2012 Chateau Clos du Roy Fronsac 750 ml

When Robert Parker published his vintage report on 2012 Bordeaux, he placed the vintage in the clear lineage of 1998, 2001, and 2006—three years that were outstanding on release in the Right Bank, and then aged into absolute superstars.

In the years since that report was published, 2012 has turned into one of our favorite vintages in Pomerol and Saint Émilion—and in Fronsac, a Right Bank hamlet that houses some of the greatest values in Bordeaux today.

That’s because Fronsac has a lot in common with neighboring Pomerol and Saint Émilion—similar soils, exposition, and grape varieties. In fact, the best wines of Fronsac were more expensive and famous than those of Pomerol or Saint Émilion in the 18th Century, and that potential is realized in wines like Château Clos du Roy.

Clos du Roy—the walled vineyard of the king, in direct translation—is a small, exceptionally quality-focused producer in the heart of Fronsac, and it’s even owned by the chairman of the Fronsac Wine Council, Philippe Hermouet. He’s devoted over three decades to elevating the quality of its wines, modernizing the cellar and adding small parcels of high-quality vineyard land along the way.

In 2012, he produced a wine that’s a dead-ringer for Pomerol—mostly Merlot, as is tradition, accented with a dash of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon—and that resemblance has only grown with time in the cellar. A third of the barrels that it was aged in were new, and their flavors have integrated beautifully with the roasted-plums and baked strawberries that drive this forward. It’s a real special-occasion bottle that shows off the nuance and sophistication of Bordeaux at a decade-plus of age.