TN: 2016 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion (France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan)

This was way, way better than I expected, and I had high expectations.

  • 2016 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan (8/24/2019)
    Decided to open a bottle for fun. Have an entire case and interested to track the evolution of this wine over the years. I probably won’t open another until 2026 at the earliest.

Popped and decanted. Left for about 3 hours before tasting.

Wine is a deep cloudy crimson with a purplish rim.

On nose, really complex. Roses, blackberry, tea, blood orange, something hot-spicy like szechuan peppercorn, and a violet undertone.

On palate, wine is sound. High tannin at this stage (of course), medium acidity, medium-high alcohol, loooong finish. Tannins are firm but not astringent/grippy, which bodes well. Great balance - fruit is present on palate and acid is present but not dominant.

This is honestly better than many red wines I have had which were supposedly “ready to drink.” I can imagine this wine aging beautifully as it loses some of those youthful tannins and becomes something truly special. But even today this is by FAR the best young cabernet-based wine I have had. (94 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker