Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2021

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.

Deep ruby colour. This has a ton of Carmes signature right from the first moment, expressive, beautiful cool climate character and expression. Nuanced sanlity, leaning into the savoury character of 2021 and rendering it vivid and precise, with violet and iris florals, chalky tannic grip, crushed red rose petals, pomegranate, mandarin, liqourice, blueberry. Natural yeast fermentation, 70% new oak, 10% amphoras. 45% whole bunches, which for Carmes is lower than it has been in recent years (2022 being an all time high at 70%). 3.6ph.

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.

Dark garnet, vivid core, purple hues at the rim. Pleasant herbal savouriness, black cherries, a touch of plums, a hint of mint and candied orange zest; an attractive bouquet. Complex, taut, dark berry fruit, sturdy, silky tannins, mineral and fresh on the finish. Full of energy with black cherries on the finish, great length. Wonderful elegance, certain ageing potential, perfectly balanced.

Tasted blind. Meaty, concentrated nose. Graves? Smells of soy sauce. Rich and hedonistic. Untrammelled by the vintage conditions. Lots of power but not sweetness. The first wine I have been tempted to swallow. Not that long though.

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.

I'd put the 2021 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion up with the crème de la crème of the vintage. Based on 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Merlot, aging in 80% new barrels, it offers a brilliant perfume of plum and black raspberry fruits supported by lots of spice and exotic floral notes. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has a rounded, expansive mouthfeel that's rare to find in the vintage, terrific mid-palate depth, moderate acidity, and a great finish. It's a singular, brilliant Pessac that will benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and cruise for 20-25+ in cold cellars. Enough can't be said about the quality and passion being brought to this estate by winemaker Guillaume Pouthier, and this is an estate readers need to be purchasing.