The 2022 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is the finest wine bottled to date at this estate under Patrice Pichet’s ownership and Guillaume Pouthier’s direction. Unfurling from the glass with aromas of violet, iris, dark wild berries, pencil lead and mulberries, it’s medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated with a deep core of fruit beautifully framed by velvety, precise tannins, segueing into a long, saline and perfumed finish. Suave and harmonious, it was crafted with 70% whole bunches and matured in 70% new oak. This unconventional blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot represents a turning point for the estate, cementing its rapid ascendancy in the Bordeaux firmament.

The remarkable 2022 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a strong candidate for the title of wine of the vintage. It’s also one of the most singular, characterful wines being produced in the region today. Unfurling in the glass with complex aromas of blackberries and cherries mingled with notions of exotic spices, orange zest, pencil lead, rose petals and vine smoke, it’s medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a velvety attack that segues into a layered, seamless and multidimensional mid-palate framed by rich, powdery tannins. Pure, perfumed and penetrating, this blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot is a brilliant success that caps a decade of relentless work by Guillaume Pouthier and his team that have seen Les Carmes Haut-Brion emerge as one of Bordeaux’s leading estates. It checks in at a mere 13.5% alcohol, with a very healthy pH of 3.64.

“This vintage requires patience,” Guillaume Pouthier said to us when we tasted the 2022; and patience is indeed required to fully understand this complex vintage. The 6.9-hectare estate of Les Carmes Haut-Brion, one of the most inspirational in contemporary Bordeaux, has been doing remarkable work for several vintages, and Pouthier’s 2022 transcends anything he has achieved before. Thanks to the great attention to detail in the vineyards and winery, such as carefully managing cover crops to pilot hydric stress, whole-bunch vilification and reductive élevage (Pouthier used a mixture of barriques, including 70% new oak, foudres and ceramic vessels), this estate is delivering singular wines while remaining true to Les Carmes Haut-Brion’s distinctive, Cabernet Franc-driven DNA. William Kelley and I tasted the 2022 together twice, and on both occasions the wine performed equally impressively.

by Yohan Castaing, the Wine Advocate