“This was a year of... Waiting. Patience. Worry. Wonder.”
GUILLAUME POUTHIER, LES CARMES HAUT-BRION
Once again this year, Les Carmes Haut-Brion was our first tasting of the week. Arriving straight from nearby Bordeaux airport, it was quite an introduction to the vintage for Team C&B.
The focus on seamless, silky texture, underpinned by the use of whole bunches, makes this one of the most thoroughly innovative and refreshing (in both senses) wines being made in Bordeaux today.
After tasting in the Philippe Starck-designed winery’s tasting room, opened in 2016, it was a short walk upstairs for lunch with winemaker Guillaume Pouthier and his team. A tough opening act to follow.
Once part of neighbouring Château Haut-Brion, the estate dates from the sixteenth century and the Grand Carmelite Order of monks, who tended the vines until the French Revolution. Its immense potential is arguably only now being realised, following the 2010 acquisition by Patrice Pichet, founder of the eponymous French property group.
The impressive combination of Guillaume Pouthier and consultant winemaker Stéphane Derenoncourt is complemented by a first-rate team. We are delighted to be a preferred partner of the château in the UK.
GUY SEDDON Head of Fine Wine Buying June 2023The vintage started quietly in the autumn, and with it the first phase of waiting. Waiting for rain. A phase that was to be very important for what followed. On the surface, everything seemed calm. But underground, the vines sensed from the lack of rainfall that they needed to dig deep to find water. And to develop their root systems.
The first buds burst in mid-March. All in all, this was quite “normal”. We could still talk of mild weather. Until May, when heat and drought set in, making it feel more like July. At the time, we were not to know that these weather conditions would last for four months. We anticipated by taking care of every corner of the vineyard, relying on our now very precise knowledge of each plot.
We were worried, looking at the sky and hoping for a storm. Respite, for the vines and for the winegrowers, came with the rains in mid-August.
The harvest went smoothly, with unlimited choice of when to pick. The bunches were superb: the stems woody, the berries ripe on all sides, the seeds perfectly mature. We plunged them whole into the vats! In the cellar, it was time to take a step back, to adopt a light touch, because everything was there: pulp, richness, power, volume.
THE 2022 VINTAGE IN NUMBERS:
Harvest dates: 5th - 20th September 2022
Whole bunches: 70%
Blend: 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot
Alcohol 13.5% abv, pH 3.64
Ageing: 70% new barrels, 20% 18hl foudres, 10% amphora
60 year-old vines, on clay-limestone soils
6 weeks vinification at 26°C
40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot. Shiny blackberries, peonies, violets and cedary spice aromas. The palate is refined, silky and detailed, framed by firm tannins, which are rendered so elegantly. Salty, focused finish, lifted by tensile acidity. You can barely feel the 70% whole bunch fermentation but it is there in the background, lifting and underpinning. 70% new oak barrels, with 20% aged in 18hl foudres, averaging 90% new oak. 10% aged in amphora. 13.5% abv, which was moderated by the whole bunches.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5+
Recommended drinking from 2028 - 2040+
£330/case of 3 bottles, in bond UK
£235/case of 1 magnum, in bond UK
£500/case of 1 double magnum, in bond UK
Our tasting notes provide full details but, at your request, we have also introduced a clear and simple marking system. We hope these guidelines assist you in your selection. For the benefit of simplicity, wines are scored out of 20. We will often use a range of scores (e.g. 16.5 to 17) to indicate the potential to achieve a higher mark. When a ‘+’ is shown it adds further to that potential. Wines from lesser vintages will, inevitably, show a lower overall score.
Wines are judged, in a very broad sense, against their peers. Why? Well, you cannot easily compare a Ford with an Aston Martin, other than they are both cars and have wheels. It is not that different with wine. A score is a summary only. The devil is in the detail, so please focus on the tasting notes and, as always, speak to our sales team.
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