Clos du Marquis 2012

A wonderfully balanced Clos with memorable aromatics, dense yet smooth, with fine-grained tannins and a perfect length—superb.

A textbook St.-Julien, with a core of plum sauce and blackberry paste framed with roasted apple wood and backed by a solid graphite spine. Has the lightly chewy edge of the vintage, but offers good, pure fruit for balance. Best from 2016 through 2022. 9,000 cases made.

A soulful Clos du Marquis with currants, blackberries and hints of earth. Full body, velvety tannins and a long and flavourful finish. A fascinating earthy undertone. Better in 2018.

Tasted blind. Looks a bit dull and youthful. Smudgy rim. Diffuse nose. Astringent finish. Needs more focus and fruit. (JR)

Wet earth, cedar and tobacco on the nose, with present but manageable tannins and fresh cassis on the finish. Give this a few years to develop even more charm.

Gently roasted with hints of coffee, dark inky fruit, dense fruit, marked tannin and a rather long fresh finish.

(92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc) Floral, delicately vegetal, herbal bouquet, blackcurrant, oak, leather. Firm, rustic palate with light fruit, fine sandy tannins, sweet aromatics, dry finish. 16/20 2018 - 2028

Cedar and raspberry, this is an attractive Clos du Marquis that is in a sweet spot for drinking. Unfussy and earthy, a few hard tannins that catch on the finish, but plenty to recommend. An unusually high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon lends extra interest.

Medium to deep garnet colour, the 2012 Clos du Marquis comes in with ready-to-go cassis, prunes and boysenberry preserve scents, followed by notions of espresso and scorched earth. The medium-bodied palate is lively and refreshing, with soft tannins and a mature yet well-sustained finish.

Astonishing expression of a pedigreed Cabernet Sauvignon, full, balanced, a smoky touch on the palate, length and class.

An unusual proportion of Cabernet gives Clos du Marquis 2012 notable linearity and superb length. A beautiful wine, a great success, with a Clos du Marquis that's a little more linear and less plush than usual.

Le Clos du Marquis 2012 takes on Léoville Las Cases. I tasted it first undecanted, then decanted. That day the two bottles were very close. Dark, intense, beautiful colour. Very aromatic nose of ripe fruit. Lovely, flavourful entry on the palate, then the wine unfolds both charming and powerful, with plenty of flavour, good structure and a lovely, savoury, long and nicely enveloping finish. Not only does it have great charm, but its 92% Cabernet Sauvignon (a first) gives it excellent structure.

92–94. Barrel sample. Made from grapes grown in a specific parcel in the Léoville Las Cases vineyard, Clos du Marquis is a ripe wine that also promises seriously good aging. Tannins and structure dominate the black fruits and acidity.