Château Les Carmes Haut Brion, Pessac Léognan, 2016

39% Cabernet Franc, 41% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Carmes Haut Brion is beautifully situated in the suburbs of Pessac, near to Haut Brion. Their wines have been making waves and have achieved some mighty high scores. The 2016 is certainly trying to make a statement - big, impressive, globs of glycerol, masses of extract, large-scale tannins - this is punchy stuff, but it just about works, there's enough freshness and lift and whereas in the past where one wonders whether the tannins will ever become cohesive, you can see a future here. Give it a while!