Description

Le Château les Carmes Haut-Brion est une véritable icône bordelaise issue d'un environnement privilégié. Un lieu qui bénéficie d'un terroir composé de graviers, de sable, d'argile et de calcaire, permettant à des cépages tels que le Cabernet franc, le Cabernet sauvignon et le Merlot d'atteindre leur pleine expression.

Fiche technique

Le domaine
Château les Carmes Haut Brion
Type de vin
Rouge
Millésime
2021
Alcool
13.5% vol.
Cépage
40% Cabernet franc, 35% Cabernet sauvignon, 25% Merlot
Origine
Pessac-Léognan

Dégustation

Vue
Couleur rouge rubis brillant.
Nez
Extrêmement corsé, avec des notes de fruits mûrs, de cassis et de mûres, des arômes floraux, de fumée et de cèdre.
Bouche
De corps complet à tubulaire, le vin s'étire désormais. Fraîcheur et buvabilité. Délicatesse explosive, finesse minérale, atmosphère juteuse et résineuse, notes d'iris et de violette, fleur de sureau, épices noires et piquantes.
Température de service
Il est recommandé de servir à 16 °C.
Garde
Optimal jusqu'en 2055 environ, à condition qu'il soit conservé dans de bonnes conditions.

Vignoble et élaboration

Size
Sept hectares.
Année de plantation
Vignobles d'un âge moyen de 43 ans.
Sol
Mélange de gravier, de sable, d'argile et de calcaire.
Vendanges
Vendange manuelle, 100 % sélectionnées à la main.
Vinification
Élaboration dans toutes les cuves sans foulage et en partie par fermentation de grappes entières. Cuves utilisées pour la fermentation alcoolique : cuves tronconiques thermorégulées en cuves inox, cuves en acier (60 hectolitres), cuves en bois (76 hectolitres), cuves en béton (50 hectolitres). Fermentation initiale de 35 jours. Fermentation malolactique en fût.
Elevage
Rouge crianza prévue de 24 mois (70 % en fûts de chêne neufs, 20 % en cuves de 18 hectolitres et 10 % en jarres en terre cuite).

L'avis des experts

James Suckling:

The texture and weight make this wine classy and unique with subtle berries, chocolate, bark and hints of cloves and dried flowers. Graphite. Medium- to full-bodied with very integrated, fine and lightly chewy tannins with lots of polish and focus. Juicy and crunchy. So much spice and earth. Average vine age of the cabernet franc is 80 years. 45% whole-bunch. 40% cabernet franc, 35% cabernet sauvignon and 25% merlot. Give this time, but it’s already a fascinating young wine. Try after 2027.

Decanter:

Beautiful aromatic complexity on the nose, floral nuances and expressive blackcurrant, black cherry and dark chocolate but you're really getting the perfumed Cabernet fruit. This has an instant presence in the mouth, fully flavoured and juicy but so balanced, nothing sticking out, with the elegance of the ripe cool fruit touching the sides of the mouth. Tannins are present but fine and gently grippy with detail and definition to them. This has a lot of life for the vintage, one of the more full, round wines with chewy, fleshy tannins. The Cabernet gives backbone and density, the Merlot ripe red fruits, and then the chalky, slate, pencil lead, graphite salinity of the terroir comes in on the finish, giving that nuance, the sense of place and the vintage. Great rise and persistence all the way through, such drive but also lift, it doesn't let up. A stand-out wine - extremely classy and memorable. Skilled winemaking on show from Guillaume Pouthier. 5% more tannins than in 2020 which was already high. Grapes were picked at a natural alcohol of 14.2% so no chaptalisation here. 3.6pH. 45% whole bunches. Ageing in 70% new oak, 20% new foundre and 10% amphoras.

The Wine Advocate:

The 2021 Les Carmes Haut-Brion has turned out beautifully in bottle, though it is more introverted and brooding than it appeared during en primeur tastings, unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries mingled with spices, loamy soil, licorice, rose petals, gentian and black pepper. Medium to full-bodied, deep and seamless, with a concentrated core of fruit framed by ripe but abundant structuring tannins and bright acids, it concludes with a long, palate-staining finish. As readers may remember, it's a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot.