Starts off earthy and spicy but turns to dark fruits such as raspberries and blackberries. Full body, chewy tannins and a medium finish. Needs a year or two to soften.

A dark, brooding wine, the 2012 Tronquoy Lalande offers up an enticing bouquet of sweet red plum, tobacco, game, earthiness, smoke and leather. Today, the 2012 is a bit wild and rough around the edges, but it nevertheless possesses plenty of density and enough richness to drink well for the better part of the next decade, perhaps longer. Iron, savory herbs and smoke add complexity on the exuberant finish. The 2012 is going to need at least a few years to settle down, as the tannins are quite fierce today. Still, the Tronquoy Lalande is clearly an overachiever in its peer group.

This fabulous, opaque ruby/purple-colored 2012 comes from an up-and-coming, overachieving estate in St.-Estèphe, owned by the proprietors of Montrose. There's a good chunk of Merlot (57%) in the blend of this excellent wine (the balance is 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot), which delivers sweet cassis and blueberry fruit that hits the palate with serious authority, admirable purity, impressive texture and a medium-bodied, long finish. This is an undeniable success and major sleeper of the vintage.

From an estate whose wine is made by the same team as Montrose, this is a dry, firmly structured wine. It has potential, power and density along with fresher black currant fruitiness.