Château Les Carmes Haut Brion, Pessac Léognan, 2024

Name: Château Les Carmes Haut Brion, Pessac Léognan
Brand: Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion
Price: 354 GBP

Available Vintages

all 2006 2015 2020 2021 2023 2024

justerini & brooks tasting note

Since Guillaume Pouthier moved to Carmes Haut Brion from Chapoutier, he has presided over a quiet revolution, turning this Pessac Leognan chateau into one of the most distinctive and sought after wines in Bordeaux. Using 52% whole bunch fermentations, Guillaume favours very passive extractions, "infusion" appears to be the key, with no pump overs or pigeage, but a constantly submerged cap This blend of 48% Cabernet Franc, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Merlot offers gorgeous aromas of violets, peonies, iris and roses accompanied by fragrant blackcurrants and cherry flecked with notes of cigar smoke, eucalyptus and graphite. The mid-palate is so vivid, brimming with sumptuous crème de cassis and minerals, culminating in a long finish with notes of blood orange, clove, a little bramble, sous bois and fine salts. From start to finish this is all about beautifully detailed, floral, aromatic fruit. Very sensitively handled, Guillaume has produced another outstanding wine, which ranks as one of the most seductive and most successful of the whole vintage. Alas, this sort of quality came at a cost – yields are painfully low.

critic reviews

95-97/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,The Wine Independent

Deep garnet-purple colored. Slowly unfurls to reveal classic Franc notes of red currant jelly, fresh blackberries, and pencil shavings, followed by hints of rose oil, fragrant soil, and crushed rocks. The light to medium-bodied palate shimmers with electric red and black berry flavors, framed by firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing on a lingering ferrous note. Nice!

DRINKING WINDOW 2029 - 2059

date of review 05/2025

94-96/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2024 Les Carmes Haut-Brion contains more Cabernet Franc at 48% of the blend. Picked between September 17 and 27 using 52% whole bunch, this is aged in 70% new barrels, 19% new <em>foudres</em> and 11% amphora. This has impressive fruit concentration on the nose with redcurrant and blackberry fruit, hints of cassis and a dab of dark chocolate. Fine delineation. After time, there is something that nods to the Northern Rhône without losing typicité. The palate is medium-bodied and fresh with fine tannins, a subtle pepperiness imparted by the whole bunches and a tingle of <em>pain d'épices</em> towards the finish. Very harmonious and very delicious, this should provide 20 to 25 years of drinking pleasure. 13.2% abv.

DRINKING WINDOW 2031 - 2060

date of review 05/2025

94/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

Inky depths to the colour, touch of reduction on the opening as is often the case with En Primeur Carmes, this delivers energy, density, clarity. Austerity on the finish, but plenty of interest, savoury and muscular juicy black fruits, expect a wine that is built around about texture, architecture and savour, which is not something that I have found in many bottles in the vintage. 90% new oak, split between barrels and casks, 11% amphoras. Harvest 17 to 27 September. 3.61 pH, clay and limestone, 60 years old average vine age. 46hl/H yield in vineyard, 41hl/h after picking selection, then 24hl/h after cellar selection. All press used, no chaptilisation.

DRINKING WINDOW 2030 - 2042

date of review 04/2025

93-96/100Yohan Castaing,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

One of the most impressive wines of the vintage, the 2024 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a striking effort that sets itself apart with seamless integration, even at this early stage, and a strong sense of identity. Poised, precise and unmistakably singular, it opens in the glass with a perfumed bouquet of iris, violet, dark berries, cherries, vine smoke and gentian. Medium to full-bodied, supple and notably fleshy for the vintage, its layered and textural, with a sappy, enveloping core of pure, vibrant fruit framed by finely grained, velvety tannins, culminating in a long, precise and gently stemmy finish. This is one of the rare wines of the vintage where sappiness is expressed with such finesse and charm, thanks in no small part to meticulous vineyard work and severe sorting in the winery. The blend is composed of 48% Cabernet Franc, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Merlot, and it's maturing in a combination of 70% new oak, 19% foudres and 11% amphorae.

DRINKING WINDOW 2026 - 2044

date of review 04/2025