2012 Les Asteries

The 2012 Les Astéries, from a parcel just 100 meters away from Le Carré, is silky, finessed and nuanced, with striking precision and gorgeous length. The Astéries is much more reticent than the Le Carré, with less opulence and overtness, but it more than makes up for that with its persistence. The 2012 needs a few years to fully blossom, but it is striking, even today. Licorice, mint, pine and crushed rocks give an extra kick of energy to the dark-fleshed fruit.

This single-vineyard wine emerges from 80-year-old vines that survived the brutal frost that destroyed much of the Right Bank in 1956. Very low yields produced a wine (only 450 cases) that is largely Merlot (80%) with some Cabernet Franc (20%) in it. Deep black and red currant fruit intermixed with spice box, earth and background forest floor and graphite make for a medium to full-bodied, rich, supple-textured, delicious St.-Emilion to drink over the next 10-12 years.