TN: 2012 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve

• 2012 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley (7/21/2016)
  Always have been a fan of BV…drank a lot of their wines when I first started in the early 90’s…but kind of left them in the 2000’s. Found these 12 GdL on sale for $59 so that seems like a killer jumping in point! Well…this would be pleasing even double the price! Dark inky blackberry color…shy nose at first…dusty cherry spice, anise, graphite powder, liqueured berries. Nice full bodied mouthfeel…yet not too sweet or goopy…young but well balanced…liqueured berries and currants…dusty and powdery oak barrel tannins(Rutherford baby!), charcoal and lead pencil, dried cherry, tobacco…smooth and quite accessible…yet with solid structure to age. Maybe a 30yr wine? Not like the old days…but the good news is there is pleasure NOW, and maybe more to come. And at that price point…makes it even better!! (94 pts.)

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so you would disagree with this review from a couple years ago?

Nice Buzz - Love this note!

1997 Georges de Latour was one of the first bottles that really got me into this crazy “hobby”.

Haven’t had one in a while…but at $59, you better believe I’d be buying as well.

Bought half a case of the '07 for $50 per bottle. Wasn’t a fan, too overripe for me.

I’ve really liked what I had tasted 87 or older and really didn’t care for 94-current. BUT, I tasted the 12 of this wine and Tapestry and was very impressed by both. Not overripe, concentrated, balanced and thought would age well. Definitely made me a believer that bv is worth another look, especially if this an intentional stylistic change.

So did the style change back towards balance lately? The last one I had was the 1997, and it was really dominated by cedar and a big port-like. I haven’t had any newer GdL. I love the old ones, so if they have moved back to balance, I would love to revisit.

The 12 is my only sample size to judge by but for that particular wine I would say yes. Whether that is a vintage specific result or a general trend time will only tell.

Either way, think it is worth trying, especially at good price.

BV essentially repeated the recipe Andre had given them for over ten years. Fermentation in large tanks…ML in very large redwood tanks…barrel ageing in American oak…ten per cent (?) new…When Andre came back, he said, I’ve changed…why haven’t you?? Indeed I remember when the 68 BV PR (and the 70) hit the market, it was yuge!!..But over the years folks lost interest and wines like Insignia, Stags Leap, etc became popular. You cannot blame BV for changing things when nobody was buying what they were doing.

Funny, I sell them lots of barrels so I may be prejudiced. I taste the wine out of barrel but rarely out of bottle. But for this price …

Not sure how available their 13 Rutherford still is at this point in time, but that is very credible. I put a few down (after tasting), which is the first time in years for that. TN: 13 BV Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon [Rutherford] - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers

I’m going to see if my local Raleys has that 12 GdL. I wonder if that’s a 2011 liquidation price being (mistakenly) applied to the 2012.

I remember reading about some changes occurring starting with the '09 or '10 vintage. The changes being more like a re-commitment to older principles, or what many Napa wineries aim for these days, blending traditional methods with the modern. I wouldn’t mind owning some.

Well…now they have the 2013 GdL for $62! Looks like Parker LOVES the 13(95+pts) and their new mag only 2013 Georges de Latour Private Reserve Le Coeur, a special cuvée with a longer élevage, got 99pts! Popped open another 12 tonight…fantasticly young…but really hard to put down! Going in on the 13’s tomorrow…beep beep beep! Amazing that this sells at the winery for $145!

What a great price. Wish I could find it for that cheap!