CHÂTEAU SAINT PIERRE

2012 4ème Cru Classé Saint Julien

EN PRIMEUR

A soft, somewhat fleshy and opulent style of St.-Julien, this 2012 has a deep ruby/purple color, good minerality, moderate tannin, and a full but more precocious and accessible style than its neighbors such as Léoville Poyferré and Beychevelle. This is more along the lines of the juicy, succulent Talbot, but certainly has aging potential. Two to four years of bottle age is recommended and then consumption over the following two decades. Drinking range: 2017 - 2039 Rating: 91 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (Apr 2015)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot cropped at 38hl/ha the Saint Pierre 2012 has a nicely defined, conservative bouquet of blackberry, graphite and cold stone. The Cabernet feels ripe and like many wines, it is direct, no-frills bouquet. The palate is medium-bodied with a crisp, chalky texture entry. There is a pleasant brightness to this Saint Pierre with an edgy, graphite tinged finish. Very fine. Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2013)

Rating: 91 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2013)

Intriguing vibrant nose. Lots of vitality here. The experience of tasting this wine is pretty seamless. It certainly finishes dry but offers lots of interest and diversion on the way. No excess sweetness. 2022 - 2038. Rating: 17.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2013)

Fine expression of Cabernet fruit, both spicy and ripe and already rounded and quite smooth, good fragrance and depth a vigourous, characterful St Julien. Drink: 2017 - 2030. Rating: 17.5 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2013)

Rating: 18 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Apr 2013)

Displays a lightly herbal frame, with damson plum and cherry pit notes leading the way. A flash of savory lines the modest finish. Rating: 85-88 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2013)

St Julien Quatrième cru 1855 At 17ha Château Saint Pierre is the smallest classed growth estate in St Julien. The name is derived from the Baron de Saint-Pierre who owned the estate at the tail end of the 18th Century. He left Saint-Pierre to his two daughters who, after running the estate together for a while, divided Saint-Pierre in two in 1832. The Dutch company, Van den Bussche bought both bits of Saint-Pierre in 1923 and re-united the estate. In 1982, Henri Martin (the man who assembled the Château Gloria from bits of vineyard purchased from various St Julien estates, including Saint-Pierre) bought the estate and he, and his daughter and son-in law Françoise and Jean-Louis Triaudand, have done much to raise the profile of this oft over-looked château. The vineyards are planted to 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, with the wines being made at Château Gloria. Although renewed reputation has pushed the price up a little in recent years, Saint-Pierre still represents quite good value for some nicely made darkly coloured St Julien.

Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.

Ordering

Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.

Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.

Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.

Confirmation

All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.

Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.

Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.

Delivery

  • Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
  • Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
  • Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
  • Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.

Practical notes - how it works

We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.

When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.

Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.

One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.

Additional charges are as follows:-

  • +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
  • +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
  • +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
  • +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.