The 2012 exhibits a black/purple color along with a striking nose of incense, spring flowers, blueberries, blackberries and hints of mulberries and crushed chalk. The sumptuous aromatics are followed by a full-bodied, super-concentrated, rich, layered wine that builds incrementally across the palate, finishing with an explosion of fruit, spice, tannin, glycerin and minerality. While neither as backward nor impenetrable as the 2009 and 2010, the 2012 should be approachable in 4-5 years and keep for 2-3 decades. A massive, concentrated effort from this great terroir, the 2012 Beausejour Duffau comes from a 16+-acre vineyard located on the clay and limestone southern slopes of St.-Emilion. It was cropped at 23 hectoliters per hectare, and the final blend was 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. Only 66% of the production went into the top wine, which boasts 14.3% natural alcohol. Readers can usually count on this cuvee being one of the finest wines of the vintage given the talented team behind it, Nicolas Thienpont, Stephane Derenoncourt, David Suire and Julien Lavenu. Drink: 2017 - 2047 -Wine Advocate #206 Apr 2013

The 2012 is a blend of 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc, cropped between 13th and 18th October and 20th and 23rd October respectively. That late picked Cabernet tells on the nose that is glossy and ostentatious with touches of raisin and fresh prune informing the red fruit profile. The palate is full-bodied with sumptuous, decadent ripe red fruit. It has a soft, sexy mouthfeel and it glides across the mouth without a murmur. Yet I prefer the tension and delineation exuded by Pavie-Macquin this year. I would have picked a little earlier. Tasted April 2013.

[80M/20CF] Almost crème de cassis to smell; fresh, elegant, refined wine, with a very sweet core fruit, a clear complexity, long to taste, fragrant and fine within a slightly dry tannic frame, and a bit chewy to finish from both the fruit and oak tannin. A touch of warmth on its long finish. 2020-30+ [M.Schuster, Bordeaux Mar/Apr 2013]

Drink 2017-2025 The ripest of the Nicolas Thienpont line-up so far. Ripe sweet cherry. Merlot energy and generosity. Rich but held in check by the finesse of the tannins and the freshness. Lovely and long too. All well judged. But has the firmness and freshness for a good long life. (JH)