2017 Carmes Haut Brion

97 POINTS

Jacques Perrin - Vinifera

Nez racé, sur les épices, avec un côté floral. Très jolie construction en bouche, fine et ascendante avec un tanin surfin et une belle impression soutenue sur la finale.

96 POINTS

Antonio Galloni MW - Vinous

One of the real highlights of the vintage, the 2017 Les Carmes Haut-Brion possesses off the charts aromatic intensity and tremendous depth. An exotic mélange of sweet tobacco, menthol, rose petal, licorice, dried herbs and sweet dark fruit builds in a wine endowed with extraordinary beauty. Energetic and vibrant to the core, Les Carmes Haut-Brion was magnificent on the three occasions I have tasted it so far. Don't miss it.

95 POINTS

Jeff Leve - The Wine Cellar Insider

The wine is as dark in fruit as it is in color. This is a nap on Pratesi sheets – a silky, sensuous and richly textured rendezvous. Vibrancy on the palate, creamy tannins and layers of fruit-enhanced strata propel a surfeit of multi-colored fruit. Not quite at the level of the stunning 2016 but very close. The wine was made using 50% whole bunches during fermentation. From a blend of 41% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine reached 13.25% with a pH of 3.59.

94 POINTS

Jane Anson - Decanter

This is rather gorgeous, with a real sense of climbing through the palate, expanding outwards and upwards as it goes, with high aromatics of peony and iris alongside touches of tight, cocoa-dusted black fruits and a sense of restrained power. A saline touch gives a mouthwatering finish. It opens up with time in the glass, and is hugely persistent. There is austerity, as you would expect with such high Cabernet levels, but the energy and flexibility to the tannins bodes extremely well for ageing. Budbreak happened on 12 March at Carmes Haut-Brion in 2017, highlighting just what an early vintage this was. When the frost arrived, it affected almost all of their second site out in Martillac, where they produce Le C de Carmes, while the vines around the main estate in Bordeaux were not impacted. The result is a wine that has clearly reached a good level of ripeness and is succulent in the mouth. They used 48% whole-bunch fermentation here, pretty much the same amount as last year - another clue to the ripeness of the stalks. 80% new oak (more than the last two years), with 30% of malolactic in barrels and the rest aged in 10% large Stockinger cask and 10% in amphora. This is a very good and will age well. Harvested 4-9 September (second wine not harvested until 19 September). 3.59pH. (more...)

94 POINTS

James Suckling

Aromas of graphite and spiced wood here. The fruit is nicely ripe, in the redder end of the berry spectrum. The palate has good depth and weight. Quite fine, fresh tannins carry plenty of red-plum flavor. Drink or hold.

93 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Wine Advocate

Composed of 41% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Les Carmes Haut-Brion was fermented using 40% whole clusters and aged for around 20 months in French oak barrels, 65% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple, it springs from the glass with fragrant notions of Black Forest cake, kirsch and black raspberries plus touches of cedar chest, red roses, black tea and dried mint. Medium bodied, the palate struts itself with great elegance and poise, featuring restrained, mineral-sparked red and black fruits with a firm, grainy texture and bold freshness, finishing long and perfumed. Drinking Window : 2023 - 2045. 93+

93 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Wine Advocate

Composed of 41% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Les Carmes Haut-Brion was fermented using 40% whole clusters and aged for around 20 months in French oak barrels, 65% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple, it springs from the glass with fragrant notions of Black Forest cake, kirsch and black raspberries plus touches of cedar chest, red roses, black tea and dried mint. Medium bodied, the palate struts itself with great elegance and poise, featuring restrained, mineral-sparked red and black fruits with a firm, grainy texture and bold freshness, finishing long and perfumed. Drinking Window : 2023 - 2045. 93+

93 POINTS

James Molesworth - Wine Spectator

A sanguine thread weaves around the core of steeped red and black currant fruit, with singed mesquite, iron and briar notes filling in along the way. The sanguine element leaves a mouthwatering echo at the end. A distinctive and alluring expression of the appellation. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2022 through 2036. 3,333 cases made. — JM