CHÂTEAU LES CARMES HAUT BRION 2023
A SOLID INVESTMENT & ‘STRONG BUY’ ASSET FOR BUYERS
96
94-96 O 96-98
I am delighted to offer a small allocation of four cases of Château Les Carmes Haut Brion 2023. Averaging 96 points in 2023 and featuring a 30.9% reduction in price from the previous vintage, this is wine comes with my STRONG BUY recommendation.
6x75cl - £456
12x75cl - £912 all in bond
The 2023 release from this outstanding estate in PessacLéognan follows four equally highly-rated vintages, averaging a Neal Martin score of 95.5 points.
Named after the Carmelite Order of nuns who used to own the vineyard, Les Carmes Haut Brion is as close as Bordeaux gets to a true urban winery; you can get here on the tram from the city centre. Cases en primeur are very hard to come by and appreciate in value when physical, in normal market conditions.
Judged by Liv-Ex as well below the fair value line, this is an asset-worthy release and is a wine all Fine Wine investors should snap up, either in cases of 6 or 12 bottles. Full investment data for this compelling release can be found overleaf.
Neal Martin, the leading Bordeaux critic, awarded this Pontet Canet 94-96 points, writing:
“The 2023 Les Carmes Haut Brion offers plenty of dark berry fruit mixed with cedar and pinecones on the nose, very well defined and focussed. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, and the acidity is very well-judged. Just a soupçon of white pepper appears toward the finish. This is a much more succinct Les Carmes than the 2022, but it’s extremely harmonious and characterful.”.
This is an increased allcoation for Clos Fine Wine and as such is offered on a first come, first served basis. Les Carmes Haut Brion 2023 comes with my personal STRONG BUY recommendation as a wine that will stand out in any cellar in years to come, and which will add real value to any Fine Wine investment portfolio.
Investment data available overleaf.
Bordeaux
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2023 en primeur
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INVESTMENT DATA
For investors, Les Carmes Haut Brion 2023 offers plenty to get excited about, as one of the best-priced releases of the 2023 en primeur campaign. The portents are extremely promising when looking at existing data for back vintages, with the one point better-scored 2016 vintage having appreciated by 93% since release, or 13% p.a., whilst the more poorly scored 2015 vintage has appreciated by an extraordinary 130% since release, or 16% p.a..
With a middle score of 95 points from Neal Martin, and available at a discount to these impressive back vintages, the 2023 promises much room for growth for investors, with only the poorly scored 2017 vintage available cheaper on the market (see chart below from Liv-Ex).
Les Carmes 2023 also passes a secondary litmus test, in coming in way under Liv-Ex’s regression line, indicating ‘fair value’. When one considers the relative scarcity of allocations of this wine, its low price of £912 relative to Pessac neighbours La Mission Haut Brion (£2,200 and scored lower than Les Carmes) and Haut Brion (£3,780), this releases value becomes clearer still.
My evaluation is that Les Carmes Haut Brion is one of the very best-priced releases, if not the best, of this Bordeaux 2023 campaign, and thus it is a very strong, ‘must buy’ wine at a relatively accessible price to investors. My allocation of this wine is four full cases (also available in halves) and I recommend it personally.