Les Carmes Haut Brion 2014 (750ML)

The 2014 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is composed of 54% Cabernet Franc, 32% Merlot, and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 40% whole bunches were employed this year. Deep garnet in color, it leaps from the glass with vibrant notes of rosehip tea, kirsch, black raspberries, and cassis, plus fragrant suggestions of lavender and baking spices. Medium-bodied, the palate is very light on its feet with a refreshing backbone and fine-grained tannins, finishing long and energetic.-Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent

This is the first vintage where you see true clarity and precision in the fruit expression, and you start to feel the hum of minerality and confidence that Carmes has built up so successfully over the past decade. Drawn out raspberry and blackberry fruit on the finish, with grip and waves of violet and peony aromatics, moving on from the rose stems of the earlier vintages. A lovely wine, ready to drink but will age, and the slate scrape texture and white pepper spice gives an extra kick of interest. This was the point at which I began to fall in love with Carmes. 40% stems. 3.6ph.-Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux