Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion Pessac Leognan 2022 750ml

The 2022 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is the finest wine bottled to date at this estate under Patrice Pichet's ownership and Guillaume Pouthier's direction. Unfurling from the glass with aromas of violet, iris, dark wild berries, pencil lead and mulberries, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated with a deep core of fruit beautifully framed by velvety, precise tannins, segueing into a long, saline and perfumed finish. Suave and harmonious, it was crafted with 70% whole bunches and matured in 70% new oak. This unconventional blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot represents a turning point for the estate, cementing its rapid ascendancy in the Bordeaux firmament.

The 2022 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a towering masterpiece from Technical Director Guillaume Pouthier. Dark and seamless in the glass, the 2022 presents an exotic mélange of black cherry, lavender, sage, blood orange, menthol, espresso and dried flowers, showing tremendous depth and substance in all of its dimensions. Time in the glass hints as to what is to come in the years and decades that follow. The 2022 is a co-ferment of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot done with 70% stems that saw six full weeks on the skins. Élevage is 70% new oak, 20% 18HL cask and 10% amphora. Most importantly, all the elements are so well balanced that nothing sticks out. Instead, it is the wine's total sense of harmony that is mind-blowing. Magnificent.

Deep and brooding, this wine is beautifully floral with violets, irises and peonies alongside ripe black cherries, liquorice and dark chocolate. Concentrated yet bursting with energy, it flows effortlessly. Vibrant red fruits – strawberry, cherry, raspberry – sit atop a mineral backbone of saline, wet stones. Crisp yet powdery tannins and bright acidity give incredible tension. Despite its depth, it feels almost weightless, so drinkable yet built to age. Pure, pristine and vibrant, with no trace of heat – just balance and finesse. A true expression of place. A sure-fire hit. 70% whole bunch fermented. Two years ageing, 80% new oak, 10% big 20hl vats, 10% amphora. 3.55 pH.

#62 in Top 100 Wines of France, 2025. The purity and focus here is impressive with blackcurrants, crushed stones and floral undertones. The whole-bunch character comes through clearly with rose-stem and floral aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, this is always so delicious but has lots of integrated, open-grained tannins. 70% whole-cluster fermentation. 40% cabernet franc, 34% cabernet sauvignon and 26% merlot. Idiosyncratic. So attractive now but will age beautifully.

This was bottled in September 2024, so at the time of tasting has only been in bottle three months. The blend is 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot, with 70% whole-cluster vinification, and the élevage was in 70% oak barrels (75% new oak, 25% used), 15% in foudre s and 10% in terracotta amphorae. An expressive but also fine and delineated character on the nose, with scents of liquorice, blackberry, dried blackcurrant, dark chocolate, coffee bean and rose petal, showing an elegant Pessac-Léognan perfume. Retasted at the property the showing was perfectly consistent, straight from the bottle. The palate is charming, finely integrated and fresh, broadening out from a cool and quietly spoken start to a well-defined midpalate substance, correct, with finely polished and savoury fruit infused with classy fine-boned tannins with a powdery intensity which ease themselves onto the palate at the very end. There is a saline energy here, presumably tied to the used of whole cluster vinification, which enchants. A very stylish interpretation of the vintage, long and savoury, restrained in its body yet very expressive, and infused with those classy, mouth-watering tannins. Superb elegance, and a long energy. Give it ten years and more, this will be stunning. The alcohol on the label is 13.5%.