Les Carmes Haut Brion - Pessac Leognan

An Atherton Wine Imports Featured Bordeaux

This tiny vineyard is located in the town of Pessac down the street from Haut Brion, La Mission Haut Brion and Pape Clement. The vineyard benefits from a great microclimate that reduces the risk of frost and ripens the grapes sooner than in most other vineyards of the appellation. The resulting wines have great finesse and exhibit the classic tobacco and mineral aromas of the region. Despite the great location and high praise from the press, the wine remains unclassified and very reasonably priced. We have recently been able to purchase small quantities of older vintages of Les Carmes direct from their cellar, including the 1961, 1986, and 1990.

In 1584 Jean de Pontac, Lord of the Manor of Haut-Brion, donated a water-mill and the surrounding vineyard, to the Carmelites of Haut-Brion. The Friars kept the name "Haut-Brion" for 200 years, before common usage gradually changed it into "Carmes Haut-Brion." The religious order lost ownership in the French Revolution and a wine negociant and descendant of the current owners, the Chantecaille-Furt family, bought the estate at the beginning of the last century.

Robert Parker says that “Readers looking for Bordeaux at its most elegant with a strong Cabernet Franc personality, a la Cheval Blanc, should check out the finesse-filled, delicate offerings from Les Carmes Haut-Brion” and “This is a wine that comes closest to expressing the quality of Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, not surpisingly, as the vineyards and terroir are essentially the same. This small, consistently top-notch performer in Pessac is worth searching out."

Quick Facts:

• Web Site: www.les-carmes-haut-brion.com
• Vineyard: 4.6 hectares (approximately 11.5 acres) located down the street from Haut Brion and Pape Clement. Their web site has a great aerial view photo showing just how close they are to their more esteemed neighbors.
• Geology: Sub-soil of large gunzian gravel, top soil of sand, gravel and clay.
• Grape varieties: Merlot 50 %, Cabernet-franc 40 %, Cabernet sauvignon 10 %.
• Average age of the vines: 35 years.
• Maceration: 15 to 24 days, depending on the vintage, in very small temperature controlled vats.
• Elevage: Malolactic fermentation and 18 months ageing in oak barrels, 1/3 to 1/2 new. Fining and filtration depending on the vintage.

Recent Score History from eRobertparker.com:

• 2005: 91-94 “the finest Les Carmes since the 1998 and 2000. The 2005's huge, fragrant nose of spring flowers, blue and red fruits, cedar, and wet rocks soars from the glass. While not a powerful blockbuster, this medium-bodied wine’s terrific intensity, fruit purity, elegance, delicacy, and long persistent finish suggest it will be at its finest between 2011-2025. A liqueur of elegance and grace"
• 2004: 88-90 “Revealing outstanding potential, the 2004 exhibits a deep ruby/purple-tinged color as well as a smoky nose of menthol, underbrush, sweet berries, and flowers. This delicate, gracious, medium-bodied effort possesses lovely sweetness and moderate tannin. It should turn out to be an excellent, possibly outstanding example of Les Carmes Haut-Brion. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018."
• 2003: 89 “Performing better than it did last year, the 2003 Les Carmes Haut-Brion appears to have added weight, but this is still an offering to enjoy for its complex, ethereal aromas of blue and black fruits, smoky herbs, cigar tobacco, earth, and spice."
• 2002: 90 “The serious quantity of Cabernet Franc used at this estate comes forth in the complex cedary, menthol, spice box, and plum, cherry, and currant notes in this wine’s aromatics."
• 2001: 89 "A quintessentially elegant, finesse-styled Bordeaux with complex aromatics"
• 2000: 92 "Medium-bodied, layered, and lush, with extraordinary aromatic complexity (cigar tobacco, earth, coffee, black currants, and ripe plums/prunes), stunning purity, a seamless texture, and sweet tannin"