Bordeaux 2012 – late baked

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As French speakers will see from this detailed report on Médoc grape maturity from Christophe Coupez of the official Pauillac oenological lab, 2012 is proving one of the latest ripening growing seasons ever and certainly the latest of the last 10 years.

Flowering and veraison were both marked by extreme variability so that those sorting tables will be vital when the red wine grapes are finally harvested. After pretty miserable weather in late spring and early summer, July and August have been particularly hot and dry so that the grape pulp has ripened way ahead of the skins, and physiological...