Yves Beck : "52 % de grappes entières pour Carmes 2024. Robe rouge grenat profond aux reflets pourpres. D’entrée, le bouquet affiche de la profondeur et de la subtilité. Il révèle des nuances poivrées, des pivoines, une touche d’eucalyptus et des parfums de myrtilles puis, finalement, un soupçon de bois frais qui fait partie intégrante du caractère olfactif. L’énergie annoncée par le bouquet est fidèlement reflétée en bouche. L’attaque juteuse et friande ouvre la voie à un vin puissant, mené par des tannins compacts, précis, efficaces et poudrés. Ils se révèlent tardivement et génèrent une subtile austérité qui apporte de la fraîcheur, du juteux et de la persistance, suivis d’une touche gourmande en finale. Un vin qui performe autant dans les détails que dans la puissance. Il fait dans la dentelle tout en revendiquant ses aptitudes dédiées à l’haltérophilie. Il marche sur un fil, à l’image d’un funambule musclé, incisif, linéaire et, surtout, serein. L’équilibre, l’authenticité et la persistance : Carmes Haut-Brion!"
James Suckling : "This is always an idiosyncratic wine. This year it’s stunning, with a unique floral aspect and excellent depth of pure blue fruit, mulberries, dried herbs and white pepper. So juicy and mouthwatering on the palate, with a medium to full body and fine tannins. There is a crystalized mouthfeel, but the tannins are fresh and well knit. This is already delicious, which indicates its superb balance. 48% cabernet franc, 29% cabernet sauvignon and 23% merlot."
That year... You had to have a bit of bottle. To negotiate the test over the long haul. With patience and composure.
It rained and rained and rained. From October to October, 1400 mm of water fell from the sky. The plant's surface is saturated. The winemaker becomes a marathon runner when he realizes that the weather will transform the vintage from early to late. And every day brings both a difficulty and an opportunity. In the face of such adversity, you have to consider and seize every opportunity.
The heterogeneity of the harvest is a lever. The last few kilometers will be decisive: that's where we'll go to find each bunch, in each plot, picked and assumed in its fragility.
In the winery, sorting techniques are combined, and the selection is uncompromising, focusing on the ripeness of each berry, the expression of each place. With whole bunches, we gain in texture, sweetness and freshness.
The maturing and blending phases aim to gain thickness without losing aromatics, wine construction choices that melt into the bitters. We cling to the nobility of this palette, the digestibility it confers on the wines, thanks to tannins that act as enhancers of the aromas and flesh of the fruit.
If it were a shape, it would be a rhombus;
compact entrance, taking shape,
refocusing. Black cherry nose,
crème de cassis. Evocation of pine forest, resin,
smoke. Between flower and root, iris bulb,
violet. And at the end, a hint of salt.
Harvest dates: September 17 to 27, 2024
Whole bunches: 52%
Maturation (in progress): 70% new barrels, 19% 18hl foudres, 11% amphoras.
Balance, tension and harmony. Beauty is often miraculously present, in a balance, a thread stretched between two abysses. Between two silences, between two clouds, between two gestures: "To walk on a thread is not to defy the fall, but to dialogue with it. Each step is a negotiation between emptiness and will" (Philippe Petit, To reach the clouds). Being a winemaker is like being a tightrope walker. In search of equilibrium, both on the outside, with the vines confronted by the weather, and on the inside, with the structure and sequence we seek in a wine.
Based on tasting discussions with Guillaume Pouthier and Guillaume Deschepper. Primeur samples - February 2025.
