- Colour Red
- Producer Château les Carmes Haut-Brion
- Region Pessac-Léognan
- Drinking 2027 - 2047
- Case size 6x75cl
- Available Now
2020 - Ch Les Carmes Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan - 6x75cl
- Colour Red
- Producer Château les Carmes Haut-Brion
- Region Pessac-Léognan
- Drinking 2027 - 2047
- Case size 6x75cl
- Available Now
Select pricing type
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Goedhuis, May 2021, Score: 96-98
The highest proportion of whole bunch pressed fruit since Guillaume Pouthier took over the winemaking. At 55% this is testament to the quality of the fruit and its ripeness arriving in the winery at harvest. An amazing bouquet of wild alpine fruits, with a touch of violet and cherry blossom. A graceful and layered style which builds like an orchestra: the fruit sensations slowly give way to a textured core, the tannins are silky yet with a sandy edge, showing their Graves identity. There is a lovely weight of fruit and yet it is also subtle, with the limestone freshness allowing the sweetness to return on the finish. Outstanding. So complex and also hugely pleasurable.
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Neal Martin, May 2021, Score: 94-96
The 2020 Les Carmes Haut-Brion was picked at 38hl/ha and matured in 80% new oak, 11% foudres and the remainder in clay amphorae. It has an intense bouquet of blackberry and wild strawberry, plus some light torrefactory scents, undergrowth and black pepper, all delineated and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with beautifully defined black fruit and delicate touches of mint, bell pepper and cracked black pepper. Though it shares the same surname, it is interesting to see how, stylistically, it is cut from a totally different cloth than Haut-Brion and La Mission, which each possess their own distinct attributes. Quite thickly textured and weighty on the finish with a long, spicy aftertaste, this is a serious Les Carmes Haut-Brion with a very long future ahead. Drink 2025 - 2050
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Antonio Galloni, December 2022, Score: 100
The 2020 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a total stunner. For the first time I can remember, Les Carmes Haut-Brion marries all of its elements so well that nothing stands out. In the past, the high percentage of Franc and/or the whole clusters were evident. The 2020 is the first modern vintage in which all the elements are so well balanced. Dark red/purplish fruit, rose petal, mint, lavender, dried herbs and incense all build in a ravishing Pessac-Léognan that will take your breath away. The 2020 is 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot, picked between September 14 to 26, which is early here. Whole cluster was 55%. Vinification took place over five weeks, using very gentle extraction, with no pumpovers or punchdowns. Aging was 80% new oak, 11% 18hL foudres and 9% amphorae. In tasting, the 2020 is simply magnificent. There are no soloists, just the most exceptionally vivid, breathtaking orchestra imaginable. The 2020 is a masterpiece from Technical Director Guillaume Pouthier and his team. Don't miss it! Drink 2030-2070
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Antonio Galloni, June 2021, Score: 95-97+
The 2020 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is dazzling, but it is also a wine of reserve and understatement. I image it will be some years, at the very least, be fore the 2020 is ready to show all it has to offer. Today, it is not particularly expressive. The aromatics, which are usually so penetrating are quite shy, although the significant presence of Cabernet Franc that distinguishes this wine comes through in its energy and sense of drive. I can't wait to taste the 2020 from bottle, and won't be at all surprised if it turns out even better than this note suggests. Drink 2035 - 2060
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Decanter, May 2021, Score: 96
Clear violet edging to the colour, vibrant and enticing. This is elegant and full of personality, with high floral aromatics, a ton of dark fruits, and a blueberry dominance that gives a classic Carmes Haut Brion feel. Slightly austere, slightly bitter, both in the best possible expression of those terms, where it is mouthwatering and moreish. A juicy salinity ensures this is a wine that doesn't overpower, its flavours are revealed slowly and carefully, tugging backwards, with a texture that heads towards linen rather than silk - meaning that you don't glide through, you carefully step through well-placed tannins and fruits. There is clear delicacy here, and with 55% whole bunch fermentation - the highest level that they have done to date. 3.62pH (they harvested this at almost 1% ABV higher), fermented with their own natural yeasts. Highest percentage of the two Cabernets on recent record (before 2010 Carmes was regularly at 50% Merlot). Strong candidate for the score moving upwards when in bottle. Drink 2028-2048
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Wine Cellar Insider, May 2021, Score: 96-98
Garnet in color, the wine opens with tobacco leaf, cigar box, thyme, herbs, flowers and red berries. Medium/full-bodied, vibrant, fresh and focused on its purity of fruit and elegance, this sublime wine is silky, sweet and sensuous. This finish is long and refined, with sweet, ripe cherries, dark cocoa, spice, herbs and cigar wrapper with a cool touch of salt and crushed rock in the endnotes. The wine was made using 55% whole bunch clusters during fermentation. From a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot, 13.7% ABV. The wine is aging in 80% new, French oak which is already close to fully integrated.
Producer
Château les Carmes Haut-Brion
Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion is one of the tiniest and least known Pessac Leognans. Only a fraction over 4.5 hectares, it is superbly placed - a stone's throw from Haut Brion and La Mission Haut Brion. Many believe Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion is close to the style of its neighbours as the terroir is basically the same. Due to the minute quantities produced, it is not the easiest wine to find and is sought after the world...Read more
Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion is one of the tiniest and least known Pessac Leognans. Only a fraction over 4.5 hectares, it is superbly placed - a stone's throw from Haut Brion and La Mission Haut Brion. Many believe Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion is close to the style of its neighbours as the terroir is basically the same. Due to the minute quantities produced, it is not the easiest wine to find and is sought after the world over.Read less
Region
Pessac-Léognan
Stretching from the rather unglamorous southern suburbs of Bordeaux, for 50 km along the left bank of the river Garonne, lies Graves. Named for its gravelly soil, a relic of Ice Age glaciers, this is the birthplace of claret, despatched from the Middle Ages onwards from the nearby quayside to England in vast quantities. It can feel as though Bordeaux is just about red wines, but some sensational white wines are produced in this area from a blend of sauvignon blanc, Semillon and, occasionally, muscadelle grapes, often fermented and aged in barrel. In particular, Domaine de Chevalier is renowned for its superbly complex whites, which continue to develop in bottle over decades. A premium appellation, Pessac-Leognan, was created in 1987 for the most prestigious terroirs within Graves. These are soils with exceptional drainage, made up of gravel terraces built up in layers over many millennia, and consequently thrive in mediocre vintages but are less likely to perform well in hotter years. These wines were appraised and graded in their own classification system in 1953 and updated in 1959, but, like the 1855 classification system, this should be regarded with caution and the wines must absolutely be assessed on their own current merits.
