Chateau Beychevelle 2012

Very solid, with a bramble-lined core of blackberry, blueberry and raspberry fruit, backed by anise and singed wood spice notes. A bolt of graphite pins the finish down. Best from 2016 through 2024. 20,416 cases made.

93–95. Barrel sample. This is a smooth, rich wine that's intensely concentrated and packed with great black-currant fruits. The wine has weight and a sense of structure to support the great fruitiness.

Open and ready to drink, this 2012 has approachable fluidity and suppleness, its lifted mulberry and blackberry aromas entangled with cedar and spice. A silky mouthfeel is peppered with flavours of tomato leaf and driving acidity on the finish.

This shows an outstanding density of fruit with currant, blueberry and raspberry character. Full-bodied, compressed and tight. Fine tannins. Better in 2017.

Relatively light but well-tailored to fit the fruit – the tannins are dry and light and the acidity is just right. Light finish too. (JH)

Quite stylish for the vintage, with its ripe, soft blackberry, smoke and tobacco personality, the wine finishes with soft, polished fruits.

Pure and floral, inky fruit, cassis, dark cherry, very nice density and weight, pure and fresh with rounded tannin and a long lingering finish.

Drinking beautifully, the deep ruby/purple-hued 2012 Château Beychevelle just about jumps out of the glass with lots of ripe black cherry and currant styled fruits as well as tobacco, damp earth, truffle, and cedarwood aromas and flavors. Rich, medium to full-bodied, beautifully textured, and balanced, with both terrific freshness and ripe tannins, it's one gem of a wine from the Médoc that readers will love to drink over the coming 15-20 years or so.

Dark garnet, fairly dense at the core with a ruby rim. Finely spiced, with light tobacco, cedarwood and subtle plum-tinged contours. Velvety on the palate, very well balanced; in the slightly floury finish, elderberry notes and cedar come through again. It can still gain in depth, which is what one would hope for at this price level.

Dark garnet, quite dense at the core, with a ruby rim. Finely spiced, with light tobacco, cedarwood and subtle plum-like contours. Velvety on the palate, very well balanced; the slightly powdery finish shows elderberry notes and cedar again. It can still improve, which is what you’d hope for at this price point.

Peppery, light bouquet with red berries and a delicate touch of Aceto Balsamico. Slim, dry, tightly built palate with powdery tannins, medium fruit, subtle aromatics and a dry finish. 16/20 2018 - 2030

Savoury black fruits, St Julien balance, this is on the tipping point between young and mature at 12 years old. Brambled blackberry and cassis fruits giving both colour and expression, with sage, cumin and fresh mint on the finish, this rises through the palate with a cushion of air that gives contrast to the gourmet fruit character. Harvest September 20 to October 5, 60% new oak for ageing.

The 2012 Beychevelle is medium to deep garnet colored. It rocks up with ready-to-go scents of blackcurrant pastilles, plum preserves, and tobacco leaf, plus suggestions of bay leaves, tilled soil, and smoked meats. The medium-bodied palate delivers plenty of juicy black fruits with a firm, chewy texture and just enough freshness, finishing with a spicy kick.

Supple, easy-drinking and charming, but a little lacking in intensity and complexity compared with the Léovilles, in a blind tasting.

An expressive nose of fresh fruit, with undergrowth notes. Precise, chocolatey tannins give an incredibly velvety texture, framing rich, flavoursome fruit and a long, generous finish.

Dark, intense, beautiful colour. Fresh, aromatic nose. Juicy and very fragrant on the palate, which gives it a lot of charm. The wine develops without much power, but with a smooth, indulgent feel, leading to a finish of average length.

This 2012 shows lovely precision of fruit—expressive, with a slight candied touch, intense and edging toward the heady. There are hints of cherry in eaux-de-vie. The palate is nicely focused, with a supple, caressing juice. The mid-palate is airy and seductive, carried by beautifully crafted tannins—evanescent and finely brushed. The juiciness returns on the “peacock’s tail” finish, with a generous, inviting character that calls for another glass. It’s an unabashedly hedonistic wine, well structured and truly made for the table.