2020 Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan 1x6L

Vinous 95

The 2020 Les Carmes Haut-Brion has an opulent bouquet of black cherries, blueberries and violets, with just a patina of new oak to be fully subsumed. The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy, ripe tannins. Very well balanced, it's quite a lascivious Pessac-Léognan, with a caressing and very peppery finish. Certainly, this represents one of the best vintages in the modern era under Guillaume Pouthier. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. [Neal Martin, 11/01/2024]

Anticipated maturity: 2028-2055

Robert Parker 96

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2020 Les Carmes Haut-Brion issues forth a beguiling array of savory scents—black olives, charcuterie, bouquet garni and Sichuan pepper—over a core of bright redcurrant jelly, black cherries and cassis scents, plus fragrant hints of rose petals and preserved mandarin peel. The medium-bodied palate is refreshing and elegantly styled yet with a rock-solid backbone of firm, finely grained tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long and perfumed. This is a stunning expression of the vintage that should be long lived and age with fantastic grace. [Lisa Perrotti-Brown, 04/19/2021]

Anticipated maturity: 2027-2057

JancisRobinson.com 16.5+

No technical details available for the 2020 vintage.Very distinctive. Notably more refreshing than most of its peers. Sinewy and as though there were quite a bit of Cabernet Franc in here. Definitely tastes early-picked. Distinctly new-wave style (not overdone nor overripe). Interesting wine with real refreshment. Grainy, sinewy finish with no shortage of acidity. (JR) [11/09/2022]

Anticipated maturity: 2026-2040