98pts Vinous - #17 Top 100 Wines of 2024

The 2021 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is very possibly the wine of the vintage. Vertical and explosive, the 2021 possesses mind-blowing intensity and dynamic energy to burn. The 2021 is a heady, racy wine that captivates all the senses. Tobacco, mocha, cedar, leather, dried herbs, menthol, licorice and plum saturate the palate in a wine that dazzles from start to finish. The 2021 was bottled in late September 2023, much later than most wines, yet it is so expressive today. It was magnificent from barrel, and it is every bit as breathtaking today. Quite simply, Les Carmes is on another level. Bravo! 

97pts James Suckling - #56 Top 100 Wines of France 2024

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.

97pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

A brilliant and intensely individual wine, the 2021 Les Carmes Haut-Brion shows immense potential. Wafting from the glass with aromas of rich berries and plums mingled with notions of raw cocoa, loamy soil, rose petals, burnt sage and vine smoke, it's medium to full-bodied, vibrant and seamless, with a deep, dynamic core of fruit and a long, penetrating finish. Transcending the limitations of the vintage, it wouldn't surprise me were this wine ultimately to surpass the 2019 and 2020 in quality. It's a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot that's maturing in 70% new oak and the rest in 15-hectoliter foudres. Tasted twice. 

95pts Jeb Dunnuck

I'd put the 2021 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion up with the crème de la crème of the vintage. Based on 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Merlot, aging in 80% new barrels, it offers a brilliant perfume of plum and black raspberry fruits supported by lots of spice and exotic floral notes. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has a rounded, expansive mouthfeel that's rare to find in the vintage, terrific mid-palate depth, moderate acidity, and a great finish. It's a singular, brilliant Pessac that will benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and cruise for 20-25+ in cold cellars. Enough can't be said about the quality and passion being brought to this estate by winemaker Guillaume Pouthier, and this is an estate readers need to be purchasing. 

95pts The Wine Independent

The 2021 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Merlot, aging in 70% new barriques, 20% new 18 hl foudres, and 10% amphoras. Deep garnet-purple colored, it shoots out of the glass with vivacious notes of kirsch, black cherry preserves, cassis, and blueberries, plus hints of candied violets, star anise, cinnamon toast, and Ceylon tea. Medium-bodied, the palate shimmers with intense red and black fruit sparks, framed by grainy, multi-layered tannins and fantastic tension, finishing long and mineral-laced. While the weight is ethereal, the intensity is mind-blowing and an amazing achievement in this vintage. The Cabernet Franc contribution makes this a triumph, as does the inspired use of stems. Batches with ripe stems are selected for whole-bunch fermentation and the rest are destemmed. 45% was selected for whole-bunch fermentation this year, 10% less than in 2020. if you can put aside your stylistic preconceptions of what Bordeaux is and embrace this bright, energetic style with amazing textural complexity (from oak, stem, and grape skin tannins), you will love this evocative, age-worthy beauty. 

About the Wine

The top wine, the pride of the estate, has successfully created a synthesis between power and finesse, radiance and depth.

Among the classic elegance of Pessac-Léognan, the Carmes top wine has carved out its own niche. Unprecedented proportions of Cabernet Franc offer a silky power which is then supported by the intensity of Cabernet Sauvignon. Within this structure, Merlot develops rounded and refined fruitiness: balance is the order of the day, ensuring a style that is complex and delicious in equal measures.

Vintage Notes

This was a year… of incredible intensity! A year requiring the skills of a tightrope walker, when nature played games with the winegrowers. Solid in their vision of the place, present at all times, without respite, they played, shivered, imagined and ensured a commitment to the vine at all times. Passionate. Certain that this enthusiasm and these choices would be felt in the wines! The harvest began and the grapes showed all the richness of successful ripening, achieved slowly in cold conditions. The Cabernets excelled in performing their major role; character, juice, slender tannins.

About the Winery

The new winery, designed by Philippe Starck and Luc Arsène-Henry, which opened in 2016, marked the start of a new era for the chateau. Combining art with state-of-the-art equipment, it embodies a new pursuit of excellence.

The winery, a wall of metal resting on the bed of the River Peugue, emerges dreamlike from the middle of the estate. Blending into the landscape thanks to the reflections that flit across its surface, it is both a feat of technical minimalism and a fitting memorial. By echoing the shape of a ship’s bow, it serves as a reminder of Bordeaux’s seafaring history: a place where the sea has made wine’s fortune throughout the world.

The central harvest reception area opens up onto the vat room where 1,200 hectolitres of wine are fermented in oak, stainless steel or concrete. Below, where water encircles the structure, some 300 barrels sit patiently in ideal maturation conditions. Finally, the top floor is crowned with a tasting room offering a vineyard panorama, where the year’s work can be savoured.

Blend: 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Merlot