Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan 2022

The 2022 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a towering masterpiece from Technical Director Guillaume Pouthier. Dark and seamless in the glass, the 2022 presents an exotic mélange of black cherry, lavender, sage, blood orange, menthol, espresso and dried flowers, showing tremendous depth and substance in all of its dimensions. Time in the glass hints as to what is to come in the years and decades that follow. The 2022 is a co-ferment of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot done with 70% stems that saw six full weeks on the skins. Élevage is 70% new oak, 20% 18HL cask and 10% amphora. Most importantly, all the elements are so well balanced that nothing sticks out. Instead, it is the wine's total sense of harmony that is mind-blowing. Magnificent.

Drink 2030 - 2072

The remarkable 2022 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a strong candidate for the title of wine of the vintage. It's also one of the most singular, characterful wines being produced in the region today. Unfurling in the glass with complex aromas of blackberries and cherries mingled with notions of exotic spices, orange zest, pencil lead, rose petals and vine smoke, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a velvety attack that segues into a layered, seamless and multidimensional mid-palate framed by rich, powdery tannins. 

Pure, perfumed and penetrating, this blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot is a brilliant success that caps a decade of relentless work by Guillaume Pouthier, and his team that has seen Les Carmes Haut-Brion emerge as one of Bordeaux's leading estates. It checks in at a mere 13.5% alcohol, with a very healthy pH of 3.64.

The purity and focus here is impressive with blackcurrants, crushed stones and floral undertones. The whole-bunch character comes through clearly with rose-stem and floral aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, this is always so delicious but has lots of integrated, open-grained tannins. 70% whole-cluster fermentation. 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot. Idiosyncratic. So attractive now but will age beautifully.

I think one of the legendary wines in the vintage will be the 2022 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion, which comes from a tiny vineyard not far from Haut-Brion and is based on 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Merlot, vinified with 70% whole clusters, and aged 70% in new barrels, 20% in foudre, and 10% in amphora. 

You wouldn't know it by tasting it despite mostly being destemmed. It has a classic bouquet of ripe blackberries, cassis, leafy herbs, graphite, and violets, while in contrast, the C Des Carmes Haut-Brion, which is vinified with just 30% stems, is marked more by its stems. Full-bodied, concentrated, beautifully balanced, and with a rare mix of purity, freshness, and power, it will rival the 2018 as one of the finest vintages ever produced from this address. It's worth noting that this estate has a unique terroir in Pessac that includes some limestone in the soils, and this worked particularly well in 2022. 

Don't miss this wine.

An exceptional wine in 2022 by winemaker Guillaume Pouthier who has delivered a supremely drinkable, likeable and harmonious wine that perfectly balances fruit density, aromatic expressiveness, lively acidity and a less is more approach. Intensely fragrant on the nose, nuanced and expressive, open and beguiling with rose, jasmine, bramble fruit, red cherry, liquorice and slate. Tense and a touch strict on the palate, electric and thrilling with bright acidity and tannins that come in and give weight and texture to the frame.

Crushed velvet, smooth and salty, not plump or overly plush, instead well defined, focussed and precise. Silky, elegant with crystalline purity. A beautiful style married to a philosophy that works in hot vintages using whole bunch fermentation to lower the alcohol and give freshness to the wine. A standout success and a wine we’re going to want to finish. 3.64ph. 70% whole cluster. Ageing 70% new barrels, 20% 18hl casks, 10% amphoras. 98-100 points. 

Drink 2029 - 2050

The 2022 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 26% Merlot, 90% ageing in oak 70% new barriques, 20% 18hl casks) and 10% in amphoras.

Deep garnet-purple in colour, it pops out of the glass with lifted notes of redcurrant jelly, wild blueberries, blackcurrant pastilles, and lavender, leading to cerebral wafts of the cast-iron pan, dark chocolate and dusty soil with a hint of liquorice. The red and black berry flavours do pirouettes on the medium-bodied palate, featuring incredibly fine-grained tannins and fantastic tension that shimmer the very long mineral-laced finish. As usual, the alcohol is 13.5% the stem inclusion absorbs some alcohol during fermentation), and the pH is 3.64.

This vibrant, showy, immediately impactful wine flies in the face of traditional Bordeaux, carrying it off with bags of grace and style. A slight carbonic character from the whole bunch juxtaposed with a rock-solid structure thanks to the ripe stem tannins creates a unique signature. I personally love it, but if you're a Bordeaux purist, this might not be your cup of tea.

Drink 2030 - 2065

The 2022 Les Carmes Haut-Brion was picked 5-20 September with 70% whole bunches three vats contained 100% whole cluster that was cofermented), matured in 70% new oak, 20% in 18hL casks and 10% in amphora. It underwent a long, six-week infusion in the vat at a maximum 26° Celsius, just over a week longer than usual. It is extremely precise on the nose with blackberry, briary, crushed stone and hints of curry leaf. The palate is just beautiful. Sculpted tannins, fine-boned, lending this Les Carmes unerring symmetry and focus. This is loaded with mineral-laden dark berry fruit and feels seamless toward the finish. I am not inclined toward hyperbole, nevertheless, this is the best Les Carmes that Guillaume Pouthier has overseen.

Drink 2030 - 2070

70% whole bunch, no irrigation, cover crops instead on the clay-limestone soils when picked, the grapes were at 14.4%, came down to 13.5% after vinification using stems and specific yeast). 40hl/h yields, 70% new oak, 3.6ph.

This is a truly delicious Pessac Léognan that shows just how much Carmes Haut-Brion sets itself apart, showing grip and stretching out through the palate. Don't expect the same character as you will find elsewhere in this vintage. Fragrant aromatics, roses, violets, crushed rocks, fennel, and aniseed, with texture and tannic heft. Fresh dark fruits, edges of bitter Bendick mints, smoked caramel, slate. 

Drink 2030 - 2050