Fresh and racy, with beautiful cherries, dried orange peels, peppercorn and spices. It’s so vibrant and agile on the palate, with medium body and crunchy, lively tannins. Juicy and tense. Firm but very fine and silky in the end. 62% cabernet sauvignon, 36% merlot and 2% petit verdot. Already attractive, but better after a year or two.
94 points, James Suckling (Apr 2024)
The 2021 Le C des Carmes Haut-Brion contains 22% whole-bunch (to be exact). It has a lovely bouquet with peony and light white flower scents percolating through the black fruit. This is fresh and cohesive. The palate is medium-bodied with a very saline entry, showing black olive mixed with blackberry and bilberry fruit. Finely structured toward the finish, this is an absolutely delicious Le C des Carmes Haut-Brion that will get even better with bottle age.
92+ points, Neal Martin, Vinous (Feb 2024)
The 2021 Le C des Carmes Haut-Brion, a blend driven by Cabernet Sauvignon, possesses a charming, gourmand bouquet with aromas of rose, cherries, violet, blueberry and spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, juicy and supple palate with a lively mid-palate and a delicate core of fruit that segues into a long, penetrating and mouthwatering finish.
92 points, Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate (Feb 2024)
Gentle extraction, smoked earth and coffe bean, with grippy salinity and juice. Touch of reduction right now but it opens to show great drinkability, capturing the parts of 2021 that make for an enjoyable, approachable and nuanced wine, with savoury blueberry and redcurrant fruits, and a wave of sage spice. Harvest September 30 to October 14, 3.55ph. 20% new oak, 8% amphoras, 20% whole grape. Ageing in 30hl oak vats, plus amphora for 24 months then 6 months in a concrete vats. First release coming in December 2024.
92 points, Jane Anson (Apr 2024)
A blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot, Le C des Carmes Haut-Brion 2021 has spent two years in barrel and one year in concrete vat. Hence this is a vat sample that hasn't been bottled yet. It has a deep garnet-purple color and it storms out of the glass with powerful notes of cassis, black cherries, and tar, followed by hints of crushed rocks, bay leaves, and pencil lead. Medium-bodied, the palate is bright, lively, and impactful, featuring firm, fine-grained tannins and loads of red and black berry sparks, finishing minerally. It should age very gracefully!
92 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent (Apr 2024)
Gorgeous strawberry and pink flower, vanilla and raspberry yoghurt accents with touches of blackcurrant leaf - really pretty and perfumed and expressive. Smooth and supple, this has a juicy and joyous expression. Lively summer red berry fruits, straight a touch lean and light, more like a Pinot really, but still with structure and body. Hints of salinity at the finish add to its drinkability. Accessible and drinkable if you like high acidity and bright strawberry fruit. Great balance and harmony, touches of grip by the tannins and a long persistence of flavour despite quite a light, ethereal body overall. Nice graphite and salty wet stone, chalky aspect that lingers.
92 points, Georgina Hindle, Decanter (Nov 2023)
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