open a bottle, taking a ‘snapshot’ of their flavours, they will not be at the same spot of their respective timelines, and this makes them both must-haves for the serious Billecart aficionado! Billecart also made a handful of jeroboams in 2012 – albeit in tiny quantities – so goodness knows how different this format would taste.

Wine Enthusiast (100)

The Riserva 2012 is a quintessential Biondi Santi Riserva, reflecting not just the house style that made the firm famous, but it clearly shows Franco’s own hallmark of extreme elegance. The 2012 is a classic in the making, boasting enticing scents of rose, underbrush, wild red berry, new leather and underlying notes of crushed mint. It has a chiseled palate, featuring Morello cherry, pomegranate, orange zest, star anise and a hint of tobacco framed in taut, polished tannins. Firm acidity lends youthful tension and keeps it impeccably balanced.

Wine Enthusiast (100)

The Riserva 2012 is a quintessential Biondi Santi Riserva, reflecting not just the house style that made the firm famous, but it clearly shows Franco’s own hallmark of extreme elegance. The 2012 is a classic in the making, boasting enticing scents of rose, underbrush, wild red berry, new leather and underlying notes of crushed mint. It has a chiseled palate, featuring Morello cherry, pomegranate, orange zest, star anise and a hint of tobacco framed in taut, polished tannins. Firm acidity lends youthful tension and keeps it impeccably balanced.

Immerse yourself in the regality of the Bizot Echezeaux Grand Cru 2012; a premium red that encapsulates the rich viticulture history of the Echezeaux Grand Cru vineyard in Burgundy, France. Renowned vintner Jean-Yves Bizot, a stickler for tradition, employs biodynamic methods ensuring respectful cultivation of the vineyard's characterful old vines. The purity of the grape is paramount; interventions are minimal and no pesticides touch the sanctity of the vines.

The Bizot Echezeaux Grand Cru 2012 offers a harmonious blend of robust aromas, deep black fruit notes, laced with a truffle-infused earthy undertone. A vinous masterpiece veiled in regal burgundy hues, it evolves steadily in the glass, making each sip an unfolding narrative. The finale is a crescendo of integrated tannins, leaving a lingering presence on the palate. Decant with reverence and this sublime wine becomes a profound conversation, making a powerful statement in any fine wine collection.

The Bizot Echezeaux Grand Cru 2012 is the epitome of a master-class in Burgundy winemaking. Presented by the esteemed Domaine Jean-Yves Bizot, a producer revered for its devotion to organic practices and biodynamic viticulture in Vosne-Romanée. This exquisite vintage emanates from east-facing vineyards perched atop rich limestone soils, which imbue the wine with an incomparable mineral complexity.

This Pinot Noir effortlessly marries power with elegance, boasting an opulent, velvety palate. Matured in seasoned oak barrels, it exhibits sumptuous notes of blackberry, plum, and a hint of earthy truffle, all underscored by a tantalisingly long finish. It's a complex yet harmonious assembly of layered flavours and delicate tannins. An indisputable testament to the calibre of the Echezeaux Grand Cru slope.

Embodying the vibrancy of Burgundy terroir with quiet confidence, the Bizot Echezeaux Grand Cru 2012 is an exceptional wine perfect for serious collectors or those seeking the finest expressions of Pinot Noir.

The Bodegas Bhilar Phinca Abejera Rioja Alavesa 2012 embodies the rich terroir of Spain's prestigious Rioja Alavesa region. Nestled in the alluring Basque Country, the acclaimed Bodegas Bhilar demonstrates artisanal winemaking acuity renowned worldwide. The Phinca Abejera Rioja Alavesa is a boutique production, cultivated from old-vine Tempranillo grapes imparting distinct notes of blackberries, liquorice and wild herbs.

Striking a balance between modern winemaking techniques and steadfast tradition, the vintners use indigenous yeast for fermentation in large French oak casks, lending the wine an understated elegance and complexity. Ageing for 36 months in neutral oak promotes the wine's finesse, culminating in a superbly structured palate featuring deep fruits, earthy minerality, and a long, velvety finish.

As a biodynamic and organic estate, Bodegas Bhilar's commitment to sustainable viticulture ensures the continued quality and character of the Phinca Abejera Rioja Alavesa. The 2012 vintage possesses an enviable cellaring potential, inviting discerning connoisseurs to savour its evolution.

Falstaff (98)

An immediate nuttiness of grilled hazelnut along with freshly cut red apple peel, an edge of white pepper and melted candlewax mark the nose – very unusual. With air, this slowly verges onto baked skin of plum. That nuttiness is also apparent on the palate with a real phenolic and textural element, there is much density, almost a chewiness. Very fine acidity runs through this wine, expressing the customary Bollinger creaminess, underlined by finest foam, revealing a lovely hint of pithy bitterness, more pepper and nuances of ripeness expressed by baking spice. A most gastronomic Champagne and only at the beginning of a long trajectory.

Falstaff (98)

An immediate nuttiness of grilled hazelnut along with freshly cut red apple peel, an edge of white pepper and melted candlewax mark the nose – very unusual. With air, this slowly verges onto baked skin of plum. That nuttiness is also apparent on the palate with a real phenolic and textural element, there is much density, almost a chewiness. Very fine acidity runs through this wine, expressing the customary Bollinger creaminess, underlined by finest foam, revealing a lovely hint of pithy bitterness, more pepper and nuances of ripeness expressed by baking spice. A most gastronomic Champagne and only at the beginning of a long trajectory.

Wine Spectator (97)

This goes from zero to 60 right out of the gate, with an intense spine of acidity driving tightly meshed flavors of crushed black currant, ground coffee, candied grapefruit peel and toasted almond. The profile expands on the palate, carried by the fine, raw silk–like mousse. Richly aromatic and expressive from start to lasting, spiced finish. Disgorged July 2019. Drink now through 2037. 850 cases imported.

Essi Avallen MW (96-98)

At this point of youthfulness the pink colour is rather rich and bright. Lovely clean and fruit-forward nose with fresh red berry aromas mixing with spice and orange notes. Quite shyly evolved with much more to surface on the complexity front. Today there is attractive exuberant fruitiness and perfect creamy freshness. Promising palate with power and persistence where an overall harmony enhances the feeling of sophistication.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2012 Quella (from a steep 9-acre vineyard in the eastern Vaca hillsides) has an opaque purple color, a gorgeous nose of white flowers, sweet blackberry and cassis fruit, and a touch of vanilla and graphite. Full-bodied, like its siblings, with great fruit extract, terrific purity and richness, and high but velvety tannins, this wine should also benefit from another 3-5 years of cellaring and keep for 30+ years.

Wine Advocate (98)

From an 11-acre vineyard just north of the Oakville corridor, the 2012 St. Eden shows gorgeous, cedary Christmas fruitcake notes, black cherry and blackcurrant fruit, spice box, earth, and almost first growth Pauillac-like cassis and lead pencil shavings. Deep, full-bodied, and fabulously concentrated, this stunner flirts with perfection. Slightly more evolved than the Quella or Melbury, this wine may be the most drinkable out of the gate of all the Bond offerings in 2012. It should continue to evolve for at least 30+ years.

Vinous (95)

Deep, bright red. Knockout vibrant nose combines purple and red berries, crushed stone, violet and animal fur. Lush, thick and deep but with terrific chalky energy animating the middle palate. Conveys striking depth to its red fruit and floral flavors, with the 45% new oak practically invisible today. Finishes with huge but round, noble tannins and outstanding lingering sweetness. In a more opulent style than the potentially great 2013, and probably for drinking before that wine.