Le C des Carmes Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan

I agree with WojteG; this C had tension and a real inner core, no-middle-of-the-road wine, fresh fruit, cherries indeed, soft rose peppers, concentrated in the midtaste, elegant bitters, tasty tannins and a vivid aftertaste.

2016 vintage

2 hours in the decanter, 1 sip and wine went to decanter for another hour. Now we can talk. Big, juicy, structured wine. A lot of sweet red cherries, red cranberry, tobacco, oak, leather, but also blackberry, minerals, plum ( great addition). Big, but nice, fresh acidity, soft tannins. Not too much spice in the finish. Complicated, not easy going wine. Classical music. Jeff Leve - 93 JS - 93 Tim Atkin - 93 RP - 91 Decanter - 91 …

2016 vintage

Quel vin parfait, bel équilibre typique de ce Bordeaux.

2016 vintage

From the beginning till the end this wine is correct, fruit, fresh, mild tannins, well balanced. However, it is too weak in the middle, lacking any intensity. Despite that, a very nice wine, P/Q OK.

2016 vintage

Absolument aucun défaut pour ce graves. Il est d'une belle intensité, typique, très harmonieux, et à point maintenant. Il peut aussi encore être conservé sans problème. Savoureux et équilibré.

2016 vintage

Le Lavandou/Bormes 2022-Summer holidays: See my 2/5/2021 tasting note; again the same impession. The wine is good, specially its perfect citrus, but not wholly convincing, as the wine was befote. Still lovely, but maybe missing a bit concentration in the midtaste to be excellent.

2016 vintage

Tasted at the Chateau. Aromatic, fresh with red fruit and spices. Medium bodied, fine tannins, red fruit, spice, vibrant acids.

2016 vintage

Nose: Prickly sweet fruit, cocoa, some ethanol. One review that I read stated that "there are some gorgeous floral aromatics of peony and iris that jump out of the glass". I didn't find anything like that here. Palate: Very tart, sour cherry, unresolved tannins with an acidic finish that seems out of balance to me.

2016 vintage

I was surprised to read that this is from a completely different parcel of land (~1 mile away from the 1st wine's vineyards) than Carmes HB, and thus is more like the Clos du Marquis to LLC than a true 2nd wine. It also contains completely different grape varieties (roughly half merlot and half cabernet sauvignon) compared to Carmes HB, which is cab franc dominated. Honestly, I would have guessed this has a lot of cab franc in it, but …

2016 vintage

A bit less expressive than the previous bottles (see my tasting notes). Is this wine closing a little?

2016 vintage

Very drinkable, crowd pleaser. Not a lot of tannic structure. Might develop some complexity with time in bottle but I am worried about the lack of backbone.

2016 vintage

Having drunk this wine a couple of times over the last year I stand by my assessment, that this is one of the most interesting second wines in Bordeaux. Whether it is also one of the best depends on your stylistic preferences. This is not about deep colour, full body and plump fruit. Instead we have a wine with a vertical mouthfeel and an outstanding precision to its flavours of cherries, cherry pits, bramble fruit, rose petals and mineral scents. …

2016 vintage

See my tasting note from 10/2019, again overwhelming, smooth and elegant, creamy, friendly spicy and with ripe tannins.

2016 vintage

Trade tasting: 92/93. A beautiful wine and low alcohol! 13%. It had aromas of cedar, gravel, plums and, cassis, blackcurrants and flowers. Its medium bodied nicely oaked spherical yet silky, velvety freshly fruited blue, black and red fruits palate ends longish, fresh and tapering with nice tannin. 13%. This was under 30 Euros so in the Bordeaux context is good value. Drink in 5-10 years or now!

2016 vintage

Coravin-fun: the pirate to fool the others, creamy, silky flow over the mid palate, well balanced that young, deep and tight still, rich and very quaffable, **(*-?), around 90,91

2016 vintage

(5/7/20) As a rule, I’m not very interested in second wines—even those that derive from the better producers. It’s not that these wines can’t be good or even great; it’s that their QPR tends to be low, especially if they come from a more expensive estate. Having said that, this is no ordinary second wine. As has been noted by another CT reviewer, unlike many second wines, the fruit that goes into this wine is all sourced from a vineyard …

2016 vintage

N: Unkle, erdige Töne, Sauerkirsche, rohes Fleisch, Blumenwiese, dezenter Stallton, Haselnuss G: präsente aber gut eingebundene Gerbstoffe, balsamisch konzentriert.

2016 vintage

Ripe fruits, a rather velvety texture, non-invasive tannins, good balance. It may have been missing an X factor that makes your eyes spark, but it is a well-made wine that can still age for a while. Fruits mûrs, une texture plutôt veloutée, tannins pas envahissants, bon équilibre. Il manquait peut être le petit plus qui met des paillettes dans les yeux, mais c'est un vin bien fait qui peut encore vieillir un bon moment.

2016 vintage

So gentle (super ripe tannins), so smooth (ripe, but not too), so fruity (lots of fat cherries) and doted with the right push of vanilla; this wine needs 6 to 8 hours of aeration and loves decanting just before tasting. Catch a bottle now!

2016 vintage

Since my last encounter in May (see TN) the wine has improved markedly (or recovered from delivery?). While it was mainly a "nose-wine" at that time, which was quite shut-down in the mouth, this is no longer the case. Now we have textbook power without weight and a good finish as well. Although the ultra fine tannins remain in control and the wine is almost bitingly fresh, it now offers great early drinking pleasure and shows more than just a …

2016 vintage

With the grand vin having doubled in price lately it is reassuring that this second label can offer quite a similar style of wine, although it is sourced from a different vineyard and weighs towards Cabernet Sauvignon instead of Cabernet Franc. The colour is a dark red, translucent and glossy, with a ruby, even slightly pinkish rim. Elegant and really nice to look at. The nose starts with distinctive high-toned raspberries and flowers; also some forest floor becomes noticeable. Yet …

2016 vintage

Fresh, sweet, black fruits and boysenberry, with licorice and smoke to complicate the character. Silky, fresh fruits, soft tannins, with a juicy plum and salty, mineral driven finish that has body, finesse, length and the ability to age. Using, 25% whole bunches in the vinification, the wine was made from 51% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. 14% alcohol, with a pH of 3.5. The harvest took place September 28 to October 8.

2016 vintage

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Le C des Carmes Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan

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