Tasting Report: 2012 White Bordeaux

It's difficult to get excited about whites from Bordeaux in 2012 following the amazing 2011 vintage, which made some legendary dry and sweet wines. However, 2012 shouldn't be completely forgotten for Bordeaux whites – especially the dry ones.

I tasted closed to 100 whites this year, and there were some exceptional dry white examples in 2012 for Bordeaux. For example, the formidable dry white from Château Margaux, Pavillon Blanc du Margaux, shows incredible clarity and freshness with a racy underpinning of acidity and fruit that unfolds to fabulous aromas and flavors of minerals and tropical fruits. Indeed, it's much better than the first growth's red in 2012.

Or open a bottle of the 2012 Château Smith Haut Lafitte and rejoice in this flamboyant white’s cooked apple and cream character with bright acidity and a crisp finish. SHL makes outstanding dry whites year in, year out. The excellent whites of La Mission Haut-Brion, Haut-Brion and Domaine de Chevailer were equally compelling in 2012.

And don't forget to try a bottle of the dry white from Cos d'Estournel, the famous second growth of St.-Estèphe. The sauvignon blanc and sémillon blend is hard to find due to its limited production but it's dense and layered like any of the top wines of Pessac-Léognan listed above.

The new white from the owners of Pomerol's Château Lafleur is another outstanding label to find. Only about 2,000 bottles of the rich and layered Les Champs Libres were produced in 2012.

I wish I could say great wine was made in Sauternes in 2012, but the weather was just too difficult and there was more gray, bad rot than noble rote that year. "It was a very difficult year to say the least,” says Charles Chevallier, the head of Château Rieussec, which didn't make its top wine in 2012. The great Château d'Yquem also decided to not make a sweet wine.

Even so, a few outstanding Sauternes were made in 2012 despite the difficult harvest including the châteaux of de Malle, Guiraud and Doisy Daëne. They are fresh and delicate sweet whites that give immediate pleasure to drink.

The wines below are listed first by score (highest to lowest) and then alphabetically.