At their best, 2012 Haut Medoc will provide quite charming Bordeaux wine that will deliver pleasure on release. Other estates that over extracted and used too much oak produced wines with drying tannins that are never going to be a lot of fun to taste.
2012 Pauillac is not going to make anyone forget about 2010 Pauillac or 2009 Pauillac. But it does not need to. The wines are not for long term drinking, which is a good thing for fans of Pauillac
2012 St. Julien is a mixed vintage. There are some fine, medium bodied, classically styled 2012 St Julien wines, along with others displaying dry tannins and over extraction.
At its best, 2012 Bordeaux wines are lighter in style, perhaps similar to 2001 or 1999, blended with 2002. In the Right Bank, where the wines were more successful overall, numerous chateaux compare the vintage with 1998. As matter of quality, I do not agree with that premise.