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Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2020

Reviews

100 -Decanter -

The best 2020s seem to be confident without showing off or shouting too loudly and this Carmes does just that. Focused and precise, this is complex and characterful, rich yet vibrant with a texture and taste that makes an impact straight away. Fresh black fruits, floral notes and sensational minerality do the talking - it has weight, density and structure - broad and bold yet svelte, it has direction and persistence, building quickly then settling and elongating with such clarity and purity. This is a wine you want to drink. Cool, classic, sharp and decisive with a flawless texture. Whereas 2019 was more generous, this is more classic and easy to understand. An excellent job - seemingly effortless winemaking in 2020 - and a bottle that is sure to be emptied pretty quickly.

98 -Jeb Dunnuck -

From a bottle purchased stateside, the 2020 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a riviting, utterly classic Pessac-Leognan that offers textbook darker currant fruits, scorched earth, tobacco, lead pencil, and smoky, truffly nuances, as well as a subtle floral hint with time in the glass. Based on 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance Merlot that saw a plenty of stems as well as 80% new oak, it's deep plum/ruby hued, has medium to full-bodied richness, a graceful, layered, elegant mouthfeel, polished, fine grained tannins, and a gorgeous finish. It's more approachable today than I would have imagined from barrel, and it actually reminds me of the 2019 with its understated elegance. It deserves a solid 7-8 years of bottle age and will be a 30, 40, 50+ year wine. It's another heavenly wine from Guillaume Pouthier that you probably couldn't have too much of in the cellar.

98 -James Suckling -

97 -Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -

The 2020 Les Carmes Haut-Brion has turned out beautifully, wafting from the glass with aromas of blackberries, red fruits, exotic spices, rose petals, raw cocoa and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and layered, it's intensely flavored but weightless, with a compelling sense of harmony and a long, orange-inflected finish. A blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot, it was vinified with some 65% whole bunch and attained 13.5% alcohol. This is the first vintage where Pouthier's methods (whole bunch with weighted cap and long élevage incorporating larger vessels) were applied writ large, and the results are striking.

95 -Vinous -

The 2020 Les Carmes Haut-Brion has an opulent bouquet of black cherries, blueberries and violets, with just a patina of new oak to be fully subsumed. The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy, ripe tannins. Very well balanced, it's quite a lascivious Pessac-Léognan, with a caressing and very peppery finish. Certainly, this represents one of the best vintages in the modern era under Guillaume Pouthier. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Technical Details

Blend 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot
Winemaker Guillaume Pouthier and Stéphane Derenoncourt
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Sub Region Graves
Appellation Pessac-Léognan
Vineyard Estate old vines, 43-years average age
Farming Method Organic, sustainable, and certified ISO 14001
Oak 80% new French oak, 11% foudres, and 9% terracotta amphorae
Fermentation All vats vinified without crushing, and partly by whole bunch fermentation. Fermented in a combination of temperature-controlled conical stainless steel tanks (60Hl), wooden tanks (76 Hl), and concrete tanks (50 Hl). Partial malolactic fermentation in barrel.
Aging / Cooperage 24 months in 80% new French oak, 11% foudres, and 9% terracotta amphorae
Alcohol 13.5%
Production 3000 cases

Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2020

Name: Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2020
Brand: First Bottle
SKU: 1014888
Price: 149.95 USD
Availability: OutOfStock

Bordeaux Blends | Bordeaux

DC100, JD98, JS98, WA97, VN95

Organic, sustainable, and certified ISO 14001

$250.00

$149.95

750ML

40% OFF RETAIL!

Carved out of the original Haut-Brion estate in the 16th century and managed by Carmelite monks for over two hundred years until the French Revolution, Les Carmes Haut-Brion is today one of only a handful of vineyards in the world with a genuine urban address: 20 rue des Carmes, in the city of Bordeaux itself. Since Patrice Pichet's acquisition in 2010, the estate has undergone a complete transformation, with winemakers Stéphane Derenoncourt and Guillaume Pouthier working in a spectacular gravity-fed, Philippe Starck-designed winery. The 2020 is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 26% Merlot, fermented with 55% whole clusters and aged in a mix of new oak, large foudres, and amphorae. Decanter awarded it 100 points, Jeb Dunnuck 98, James Suckling 98, Wine Advocate 97, Vinous 95. Antonio Galloni described it as simply magnificent, the most vivid and breathtaking wine he had encountered from this address. The price here is extraordinary for what's in the bottle. This is a serious cellar opportunity.

About The Producer

The story of Les Carmes Haut-Brion begins with the same Jean de Pontac who built Haut-Brion itself, who in 1584 donated a portion of his land — vineyards, meadows, and a water mill — to the Carmelite order, giving the estate both its name and its earliest chapter. The Carmelites tended the vines for over two centuries until the French Revolution forced the confiscation of church property, after which the estate passed through Bordeaux merchant hands before settling with the Chantecaille-Furt family for the better part of the 19th and 20th centuries. In 2010, real estate developer Patrice Pichet acquired the property and immediately set about a sweeping reinvention, bringing in Guillaume Pouthier (formerly technical director at Chapoutier in the Rhône) as winemaker and general manager, and commissioning a spectacular new winery designed by Philippe Starck and architect Luc Arsène-Henry — a structure that draws comparisons to a submarine and a dreadnought battleship, and stands as one of the most architecturally striking wine facilities in all of Bordeaux. The 4.7-hectare vineyard is the only one in the world to hold vines within the commune of Bordeaux itself, planted to roughly equal parts Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Pouthier introduced whole-cluster fermentation techniques unusual for Pessac-Léognan, and the results have been dramatic: Les Carmes Haut-Brion has become one of the most closely watched and critically acclaimed unclassified estates in the entire Bordeaux region.

$250.00

$149.95

750ML

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