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.
Jeb Dunnuck (June 2022)Score: 93-95/100
Technical Director Olivier Pouthier crafted one of the wines of the vintage at Les Carmes Haut-Brion. The 2021 possesses mind-blowing intensity and stunning persistence. Bright red-fleshed fruit, blood orange, mint, dried flowers and exotic spice caress the senses as the 2021 shows off its sheer allure. I don't think I have ever tasted a young Carmes with this level of precision. The blend is 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot, aged in 70% new oak, 20% new foudres and 10% in amphora. As always, Les Carmes sees some whole cluster, 45% in 2021, an unusual technique in Bordeaux, but one that works so well here. The 2021 is a magical wine. That's all there is to it.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous (May 2022)Score: 96-98/100Drink 2031-2061
Garnet in color, the wine opens with tobacco leaf, cigar box, thyme, herbs, flowers, espresso and red berries. Medium/full-bodied, vibrant, fresh and focused on its purity of fruit as well as its elegance. This sublime wine is silky, and sensuous. This finish is long and refined, with sweet, ripe cherries, dark cocoa, spice, herbs, a drop of citrus and cigar wrapper with a cool touch of salt and crushed rock that come out in the endnotes. The wine was made using 45% whole bunch clusters during fermentation. From a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot, 13.5% ABV, pH 3.6. The wine is aging in a combination of 70% new, French oak, 20% foudres and 10% amphora.
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider (May 2022)Score: 94-96/100Drink 2025-2050
The 2021 Les Carmes Haut-Brion includes 45% whole bunch, the same as the previous vintage with 70% new oak, 20% in new 1800-litre foudres and some in amphora. Interestingly, the whole bunch contribution is less evident here compared to the Le C des Carmes, more assimilated with touches of flint and graphite infusing the mineral-rich black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with firm grip on the entry, plenty of crunchy black fruit infused with graphite, cracked black pepper and cedar underlying marine influences. With a surfeit of freshness on the saline finish, tensile with an almost penetrating minerally aftertaste, this will deserve 5-7 years in bottle. 13.5% alcohol
Neal Martin, Vinous (May 2022)Score: 93-95/100Drink 2027-2055
The 2021 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Merlot, aging in 70% new barriques, 20% new 18 hl foudres, and 10% amphoras. Deep garnet-purple colored, it shoots out of the glass with vivacious notes of kirsch, black cherry preserves, cassis, and blueberries, plus hints of candied violets, star anise, cinnamon toast, and Ceylon tea. Medium-bodied, the palate shimmers with intense red and black fruit sparks, framed by grainy, multi-layered tannins and fantastic tension, finishing long and mineral-laced. While the weight is ethereal, the intensity is mind-blowing and an amazing achievement in this vintage. The Cabernet Franc contribution makes this a triumph, as does the inspired use of stems. Batches with ripe stems are selected for whole-bunch fermentation and the rest are destemmed. 45% was selected for whole-bunch fermentation this year, 10% less than in 2020. if you can put aside your stylistic preconceptions of what Bordeaux is and embrace this bright, energetic style with amazing textural complexity (from oak, stem, and grape skin tannins), you will love this evocative, age-worthy beauty. pH 3.6.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent (May 2022)Score: 93-95+/100Drink 2026-2050
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.
Georgie Hindle, Decanter (April 2022)Score: 96/100Drink 2027-2050
A brilliant and intensely individual wine, the 2021 Les Carmes Haut-Brion shows immense potential. Wafting from the glass with aromas of rich berries and plums mingled with notions of raw cocoa, loamy soil, rose petals, burnt sage and vine smoke, it's medium to full-bodied, vibrant and seamless, with a deep, dynamic core of fruit and a long, penetrating finish. Transcending the limitations of the vintage, it wouldn't surprise me were this wine ultimately to surpass the 2019 and 2020 in quality. It's a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot that's maturing in 70% new oak and the rest in 15-hectoliter foudres. Tasted twice.
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (April 2022)Score: 94-97/100
Inky colour, enticing texture and aromatics, accomplished construction with no drop of density through the mid palate. They use reductive techniqes during ageing so you always have to give Carmes time in the glass to open up (even after En Primeur, when in bottle), and you are richly rewarded by a bit of patience, with damson, black cherry, rich chocolate, liqourice, smoked earth, mandarin peel, rose bud and mouthwartering acidities. This has tension and subdued power, and is a successful interpretation of the vintage. 42hl/h yields, same as 2020, no frost, no mildew, no coulure. Harvest as in Sauternes; with three passes through the vineyard at harvest. No chaptilisation. Harvest September 23 to October 1. 3.6ph, 45% whole grape, only 5% less than last year. 70% new oak, 20% large sized still new but 1800 litres, and 10% amphoras. A potential upscore in bottle.
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux (April 2022)Score: 94/100Drink 2027-2040
Les Carmes Haut-Brion is clearly one of the most successful red wines of the vintage in 2021. True to form, the integration of tannins and aromatic lift is exceptional. The wine has an impressive deep purple colour. The compact, floral, spice and herbal aromas need coaxing from the glass, but there is plenty there waiting to unfurl. With 40% whole-bunch fermentation used, the aromatics are complex but don’t veer too close to the herbal side and this aromatic flair integrates beautifully with the primary fruit. The clarity of fruit of the palate is impressive with fresh blackcurrant, blackberry and black cherry. The tannins are beautifully layered and there is plenty of flesh on the bones with plush fleshy fruit filling the mid-palate and a long finish. 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot
FINE+RARE (April 2022)
Bordeaux / France
En Primeur
2025-2061