CRITIC REVIEWS
Neal Martin
The 2017 Le C des Carmes Haut-Brion has a deep hue in the glass. The powerful nose, when served blind, might come from say, Cornas! It eventually reveals more nuance. The palate is well balanced with fine tannins, quite pure, rounded in style, silky smooth with bulbous, red berry fruit laced with white pepper and thyme on the finish. Very fine. Tasted at the Les Carmes Haut-Brion vertical at the chateau.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Composed of 41% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Les Carmes Haut-Brion was fermented using 40% whole clusters and aged for around 20 months in French oak barrels, 65% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple, it springs from the glass with fragrant notions of Black Forest cake, kirsch and black raspberries plus touches of cedar chest, red roses, black tea and dried mint. Medium bodied, the palate struts itself with great elegance and poise, featuring restrained, mineral-sparked red and black fruits with a firm, grainy texture and bold freshness, finishing long and perfumed.
JancisRobinson.com
Tasted blind. Mid ruby colour. Quite earthy and musty on the nose. There is a real sense of dried herbs and stems - Carmes? The palate starts with a plush texture ahead of firm, mouth-coating tannins. There is ambition here, but the grip adds real austerity and a lightly leafy edge to the fruit for now. Highly stylised. I expect this to improve as it settles in the bottle. (TP)