Tasting notes:

A consistently outstanding prestige cuvée, Rare has done it again in 2025, taking home a Master for its 2012 expression. It’s all here, offering an instantly appealing and complementary array of characters. Among them are smoky, grilled lemon notes with cleansing citrus too, then hazelnuts, roasted coffee beans, as well as some sweet peach. The finish is a touch firm, or should one say focused, with some acid bite, fine chalky phenolics and a rock salt mouthwatering character. Persistent, age-worthy and refreshing, but with lovely, long-ees-aged reductive characters that beautifully complement the core of juicy-zesty fruit. (Patrick Schmitt MW)