Château La Fleur Peyrabon 2012

The 2012 La Fleur Peyrabon has an attractive bouquet with plush blackberry, cassis and violet scents—perhaps more Margaux than Pauillac in style. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, taut tannins, plenty of tightly wound black fruit, and fine tension toward the finish. This is a very commendable Cru Bourgeois and certainly worth seeking out.

Solid, with a graphite spine holding the black currant and bitter plum fruit together, while a strong iron note strides through the finish. Not big, but a textbook version. Drink now through 2017. 3,966 cases made, 500 cases imported.

Easy to drink, forward, medium-bodied, correct Pauillac with plenty of cassis, blackberries, tobacco, and an elegant, fresh, crisp, dark red-berry finish. Drink it now, or age it a few more years.

Medium deep ruby red colour. Gently roasted nose, fine oak, vanilla and dark fruit. The palate is dense with good weight, dense but polished tannins, juicy dark berries, fine oak and a long, lingering finish, fine potential.

Deep purple, dense at the core, with garnet highlights at the rim. Gorgeous cassis bouquet, mingled with bramble and black peppercorns, a clear Cabernet bouquet. On the palate, fleshy, certainly with enough bourgeois character, aromatic finish. Convincing. A Pauillac for budget-conscious food-and-wine lovers.

Deep purple, dense at the core, with garnet highlights at the rim. Gorgeous cassis bouquet mixed with bramble and black peppercorns, a clear Cabernet bouquet. On the palate, fleshy, with also a certain — and sufficient — bourgeois character, aromatic finish. Convincing. A Pauillac for budget‑conscious food‑wine lovers.

A lovely ripe grape, rare in 2012, lends charm to this very approachable Pauillac that will evolve well in bottle.

Dark color of good intensity. Fruity nose. The palate is very pleasant and very fruity, with a refined touch, a well-structured mid-palate that evolves smoothly into a normal, flavorful length. Very pleasant.

A small portion, the flower (la Fleur) of the Peyrabon vineyard, is in the Pauillac appellation. Richly structured, this wine is full of black currant and berry fruit, with solid tannins. Dense on the palate, it shows ripe Cabernet Sauvignon juiciness. Drink from 2019.