Chateau Lamarque - Haut-Medoc red 2012 Magnum

Wine Region: Bordeaux France

Grape: 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot Guyot

Tasting notes: With charm, fresh, dark red fruits, espresso and earthy aromas, the wine also offers lift, along with a fine tobacco and red fruit character in the finish. With charm, fresh, dark red fruits, espresso and earthy aromas, the wine also offers lift, along with a fine tobacco and red fruit character in the finish.

Expert Rating:

James Suckling: 91 Points

A dense, balanced red with plum, chocolate and walnut character. Full body, firm tannins and a velvety, caressing finish.  Lovely mouthfeel. Better in 2017.

Wine Enthusiast: 90-92 Points

Barrel sample. This is a dark, extracted wine with coffee flavors and dense tannins. The palate has a bitter character to it, and a structure that's very firm and dry.

Neil Martin: 87-89 Points

The de Lamarque demonstrates fine fruit concentration on the nose with blackberry, raspberry and graphite notes that lend it a Pauillac-like allure. The palate is well balanced with grainy tannins, a little hardness on the palate, but fresh if conservative, classic finish.

Vinum (Rolf Bichsel): 15.75/20

Dense, fleshy, full, juicy tannins, fruity finish; good, really good!
 - (Kompakt, fleischig, voll, saftigues Tannin, fruchtiges Finale: durch und durch erfreulich!).

The Wine Patriot: 91-93 Points

Violet, blackcurrant, spices; ample mouth, beautiful touch of tannins, retro-complex - (best vintage of the cru).

About the winery:

The owners of de Lamarque, Pierre-Gilles and Marie-Hélène Gromand d’Evry are determined to make the best Haut-Médoc possible. The vineyard covers thirty-five hectares, planted on alluvial gravel, deep and well-drained. Recently the blend has been around 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot and 5% Petit-Verdot though replanting will raise the proportion of Petit Verdot.  Production has been savaged under Marie-Hélène’s jurisdiction as she has introduced an extremely rigorous regime of crop thinning to improve quality.  When we are greeted by Marie-Hélène, looking wonderfully glamorous, it is hard to imagine her out amongst the vines yet she is a demon with a set of secateurs. 

For seventeen years the Gromand d’Evrys have exercised a revolutionary viticultural system devised by Jean-Pierre Cousinié, researching, monitoring and assessing the vines from sub-soil through to the grapes. The vines are healthier and more resistant to disease without using chemicals. Harvest can be later allowing the grapes to achieve full phenolic ripeness. These wines are traditional in style, full fruit supported by a firm structure – perfect for a Sunday roast.