CHÂTEAU CARBONNIEUX
2016 Blanc Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan
Nice harmonious nose, less of the grassier Sauvignon aromas than usual, fat, it might feel a bit heavy, but there's good acidity showing on the finish and lifting the fruit. Drinking range: 2018 - 2020 Rating: 90-92 L&S (Apr 2017)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
An outstanding white, the 2016 Château Carbonnieux Blanc has a tight, slightly reductive style in its lime, citrus zest, and mineral-like aromas and flavors. These flow to a medium-bodied, elegant white that has bracing acidity yet good fruit. It needs a year or two of bottle age to come together, but it’s beautiful. Drinking range: 2021 - 2031 Rating: 90+ Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Feb 2019)
The Carbonnieux 2016 Blanc has a gentle nose of peardrop, citrus peel and orange blossom: attractive if just missing the race and drive of either the 2014 and 2015. The palate is well balanced with lime and a touch of orange zest on the entry. There is good depth of fruit here and a pleasant saline finish—it just needs more acidity. Drinking range: 2018 - 2024 Rating: 88-90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)
Bit stinky and reduced on the nose. (Bordeaux University is experimenting with sulphur use here.) Fruit lacks vitality. Solid and stolid but not much fun. Quite long though, so perhaps it will improve? Drinking range: 2020 - 2024 Rating: 16+ Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2017)
Linear and solid white with sliced-apple, pear and lemon character. Full body. Little old style but I like it — as always. Rating: 90-91 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2017)
Clever use of extremely subtle oak that gives structure and body without being intrusive. This doesn't have the mineral directness and depth of, say 2011 or 2014, but it is a very good wine that will bring lots of pleasure. It majors on white flowers, touches of honeysuckle and white pepper spicing. Christophe Ollivier has taken the baton from Denis Dubourdieu who consulted here for 28 years. Drinking range: 2018 - 2030 Rating: 90 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2017)
Scents of slate, pear, green apple, mint and herbs give the 2016 Carbonnieux Blanc much of its distinctive personality. Bright and nuanced, with good depth, the 2016 hits all the right notes. This is terrific. Rating: 89-92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)
The Carbonnieux white rarely disappoints and this is no exception. It’s a floral, zesty, crunchy, sappy cuvée with attractive beeswax and herbal notes, understated oak and a lightfooted, tangy finish. Drinking range: 2018 - 2024 Rating: 91 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2017)
Château Carbonnieux
Château Carbonnieux has a long history stretching back, at least, to the 13th Century. The house itself started as a fortified farm back in the 14th Century. As with many a Bordeaux estate, the end of the 19th Century through to the middle of the 20th Century was not a good time for Carbonnieux with the devastating onset of phylloxera, two World Wars and the Great Depression to suffer. Consequently, by the early 1950’s Carbonnieux was in a sorry state. Salvation came with its purchase, in 1956, by Marc Perrin. Much replanting and investment eventually restored Carbonnieux to its rightful place among the best that Pessac-Léognan has to offer. Today Château Carbonnieux is still owned by the Perrin family, with Marc’s grandsons Eric and Philibert at the reins. Château Carbonnieux is situated on the classic Graves gravel outcrop allowing good natural drainage. “Above and beyond preserving our natural environment, our objective is to come as close as possible to organic-type farming”, says Philibert Perrin. Chemical insecticides and weed-killers are banned. White grapes are grown in a fairly typical Bordeaux ratio of 65% Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Semillon; whilst red grapes are, of course, dominated by (60%) Cabernet Sauvignon with 30% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc; the remainder being small but important plantings of Petit Verdot and the all but forgotten (in Bordeaux) Carmenère. Vines are 27 to 30 years old. On the creation of the Graves Classification in 1959 Château Carbonnieux was awarded Cru Classé status both for its red and white wines.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.