Bordeaux 2012 – St-Émilion and satellites

For our full Bordeaux 2012 coverage, see The Guide.

The current market for higher-end Bordeaux has strongly influenced perceptions of this heterogeneous vintage, one in which intra-appellation differences are sometimes as marked as those among appellations. As one pragmatic (but shy) eye-witness said to me: 'Nobody wants to push too much the 2012 vintage: the négociants because they absolutely need the prices to go down; the producers are aware of that fact and know that it may be counterproductive to say that the vintage is better than 2011 and then sell it for a lower price; the consumers because their...