Tasting Notes
Vinous 95
The 2020 Les Carmes Haut-Brion has an opulent bouquet of black cherries, blueberries and violets, with just a patina of new oak to be fully subsumed. The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy, ripe tannins. Very well balanced, it's quite a lascivious Pessac-Leognan, with a caressing and very peppery finish. Certainly, this represents one of the best vintages in the modern era under Guillaume Pouthier. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
Anticipated maturity: 2028-2055
JancisRobinson.com 17
Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Lifted, ripe and oaky dark fruit. Juicy and refined on the palate, with real elegance and freshness. Not a blockbuster but harmonious and compelling in its refinement. (JH)
Anticipated maturity: 2028-2040
Robert Parker 96
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2020 Les Carmes Haut-Brion issues forth a beguiling array of savory scentsa black olives, charcuterie, bouquet garni and Sichuan peppera over a core of bright redcurrant jelly, black cherries and cassis scents, plus fragrant hints of rose petals and preserved mandarin peel. The medium-bodied palate is refreshing and elegantly styled yet with a rock-solid backbone of firm, finely grained tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long and perfumed. This is a stunning expression of the vintage that should be long lived and age with fantastic grace.
Anticipated maturity: 2027-2057
