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Château La Tour L’Aspic, Pauillac

Bordeaux, France 2012 (750mL)
$34.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Château La Tour L’Aspic, Pauillac

It’s always a treat to taste a wine that’s in a perfect ‘sweet spot.’ Today’s wine is in one, and yet I foresee other, more fascinating sweet spots for it many years down the road. Such is the magic of pedigreed Bordeaux, and this 2012—the second wine of acclaimed “Fifth Growth” Château Haut-Batailley—is nothing if not aristocratic.
Run for generations by the Borie family and acquired in 2017 by the Cazes family (owners of neighboring Château Lynch-Bages), Haut-Batailley is prime Bordeaux real estate—so prime, in fact, that it’s hard to believe that even a ‘second’ wine from such a bespoke property costs so little. Right now, this wine is pure Left Bank hedonism, but in five, and later ten, years, it will become wiser, more intellectual. I don’t say this as an “expert,” by the way: I think it’s plain for anyone to see after a few sips. One of the reasons we seek out back vintages of Bordeaux to import is that we know that the wines will deliver over the long term (thanks in no small part to perfect provenance bought direct from Bordeaux). This 2012 is a one-stop Master Class on the brooding, dark-fruited charms of Pauillac—a “gateway” Bordeaux if I’ve ever seen one—and you don’t get such profound “somewhere-ness” at this price very often. This is a gift that promises to keep giving.
It is also quintessentially Pauillac, having been owned and run by generations of Bories before passing to Lynch-Bages’ Jean-Michel Cazes. These are two deeply entrenched Pauillac families whose ties to their respective properties date to the 1930s, and two “Fifth Growth” estates that have regularly performed at a much higher level. As has often been the case in Bordeaux, Haut-Batailley was once part of a larger property that was divided between François and Marcel Borie in 1942; today, the estate’s 22 hectares of vineyards, rooted in deep gravel over limestone, are perfectly positioned among a “who’s who” of Pauillac, with some sites abutting the vineyards of Château Latour and others running next to those of Lynch-Bages. 

The average vine age at Haut-Batailley is said to be about 35 years, with plantings consisting of about 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot—proportions which, in classic Bordeaux fashion, are reflected in both the ‘first’ (grand vin) and ‘second’ wines of the property. The name “La Tour de L’Aspic” (“The Tower of the Asp”) refers to a 19th-century tower in the vineyards that depicts the Virgin Mary stepping on a poisonous snake (an aspic, or asp) meant to symbolize the Devil. Good name, and good wine!

Aged about 18 months in 40% new French oak and showing tremendous depth and polish now with a few years of bottle age, the 2012 La Tour de L’Aspic is a perfect example of the limits of vintage reports. This was supposedly a year where Cabernet Sauvignon had difficulty reaching full ripeness, but there’s no evidence of that whatsoever here: This is textbook, perfectly ripe Left Bank Bordeaux: In the glass, it’s a deep garnet red moving to hints of pink and brick at the rim, with heady aromas of black and red currant, cassis, black plum, cacao nibs, tobacco, graphite, and turned earth. The sweet/savory balance—aided no doubt by a healthy percentage of Merlot lending a nice dose of red fruit—is pitch-perfect, as is the texture, which is chocolate rich but framed by firm tannins. It is medium-plus in body and blossoms quickly once it’s let out of the bottle: give it 30 minutes in a decanter before serving at 60-65 degrees in Bordeaux stems, and be sure to lay a few bottles down for the fireworks that are still to come 5-7 years from now. There’s a dark, red-meat sumptuousness to this red that makes pairing a no-brainer, but it’s also smooth and seductive enough to sip, slowly, on its own. That’s a win-win. Enjoy!
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Country
France
Region
Bordeaux
Sub-Region
FrancePauillac
Soil
Gravel over Limestone
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon 61%, Merlot 36%, Petit Verdot 3%
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
40% New French
TEMP.
65
Glassware
Bordeaux Stems
Drinking
Now-2025
Decanting
30 Minutes
Pairing
Beef Bordelaise

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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