Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion
Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend
Pessac-Léognan, Graves, Bordeaux, France
Blend of 37% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 29% Merlot, aged in 80% new French oak, deep Ruby color, purple edges, with aromas of dark fruits, floral spice and smoky cedar notes. On the palate flavors of blackberry, plum and black currants with cacao, tobacco, licorice and smoky spice. Fine grainy tannins, well balanced on long finish, ending with fruit, cedar, smoke and earthy mineral character. Very nice, but needs a few more years of bottle age to really enjoy, and will last for several decades!
Blend of 37% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 29% Merlot, aged in 80% new French oak, deep Ruby color, purple edges, with aromas of dark fruits, floral spice and smoky cedar notes. On the palate flavors of blackberry, plum and black currants with cacao, tobacco, licorice and smoky spice. Fine grainy tannins, well balanced on long finish, ending with fruit, cedar, smoke and earthy mineral character. Very nice, but needs a few more years of bottle age to really enjoy, and will last for several decades!
Nov 30th, 2024
The 2018 Les Carmes Haut-Brion was aged in 75% new oak with a touch more matured in foudres. It includes 55% whole bunches. This has a slight confit-like aroma on the nose, plush cranberry and wild strawberry intermingling with cassis and violet; aromatically, this is the more precocious recent vintage. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, fine tannins, clean and pure with excellent acidity keeping everything on an even keel towards the finish. The 2018 has a caressing texture and is very persistent. I might quibble and say that I just find the nose a little trop, but the palate is superb. Tasted at the Les Carmes Haut-Brion vertical at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2022)
The 2018 Les Carmes Haut-Brion was aged in 75% new oak with a touch more matured in foudres. It includes 55% whole bunches. This has a slight confit-like aroma on the nose, plush cranberry and wild strawberry intermingling with cassis and violet; aromatically, this is the more precocious recent vintage. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, fine tannins, clean and pure with excellent acidity keeping everything on an even keel towards the finish. The 2018 has a caressing texture and is very persistent. I might quibble and say that I just find the nose a little trop, but the palate is superb. Tasted at the Les Carmes Haut-Brion vertical at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2022)
