A standout second wine with Left Bank flair, this 2019 vintage brings energy, elegance, and tension. Crafted from a separate Martillac plot with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 34% Merlot, it opens with dark fruit and mineral notes. There's impressive juiciness and structure on the palate, enhanced by whole bunch fermentation and a gentle infusion maceration. Aged in 30% new oak, this is fresh, classic Pessac-Léognan with personality and polish—accessible young, but built to age through the early 2030s.

Decanter | D 92
Published: May 30, 2020
Drink: 2022-2034

Tension, energy and power with black fruits on the nose - get some Left Bank character straight away. This has juice running through the palate, an excellent 2nd wine because you get the sense of minerality, elegance and freshness of Pessac. More classic than its bigger sibling, perhaps, but with personality and punch. Vines in Martillac, in a separate plot from the main Carmes Haut-Brion estate. 30% new oak, only infusion technique used for maceration, 30% whole bunch fermentation. 3.59pH.

Les-carmes-haut-brion.com

Blend:
65 % Cabernet Sauvignon
34 % Merlot
1 % Petit Verdot

Colour: Red
Appellation: Pessac-Léognan
Owner: Pichet Family
Estate Manager: Guillaume Pouthier
Consultants: Derenoncourt Consultants

VINEYARDS
Total surface area of the vineyard in use in 2019: 30.75 ha.
Plantation density: 6,700 - 12,000 vines / ha.
Average age of the vines in 2019: 14 years
Soil types: Graves from the Günz epoch, sand from the
Pliocène epoch, clay from the Oligocène epoch
Harvesting: 100% hand-picked
Harvest dates: From September 26th to October 10th 2019

VINIFICATION TECHNIQUES
Vats used: Thermoregulated tanks: Tronconic stainless steel tanks (60Hl) • Wooden tanks (76 Hl) Concrete tanks (50 Hl)
Initial fermentation: 25 - 30 days
Malolactic fermentation in barrels: Partial Barrel maturing: 70% of one-year oak barrel and foudres 30% new oak barrels
Duration: 18 to 24 months, then concrete vats
Noteworthy features of the vinification and / or maturing processes: All vats were vinified in full grapes and partly in entire bunch. Pigeage only
Composition of the wine: 13 % alc. / 3.71 pH

REMARKS
For this great vintage, Bordeaux and its climate imposed an important technical effort in the aesthetic quest for balance, in a context where the need for intervention was an important key to success. 2019 is thus proving to be a typical balanced Aquitain vintage, rich, dense and elegant, despite the extreme conditions incurred.