2012 Chateau Robin Cotes de Castillon 750 ml

Under-$20 Right Bank Bordeaux As It Should Be …. But Rarely Is

Since January 27th, 2015, when we posted our first story from the Place de Bordeaux, giving the WineAccess membership the opportunity to purchase the highest-rated 2009s, 2010s, and 2012s directly from the cellars where they were bottled, we’ve become reacquainted with America’s age-old love affair with the wines of the Gironde. In the last year, more than 3,500 members have purchased bottles of Bordeaux at over $100/bottle, with 1,850 forking over $200/bottle or more.

Not surprisingly, as we teased our audience with 100-pointers from Châteaux Montrose, Pavie, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Haut-Bailly, and Pontet-Canet, thousands of members flooded our inboxes with requests for “every day” 2009s, 2010s, and 2012s — bottles that could be enjoyed by those who weren’t lucky enough to strike it rich on Facebook or Lending Club IPOs.

We never ignore email requests, particularly of this magnitude. On each of our three 2015 trips to the Gironde, we carved out a couple days for the satellite appellations, looking for diamonds in the rough. We hit paydirt with the 2012 Château Martinat, the 2010 Château Brulesécaille, and Emeric Petit’s 2012 Château Tournefeuille (Catherine Deneuve’s favorite).

But the most astounding Bordeaux bargain of 2015 wasn’t found during those visits to the Right or Left Banks. Instead, we discovered this flashy, darkly concentrated Côtes de Castillon in NYC — once at Café Boulud on the Upper East Side and then again courtesy of Aldo Sohm, the 2008 Best Sommelier in the World, at Michelin 3-star Le Bernardin.

The key to identifying the big winners in 2012, according to Robert Parker, is in understanding which estates achieved full ripeness before the rain began to fall in the second week of October. In a vintage report headlined “The Bottled 2012 Bordeaux: 1998, 2001, 2006 - Déjà Vu?”, Parker couldn’t contain his enthusiasm for the superstars of the Right Bank — especially those “precocious terroirs” planted with earlier-maturing Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The Wine Advocate wrote:

About 15 minutes east of Saint-Émilion, Jerome Bouquerel meticulously farms just 12.5 hectares planted to 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. With vines that range from 40-50 years of age, Château Robin has regularly outpointed the vast majority of Saint-Émilion Grand Crus since the release of the voluptuous 2009 — raising sommelier eyebrows all over NYC, most remarkably at Café Boulud and Le Bernardin.

The 2012 Château Robin Côtes de Castillon is what under-$20 Bordeaux ought to be, but so rarely is. Deep, dark purple in color. Sexy nose of crushed black and red fruits, tobacco, and graphite, somehow restrained and back on its heels, despite all the plushness of the vintage. Silken in texture, sleek and refined on the attack, boasting a luscious black-fruit core, finishing with the dusty tannins one expects more from a top-flight Saint-Émilion than a Côtes de Castillon.

The 2012 Château Robin is the #1 under-$16 Right Bank Bordeaux in NYC. If you don’t believe us, trust Larsson, Sohm, and Café Boulud.