Chateau Les Carmes Haut Brion Vertical Premium Bordeaux Wine Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มี.ค. 2024
- Chateau Les Carmes Haut Brion was at one time part of a large estate owned by John de Pontac which included La Mission Haut Brion and Haut Brion. Jean gifted a watermill that was situated in the middle of what would become the Les Carmes Haut Brion vineyards and the vineyard was named after a group of friars who managed the estate from 1584 until the French Revolution in 1789.
After the French Revolution, Leon Colin bought the property at the start of the 19th Century. In 2010, Les Carmes Haut Brion was purchased by Patrice Pichet, head of the Bordeaux real estate company, Groupe Pichet. In 2013, the Pichot group began a complete renovation of the chateau and wine-making facilities. In total, the entire hectare vineyard of Les Carmes Haut Brion is 29.6 hectares, of which 22 hectares grow vines. However, only 7.6 hectares of vines are used to produce Les Carmes Haut Brion (the rest is used to produce its 2nd wine, Le C des Carmes Haut Brion) The vineyard is planted to 41% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Franc, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. With the 2015 vintage, Les Carmes Haut Brion started to vinify about half of their fruit whole cluster. About 4000 cases of this wine is made each year.
I had the good fortune of tasting a number of their wines with Guillaume Pouthier, the Director and winemaker of Les Carmes Brion
The wines tasted in the video are:
2019 Le C des Carmes Haut Brion
2020 Le C des Carmes Haut Brion
2017 Les Carmes Haut Brion
2018 Les Carmes Haut Brion
2019 Les Carmes Haut Brion
2020 Les Carmes Haut Brion
For more information about the winery, please visit their website at www.les-carmes-haut-brion.com/en
Your candid assessment of Les Carmes Haut Brion got me curious to visit their Chateau today in Bordeaux. Both your videos on this wine helped me approach their “unconventional” blend with a more open mind; allowing me to enjoy the wines as is. But I have to say the that the highlight of the visit was the Philippe Starck designed facility which was a sight to behold. I told their host who took us around to check out your videos.
jay: glad my videos assisted you in the enjoyment of the visit. I have not visited the Chateau but understand it is magnificent. Cheers!
I appreciate you still have energy to make videos after the wine festival
Haha! No, I pre recorded these from a few months. So many drinking functions in the past little while that I have videos recorded for the next month! I might slow down a bit in the summer when I can devote more time to my other channels. Cheers!
Such a great video- and timely! A few years ago, this winery wasn't on my radar at all. Recently, it seems like I hear about it everywhere. I guess that's what a couple 100 point scores will do. Very interesting to hear your take that it's more of a Right Bank wine in terms of cepage and overall character, if not geography. Keep up the great work!
noahcap: I was the same as you...didn't know anything about this winery and then all of the sudden everyone is talking about it. But it is so useful to talk to the winery representatives and you get a real feel of the wine. Nothing like its neighbors and should be compared to them even though they have Haut Brion in their name. Cheers!
Really Appreciate Your Humility
As we age , as we listen, we Learn
i enjoy Your Channel
Teri: thank you for your kind words and continued support.
I try to come with an attitude that if I can be wrong and look foolish, and I am supposed to be knowledgeable about wine, then anyone else can also be wrong and foolish. Wine should be enjoyable at any level and people who drink value wines should be able to drink and get along with people that drink expensive wines. People are people and once we break down these barriers and stop categorizing people (and wines), I think everyone is better off. Cheers!
I appreciate the educational prospective and reminding us to be humble. I agree that if you are only a drinker of wine, doesn't make one an expert. As taste is a matter of opinion where as farming and wine making is an agricultural science. In the same way a food critic doesn't necessarily know the alchemy of the kitchen or how to raise animals and grow vegetables.
What I have become critical is the point rating system given to wine tasting. I was alerted it was the wrong way to judge a wine, after watching a taste testing interview with the late, great Paul Pontallier of Chateau Margaux, who pointed out that a 2011 vintage which critics had written off would prove to be a spectacular wine in a decade into the future as the tannins softened. He said that a good winemaker can still make spectacular wines in a poor season by knowing when to harvest and how to blend. As a great chef can still make a tasty dish using out of seasoned ingredients. Its the experience, skill and knowledge that separates a good winemaker from a great one.
oysterman: I agree with what you have said. I should probably reiterate that my point rating system is just for me to keep things in order in my mind. It is not really relevant to anyone else unless you have similar taste to me. But it does help me figure out where a wine fits in the scheme of things. I am not too worried about my point ratings as no one quotes my scores so it is not used to sell wines. Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunter Actually I wasn't criticizing you for your ratings. You make it clear in your videos that your rating is your personal opinion. I was referring to professional wine critics who are heavily influenced by sponsorship and bias towards certain brands. I refer to the Christian Mouiex interview with Wine Spectator for example. That's a reason I watch your channel, because it's your independent honest review. Bordeaux is a minefield and becoming more expensive and it's too financially risky to blind buy something you have no experience with. Have you seen the documentary Red Obsession? it's on TH-cam
The addition of the Lapel Microphone is a HUGE help to appreciate your lovely interest in tasking and enjoying fine wine. Also indoors rather than a windy outdoors helps to ensure good clear audio. Cabernet Franc needs to take time, right bank Angelus and Cheval Blanc also do this high Cabernet Franc .....Cheers
Robert: thanks for your comments and sticking with me. Yes, I am not really a tech savvy guy so my videos are pretty amateurish. I am trying but as I get more viewers, I will take editing more seriously. But my focus is to get out knowledgeable content and not on production. So I would rather get out 2 videos are week that are not polished vs 1 video each month that is edited spectacularly. Probably not the smartest thing to do if I want to grow my channel but growing my channel has never really been my focus. If people enjoy what I do that is great but if not, I am good as well as I really enjoy my group of subscribers and I like the idea of growing slowly but steadily.
I try to provide insights based on tasting. Maybe a lot of people know what I am telling them but I discover through tasting rather what other people say. I find a lot of times, people just repeat what other "experts" say. But what if that "expert" also got it from another "expert" or if that "expert" doesn't have the same palate as you? Or what if that "expert" is friends with the winery or gets a private tasting or access to the wineries that a normal consumer doesn't get? That is is why I try to focus on the consumer experience and try not be part of the trade. I am a consumer and have nothing to do with the wine trade. I am interested in tasting experience but I do have a bit of knowledge. Cheers!
When I’m doing research on a winery on TH-cam, the best thing I can find is a +1 hour interview of the winemaker as it often tells what the winery is trying to do with their wine
Henri: yes you are correct. I feel privileged that I often get to speak to winemakers/owners on a one on one basis..not just a 30 second sound bite but I often spend the entire night drinking with them (not just their wines) so they do let their guard down a bit. That was not the case here but I did probably spend 10 minutes with him alone just talking about wines which was very insightful. Cheers!
Great video about a winery on the uptrend.
P.s. just so you know the winemaker's name is pronounced Gee (like in geese) + Yom : Gee-Yom (Guillaume)
Humblegnome: Yes, I know that in my head but get a little tongue tied when I am doing the video! But I like your notes..that will help me in the future! Cheers!
I have a 2002 lying in my cellar. Everyone tells me to drink it. But what do you think ? Drink or hold ?
rick: Yes, I would drink but no rush....it should be good for another 5 years. Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunter thanks!!!