Chateau Prieure-Lichine 2012
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Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
This is deep, rich and pretty full-on for the vintage. I can see the ambition here, although it's a little austere right now and still needs time. Cassis and bilberry fruits are tightly buttoned down, but there is excellent potential, and it's showing better than the 2011. This was the year when they bought the 8ha Château Pontet Chappaz, providing additional Cabernet Sauvignon from excellent gravelly terroir for the grand vin, and the impact is clear. Last time I tasted these two vintages side by side, I gave them both 91, but the 2012 is really starting to blossom. 50% new oak.
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James Suckling
A wine with blackberry, spice and licorice character. Medium to full body, firm tannins and a fruity finish. Subtle and fine. Shows class. Lovely tannins. Drink in 2016.
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Wine Enthusiast
Very structured and dark, this is a wine for the long haul. It is concentrated and balanced, still very young and only just hinting at the black fruits that show the rich potential of this wine. Drink from 2020.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Performing much better from bottle than barrel, this is a super effort from Prieuré Lichine. This inky purple-colored wine displays beautiful floral-infused blueberry and blackberry fruit as well as cassis. It is medium to full-bodied, stunningly pure, gorgeously textured, and quite long and impressive. This is a top success in the vintage, capable of lasting 20 or more years.
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Wine Spectator
Offers a plush mouthfeel, with substantial yet velvety tannins carrying the dark plum, blackberry and black cherry notes. Ganache and Black Forest cake hints line the finish, while the fruit pushes through nicely. The combination of dressed-up style and accessibility will win this many fans.
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The vine density at Prieuré-Lichine is quite high, and the vineyard is carefully managed plot by plot. The grapes are completely picked by hand into small crates and carefully gone over on a sorting table prior to crushing. Only the ripest, healthiest grapes are used. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel. The entire winemaking process is devoted to bringing out the charm, elegance and finesse characteristic of the finest wines in the Margaux appellation.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Silky, seductive and polished are the words that characterize the best wines from Margaux, the most inland appellation of the Médoc on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
Margaux’s gravel soils are the thinnest of the Médoc, making them most penetrable by vine roots—some reaching down over 23 feet for water. The best sites are said to be on gentle outcrops, or croupes, where more gravel facilitates good drainage.
The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification but it is nonetheless important in regards to history of the area. In 1855 the finest chateaux were deemed on the basis of reputation and trading price—at that time. In 1855, Chateau Margaux achieved first growth status, yet it has been Chateau Palmer (officially third growth from the 1855 classification) that has consistently outperformed others throughout the 20th century.
Chateau Margaux in top vintages is capable of producing red Cabernet Sauvignon based wines described as pure, intense, spell-binding, refined and profound with flavors and aromas of black currant, violets, roses, orange peel, black tea and incense.
Other top producers worthy of noting include Chateau Rauzan-Ségla, Lascombes, Brane-Cantenac, and d’Issan, among others.
The best wines of Margaux combine a deep ruby color with a polished structure, concentration and an unrivaled elegance.