vintage 2012: Bordeaux 2012
BORDEAUX 2012:PRODUCERS SAY WHITE AND ROSE VINTAGE TESTING WILL BE BETTER
After a year in which the weather tested and stretched wine producers to the limit,the wines of 2012 Bordeaux will express,it is said,'finesse rather than power',in a better dry white and rose harvest,than for reds or dessert wines.
The widespread September rain caused rot,mildew,inconsistent fruition,and poor flowering.
'The 2012 year was like a three day event at the Olympics,in terms of the challenge.It required toughness,timing,concentration,ability and poise'said Jean Christophe Barron,technical manager at Chateaux De Rouillac in Pesac-Leogan.
At Chateaux Talbot in St Julien,apparently the rot,'literally exploded'by October,says manager Christian Hostein,but he still described the 2012 wines as 'classic Bordeaux'.
Merlots were labelled 'very good'.The same was not said for Cabernet Sauvignon..
Phillipe Dambrine,manager at Chateaux Cantermerle said,'The 2012 wines will still certainly give pleasure in a few years time,as the 2001's and 2004's are doing now.
Finally on a less positive note,Xavier Planty of Chateaux Guirald said, 'in thirty years of wine making,i have only seen it as bad three times,in '92,'93,and '94!
