Château Grand Mayne 2012

Very polished, with a flattering feel up front and lots of ripe plum, blackberry paste and blueberry reduction notes at the core. Shows some serious grip on the back end, with ganache and graphite accents joining a brambly hint on the finish. This should stretch out in the cellar as both sides come together. Best from 2017 through 2026. 3,125 cases made.

91–93. Barrel sample. This spicy wine, aged in new wood, is rich and full with blackberry flavors. It's opulent in texture with layers of new oak that reverberate through the wine.

Round and spicy. Medium to full bodied. Dark fruit with the oak evident. Tight, firm finish.

This is very intense for the vintage with blueberry, light coffee and wet earth character. Full body, silky and polished tannins and a long, long finish. Excellent. Better in 2018.

Inky core, purple rim. Cedar and blackcurrant pastille, plus a blueberry sweetness and a very slightly herbaceous note. Savoury and dark on the palate, savoury but not austere, just that the fruit takes more of a back seat at this point. Dense but smooth tannins. Well shaped but not yet revealed. (JH)

The 2012 Grand Mayne is dark and brooding in the glass. Ripe black cherries, blueberry jam, mocha, licorice and new leather are some of the many notes that fill out the wine's big, broad shouldered frame. A voluptuous yet also heavily extracted wine, the 2012 is long on power and overall intensity. It should drink well for another 15-20 years, maybe more.

Medium bodied, finesse expression of St. Emilion leaves you with a soft, silky textured wine, sweet, ripe, juicy cherries and kirsch and a silky, smooth finish. The wine was made from a blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Elegant and discreet fruit, rather mineral with fine extract, juicy and fresh with a good length and classic profile.

Deep purple-garnet color, dense at the core, with a violet sheen at the rim. Comforting, black-berry bouquet: freshly cooked then cooled blackberry jam, dark chocolate and pralines. Velvety on the palate, with plenty of liquorice and black pepper, and an immensely long finish. It may have more pedigree than finesse, but I don’t mind at all given this absolutely brilliant aromatic profile.

Deep purple-garnet, dense at the core, with a violet sheen at the rim. A comforting, black-berry bouquet: freshly cooked then cooled blackberry jam, dark chocolate and pralines. Velvety on the palate, lots of liquorice and black pepper, tremendously long. It may have more breeding than class, but I don’t care with this absolutely brilliant aromatic profile.

Velvety, sweet, generous bouquet: blackberries, cherries, chocolate, raisins. Velvety, supple palate with sweet aromatics, fine sandy tannins, a slightly austere structure, and a slightly dry finish. 17/20 2018 - 2034

Beautifully expressive, ripe fruit; broad and luscious on the palate, with generous tannins and a long finish with a touch of smoothness.

The 2012 (70% Merlot) shows good density and a firm structure, though the mid-palate seems a little weighed down by the spicy, sweet character of the oak ageing.

Grand Mayne is a dense, oaky wine, with ample body for the vintage, well-structured and full.

The nose is a little closed. It reveals notes of ripe small berries (notably blueberry) and spices in the background. The palate is fruity and indulgent, with a certain fleshiness. On the palate, you find notes of plum, strawberry, blackberry and, more subtly, fleshy black cherry, along with hints of spice, chocolate, oak and hazelnut. The tannins are fine.

A beautiful deep red. A refined, fruity nose, ripe and fresh. The palate is well-structured, with a caressing texture, developing with plenty of fruit, lifted on a smooth, supple body, with bright fruit and no harsh tannic edges. Very enjoyable.