Descripción

Château les Carmes Haut-Brion es un auténtico icono de Burdeos proveniente de un entorno privilegiado. Un lugar que presume de un terruño compuesto por grava, arena, arcilla y piedra caliza que permite que las variedades como Cabernet franc, Cabernet sauvignon y Merlot alcancen su máxima expresión.

Ficha técnica

La bodega
Château les Carmes Haut Brion
Tipo
Tinto
Añada
2021
Grado
13.5% vol.
Variedad
40% Cabernet franc, 35% Cabernet sauvignon, 25% Merlot
Origen
Pessac-Léognan

Cata

Vista
Color rojo rubí brillante.
Nariz
Extremadamente compleja con notas de fruta madura, cassis y moras, aromas florales, humo y cedro.
Boca
De cuerpo completo a tubular, el vino ahora se está estirando. Frescura y bebibilidad. Delicadeza explosiva, finura mineral, atmósfera jugosa y resinosa, notas de iris y violeta, flor de saúco, especias negras y picantes.
Temperatura de servicio
Se recomienda servir a 16 ºC
Consumo
Óptimo hasta 2055 aproximadamente si se mantiene en buenas condiciones de conservación.

Viñedo y elaboración

Superficie
7 hectáreas.
Edad
Viñedos con una edad media de 43 años.
Suelo
Mezcla de grava, arena, arcilla y piedra caliza.
Cosecha
Vendimia manual 100% seleccionada a mano.
Vinificación
Elaboración en todos los depósitos sin estrujado y en parte mediante fermentación de racimos enteros. Cubas utilizadas en la fermentación alcohólica: tanques termorregulados troncocónicos de acero inoxidable, depósitos de acero (60 hectolitros), depósitos de madera (76 hectolitros), depósitos de hormigón (50 hectolitros). Fermentación inicial de 35 días. Maloláctica en barrica.
Envejecimiento
Crianza prevista de 24 meses (70% en barricas nuevas de roble. 20% tinas de 18 hectolitros y 10% en vasijas de terracota.

Opinión de los críticos

James Suckling:

The texture and weight make this wine classy and unique with subtle berries, chocolate, bark and hints of cloves and dried flowers. Graphite. Medium- to full-bodied with very integrated, fine and lightly chewy tannins with lots of polish and focus. Juicy and crunchy. So much spice and earth. Average vine age of the cabernet franc is 80 years. 45% whole-bunch. 40% cabernet franc, 35% cabernet sauvignon and 25% merlot. Give this time, but it’s already a fascinating young wine. Try after 2027.

Decanter:

Beautiful aromatic complexity on the nose, floral nuances and expressive blackcurrant, black cherry and dark chocolate but you're really getting the perfumed Cabernet fruit. This has an instant presence in the mouth, fully flavoured and juicy but so balanced, nothing sticking out, with the elegance of the ripe cool fruit touching the sides of the mouth. Tannins are present but fine and gently grippy with detail and definition to them. This has a lot of life for the vintage, one of the more full, round wines with chewy, fleshy tannins. The Cabernet gives backbone and density, the Merlot ripe red fruits, and then the chalky, slate, pencil lead, graphite salinity of the terroir comes in on the finish, giving that nuance, the sense of place and the vintage. Great rise and persistence all the way through, such drive but also lift, it doesn't let up. A stand-out wine - extremely classy and memorable. Skilled winemaking on show from Guillaume Pouthier. 5% more tannins than in 2020 which was already high. Grapes were picked at a natural alcohol of 14.2% so no chaptalisation here. 3.6pH. 45% whole bunches. Ageing in 70% new oak, 20% new foundre and 10% amphoras.

The Wine Advocate:

The 2021 Les Carmes Haut-Brion has turned out beautifully in bottle, though it is more introverted and brooding than it appeared during en primeur tastings, unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries mingled with spices, loamy soil, licorice, rose petals, gentian and black pepper. Medium to full-bodied, deep and seamless, with a concentrated core of fruit framed by ripe but abundant structuring tannins and bright acids, it concludes with a long, palate-staining finish. As readers may remember, it's a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot.