2024 CHÂTEAU LES CARMES HAUT BRION Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan, Lea & Sandeman

CHÂTEAU LES CARMES HAUT BRION

2025 Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan

Grapes Merlot, Cab Franc, Cab Sauv
Colour Red
Origin France, Bordeaux
Village Pessac-Léognan
Classification Cru Classé
ABV 13.0%

The 2025 Les Carmes Haut-Brion comes from clay-limestone soils and was picked from September 7 to 19, with a high level of Cabernet Franc (54%) and lower Merlot (17%). This vintage has 65% whole cluster, similar to 2022, raised in 70% new oak barrels, 19% in 18hl foudres and 11% amphoras. This takes time to open on the nose: blacker, darker fruit than the Le C, black plum and touches of iris flower. Very pure, very well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly chalky tannins on the entry, crunchy in the mouth, black fruit interlaced with Earl Grey, subtle ash-like notes. Linear towards the finish but very sustained in the mouth, there is plenty of energy in this Les Carmes-Haut-Brion and it should age with style and grace. More sapidity on the finish than the Dead Sea. 13.1% alcohol. Drinking range: 2032 - 2060 Rating: 95-97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2026)


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I was a little nervous to be honest about Carmes Haut-Brion, worried that this would be too sliced-through with steel acidity this year with the high Cabernet Franc, but I was worrying unnecessarily. It's totally beautiful, sleek, grilled campfire, a ton of momentum and there is a spherical feel through the mid palate, expanding and deepening the fruit flavours. High floral as you would expect, a crush of peony, iris, violet right on the first nose, chalky and slate edge to the tannins, full of energy, 14%abv at picking then whole cluster brought it down to 13%, 3.6ph, 65% whole bunch during fermentation. 38hl/h yield (compared to 24hl/ha yield last year after selection), 70% new oak. 3.59 pH. Harvest September 7 to 19, this is highest levels of Cabernet Franc to date. Rating: 96 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (Apr 2026)

Oh boy - he's done it again. The endlessly charismatic Guillaume Pouthier has captured the vintage and the essence of his wine perfectly in 2025. His idiosyncratic approach capturing place and time perfectly. This is immediately captivating. So much fruit seems to burst from the glass, with sweet strawberries, blackberries and red blossom notes combining to create an irresistibly charming first impression. On the palate, however, the wine quickly reveals a more serious side. The fruit is joined by a clear mineral thread that brings focus, energy and a real sense of place. Red berries and blackcurrant flow through the middle, while subtle saline notes on the finish add freshness and complexity. There is plenty of intensity here, but it is delivered with precision rather than weight. A blend of 54% Cabernet Franc, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Merlot, from vines averaging 60 years of age, this is a beautifully expressive Carmes Haut-Brion. Refined, vibrant and full of character.L&S (Apr 2026)

The 2025 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a blend of 54% Cabernet Franc, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Merlot, one of the highest proportions of Cabernet Franc at the estate and comparable to 2016. It was vinified with 65% whole clusters and matured in 70% new oak. It reveals a complex, harmonious bouquet of pomegranate, iris and peony, intertwined with cassis, mulberries and dark berries. Medium- to full-bodied, dense and structured, it’s deep and layered, its concentrated core of fruit framed by velvety structuring tannins, concluding with a long, mineral-inflected finish. Combining tension with an ethereal profile, it delivers remarkable clarity, freshness and elegance. While slightly more overtly structured at this stage than the prodigious 2022, it remains impeccably balanced. Rating: 95-98 Yohan Castaing, www.robertparker.com (Jun 2026)

Château Les Carmes Haut Brion

The core of this property is a five hectare vineyard, the only one with an address in Bordeaux itself, Carmes Haut Brion (although neighbouring Haut Brion and co. in Pessac). The little vineyard of Carmes HB, with a dominance of Cabernet Franc - very rare in the area - is planted at a high density of ten thousand vines per hectare. It was once part of Haut Brion, but was given by its owner to an order of nuns, the 'Carmes Blanc', hence the name.

When it was bought by property developer Patrice Pichet in 2010, the vat room consisted of three huge vats, one for each grape variety. Since then the vineyard has been completely restructured, and a new winery has been built.

Pichet has also bought one half of a property called Le Thil, and renamed it the 'C de Carmes'. As such it is not a second wine, but an entirely different property. The other half was bought by Smith Haut Lafitte.

M Pichet has also built a rather beautiful new chai, designed by Philippe Starck and the architect Luc Arsène-Henry, which resembles a cross between a submarine and a dreadnought battleship.

the winemaker/general manager is Guillaume Pouthier, who previously worked at Chapoutier in the Rhone, and he has brought with him the technique of using up to half whole bunch fermentation, creating layers the destemmed and whole bunch fruit in the vats. They also age part of the wine in amphorae. This is a very, very slick team and the property has been building a huge and well-deserved reputation over the last fifteen years.

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