Tasting Notes
Antonio Galloni 90
The 2012 Balthus, Reignac’s 100% Merlot flagship cuvee, is quite attractive in this vintage. The flavors are dark, bold and intense, with plenty of underlying tannin, but all the elements are nicely balanced just the same. Here, too, readers need to give the wine at least another year In bottle to fully come together. I must admit, I am not usually a fan of the Balthus, as I often find it overdone. Not in 2012. To be sure, the Balthus is a bigger, richer wine than the Reignac, but all the elements are also well balanced.
Anticipated maturity: 2017-2022
Wine Advocate 93
This luxury cuvee from Reignac’s proprietor Yves Vatelot is always 100% Merlot fermented in tiny cigar barrels for alcoholic as well as malolactic fermentation. This is a pedal-to-the-metal, super-concentrated, rich wine that showcases the best characteristics of 2012 ” very ripe Merlot, tiny yields, and impeccable vinification and elevage. This is an amazing wine for the vintage and certainly one of superstars of 2012. Remarkably, the back label suggests this hit 15% natural alcohol, which tells you the sort of ripeness it achieved, without any of the characteristics whatsoever of overripeness like fig or prune. This is a great, great effort in this vintage and should drink well for at least a decade or more.
Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025
