2012 was challenging. The weather was not cooperative: starting with a cold and wet spring that led to poor flowering, followed by a heat-wave in summer, and ended with heavy rainfall during the harvest season. With the unfavourable weather, the other key factors in making a great wine - namely terroir, and wine making skill – came to the fore. This meant that in general, the well-established estates performed the best.

In general, the Right bank was the strongest performer in 2012. And thanks to the high percentage of the early-ripening Merlot, Pomerol was the stand-out commune. However, the Right bank was not the only winner in 2012. Modern technology and manpower saved many wineries from disastrous results brought by the poor weather conditions. The latest equipment, such as optical sorter, were essential this year more than ever for carefully selecting the best fruit. This explains why the volume produced this year was low for many estates! Those wealthier properties were able to send out vineyard teams to sort and manage the uneven ripening fruit multiple times.

Nonetheless, the best wines of 2012 were actually better than the 2011 vintage: they are vibrant, well-structured with silky tannins, and show lovely concentrated fruit. The First Growths, namely Margaux, Mouton, Haut Brion and Lafite, continue to produce quality wines despite the difficult conditions.

The 2012 provided immediate pleasure, and should be enjoyable in 3 to 5 years - sooner than some of the recent vintages.

Some key advice for buying En Primeur 2012:

Fewer chateaux made good wine this year, and those chateaux that did, made less of it. Price is a more important consideration this year. If favourable, then it is definitely worth adding some 2012 to your cellar!