2012 Franc Mayne
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux tasting. The 2012 Franc-Mayne has an upfront, relatively generous bouquet compared to its peers: black cherries intermingling with mulberry and red plum aromas, a little simplistic perhaps but enjoyable all the same. The palate is medium-bodied with a candied entry, blackberry and bilberry fruit, but it feels tinny and rather reduced on the tapered finish. I must admit that I was expecting more than this. Tasted January 2016.
Critic scores
Average Score
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Rather sumptuous on the nose and in terms of tannin management but even this cannot hide the rather underripe fruit. Drying finish. Shame. So much effort in the cellar but the fruit delivered just wasn’t ripe enough. (JR)
A big, burly wine, the 2012 Franc Mayne is endowed with striking texture and palate presence. Sweet dark cherries, plums, spices, smoke, new leather and menthol all flesh out in a full-bodied, voluptuous wine backed up with serious tannins that need time to soften. This is an especially virile Saint-Emilion, with all the elements in the right place.