Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2020

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.

Gorgeous aromas of crushed berries with orange peel. Fresh spices. Flowers. Salty. Full and so bright and vivid, with an elegance and beauty at the beginning and then it goes on and on. You see the intense fine tannins at the end. Dusty and bright. Unique wine. 55% whole cluster. 80% new wood, 10% amphora, and 10% foudra.

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!

Medium/full-bodied, concentrated, vibrant, fresh, refined, elegant, and completely focused on its purity of fruit. Initially, you find notes of flowers, tobacco leaves, thyme, red pit fruits, mint, and an array of spices. The fruit gracefully unfolds on your palate with nuances of sea salt, herbs, spices, red and black currants, cocoa, and espresso. The long, seamless, vivacious finish, with its spicy, mint, and oceanic edge takes its time building in intensity and width as it lingers. Drink from 2027-2060.

Dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, discreet brightening on rim. Hints of noble wood, ripe cherry fruit, delicate nougat, wild berries, candied orange zest, inviting bouquet. Juicy, ripe cherries, fine fruit expression in the texture, well integrated, ripe tannins, peppery aftertaste, certain ageing potential.

From a bottle purchased stateside, the 2020 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a riveting, 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.

Kunz Fassprobe 2021: (40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 13.65% alc. vol.) A fresh, deep, elegant, complex, silky, spicy bouquet with blue and black berries, black cherry, cereal bar notes, cedar and herbs. The palate is tightly knit, layered, fresh and well-balanced, with dense, fine, creamy fruit, plenty of very fine tannins, an elegant, finely concentrated structure, a varied, powerful, fresh aromatic profile, very good minerality, and a very long, fresh, aromatic finish with lots of lingering flavors.

(40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 13.65% alc. vol.) Fresh, deep, elegant, complex, silky, spicy bouquet with blue and black berries, black cherries, cereal bars, cedar and herbs. Densely woven, multi-layered, fresh, well-balanced palate with dense, fine, creamy fruit, lots of very fine tannins, an elegant, finely concentrated structure, a varied, powerful, fresh aromatic profile, very good minerality, and a very long, fresh, aromatic finish with plenty of lingering flavours. 19/20 2027 - 2050

Inky plum colour, violet and peony aromatics followed up by orange zest and pencil lead on the opening beats. Just so much depth, quality and characte, chalky tannins are softening just enough to show the form of the fruit bneath, giving a sense of architecture and form. Sculpted blue and black fruits appear as things expand through the mid palate, with crushed mint leaf and mouthwatering oyster shell on the finish. The flavours evolve and the character emerges the longer you linger over this glass, and it's an excellent vintage of Carmes, with sculpted delicous fruits. 3.58ph, 55% whole cluster, 80% new oak, 10% foudres, 10% amohora for ageing.

The 2020 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 26% Merlot with a pH of 3.62 and aged for 24 months in 80% new oak, 11% foudres, and 9% terracotta amphoras. A proportion of whole-bunch fermentation was used, depending on the suitability of the batch: 50-60% whole bunch was generally used on the Merlot and Cabernet Franc, less on the Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it slowly releases the most gorgeous perfume of violets, dark chocolate, black cherry preserves, and creme de cassis, followed by suggestions of crushed rocks, tar, wild sage, and anise. The medium-bodied palate delivers a solid foundation of firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness to support the tight-knit black fruit and mineral layers, finishing long and perfumed.

94-95

A deeply aromatic nose with notes of black fruit and spices, underpinned by an elegant mineral touch. Initially seeming to hang by a thread, the palate then unfolds with magnificent breadth in a velvety crescendo, already showing remarkable tannic balance.

Some wines captivate from the outset, signalling in a matter of nanoseconds who they are and where they’re headed. And when, at the same time, they also tell you where they come from, you know you’re in the presence of something truly great! Fundamentally youthful, Carmes Haut-Brion reveals itself step by step… which is nothing new for its style. What is new, however, is the even sharper level of precision on the aromatic front. Naturally, close attention is paid to the vintage and its impact on the wine: the point is not to endure a vintage, but to anticipate it—turning a constraint into an advantage. More than ever, freshness and breadth are on the agenda. In 2020, it is crucial to have a sense of freshness, supported in particular by the 55% whole clusters used during vinification. Where Carmes 2020 stands out is in its ability not to lay claim to sheer amplitude. It doesn’t want to show off; it wants to be linear, with a more restrained attack, then spherical on the mid-palate, finishing with salinity and tension. The wine follows an incredible logic of continuity and integration. One might perhaps fault the finish, which does not yet manage to carry its grandeur seamlessly, but time will build the bridges. Like the one at the Carmes Haut-Brion cellar that allows us to step inside. Captain Pouthier and his crew are keeping the course toward excellence! In keeping with the vintage’s character, 2020 is brilliant—just like 2021, moreover, which excels in precision. It’s not a matter of vintages, but of interpretation and the ability to tell the story.

The nose is elegant and aromatic, with fine depth, lovely power, finesse, indulgent appeal, complexity, and an airy character to its power and intensity. It reveals notes of vibrant raspberry, fresh/vivid blueberry and, more lightly, strawberry, alongside touches of cornflower, crushed small berries, and hints of vanilla, toast, lilac and fresh flowers, with subtle accents of Timut pepper. The palate is nicely fresh, mineral and balanced, offering great precision, a clear guideline, a straight, focused frame, a rounded/spherical feel, finesse and a taut, delicate tension. On the palate, the wine expresses notes of plump/juicy blackberry, blackcurrant and, more lightly, wild strawberry, complemented by iodine/saline touches, and hints of fresh blueberry, small blue fruits, vanilla, chocolate and toast. The tannins are supple, mellow and savoury. A pleasingly extended finish/length. A very fine, silky, fresh and airy persistence.

Logo on the cork: DIAM30 Very dark color. Highly aromatic nose with ripe, subtle fruit. A smoky, creamy touch when the glass is swirled. Precise on the attack, very, very aromatic on the mid-palate, constantly melting in texture, the wine glides across the palate. It lingers long—comfortable, deep, yet dense. Superb! Goes down all by itself! Unlike the other bottles sealed with natural cork, this one is fitted with a DIAM30 cork.

This is the one that has a little more of everything! More richness, complexity, concentration, fruit, suppleness… It opens with a charming nose of iris and peony, followed by blackcurrant, wild blackberry and blueberry. You notice silky, ultra-fine tannins, and the mineral signature of the clay subsoil comes through. And to top it off, it’s deliciously indulgent!