Chateau Les Carmes Haut Brion 2017

WEINWISSER: "29 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 41 % Cabernet Franc, 30 % Merlot, 13,3 % vol, Produktion 40.000 Flaschen. 43 hl/ha. Dichtes Purpurgranat mit schwarzer Mitte und violettem Rand. Ein betörender Duft nach Schattenmorellen, tiefgründiger Würze und Heidelbeeren zeigt bereits die Grösse an. Im zweiten Ansatz runden Cassislikör, Brombeerstauden und Nougatpralinen sowie verführerische Veilchen das komplexe Bouquet ab. Am Gaumen mit seidiger Textur und perfekt stützenden, bereits abgerundeten Tanninen, hier ist alles am richtigen Platz. Die unglaubliche Frische gibt ihm Halt und Finesse. Im langen Finale katapultiert sich der Wein mit Wildkirsche und Wacholder sowie frischer Bleistiftmine nach ganz oben. Ein ganz grosser, klassischer Les Carmes, der gemäss Guillaume Pouthier die gleiche Konzentration wie letztes Jahr besitzt und für mich sogar noch über dem hochgelobten Vorjahr liegt. Damit setzt sich dieser «Must Buy» knapp vor den Nachbarn Haut-Brion und La Mission auf Platz 1 in der Appellation. Ein sensationelles Ergebnis."

DECANTER: "Brilliant wine that continues to impress three years on from the En Primeur tasting, with a creamy but restrained texture, precise black fruits with a spicy undertow. By this point Carmes had the highest percentage of Cabernet Franc on the Left Bank, and had really started to establish its own identity. It was also using a full 40% whole bunch winemaking, choosing only the ripest stems to include in the fermentation tanks, adding a twist of salinity on the finish and ensuring a dip of around 1% in potential alcohol levels at picking (this is a hot site close to the city centre). Owned by Patrice Pichet since 2011, with Guillaume Pouthier joining as director in 2012 - whose experience in the Rhône meant he was not afraid to use stems in winemaking, something traditionally shunned in Bordeaux. This wine shows the success of that approach, giving personality and poise. Needs another few years for the austerity to soften further. Drinking Window 2024 - 2042"

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Clearly a finesse styled wine with plenty of smoke, ripe red fruits, flowers and cigar box notes. Elegant, fresh, medium/full-bodied with lift and length, give the wine a decade to develop more nuances and complexities."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Aromas of graphite and spiced wood here. The fruit is nicely ripe, in the redder end of the berry spectrum. The palate has good depth and weight. Quite fine, fresh tannins carry plenty of red-plum flavor. Drink or hold."

JEB DUNNUCK: "Offering an Haut-Brion-like level of purity and precision, the 2017 Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion (41% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot, and 29% Cabernet Sauvignon) sports a vivid purple color as well as perfumed notes of blueberries, blackberries, unsmoked tobacco, crushed violets, and spring flowers. It’s not a blockbuster in the mold of the 2015 or 2016 (or 2018), but it has medium to full body, a beautiful elegance and purity, notable minerality, and an exceptional finish. It opens up with time in the glass, and I was able to follow a bottle for 3 days without it ever showing a hint of oxidation. Give bottles 4-5 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following 30 years or more. Guillaume Pouthier and consultant Stephane Derenoncourt have unquestionably raised the quality from this estate, and this 2017 ranks with the gems of Pessac as well as all of Bordeaux."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Composed of 41% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Les Carmes Haut-Brion was fermented using 40% whole clusters and aged for around 20 months in French oak barrels, 65% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple, it springs from the glass with fragrant notions of Black Forest cake, kirsch and black raspberries plus touches of cedar chest, red roses, black tea and dried mint. Medium bodied, the palate struts itself with great elegance and poise, featuring restrained, mineral-sparked red and black fruits with a firm, grainy texture and bold freshness, finishing long and perfumed."

WINE SPECTATOR: "A sanguine thread weaves around the core of steeped red and black currant fruit, with singed mesquite, iron and briar notes filling in along the way. The sanguine element leaves a mouthwatering echo at the end. A distinctive and alluring expression of the appellation. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2022 through 2036."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, feine dunkle Waldbeernote, ein Hauch von Bienenhonig, frische Zwetschken, Nougat, einladendes Bukett. Elegant, finessenreich strukturiert, rote Kirschen, mineralisch, ein feiner, balancierter Speisenwein, gutes Entwicklungspotenzial"