WA:2026 - 2060
The irrepressible Guillaume Pouthier has delivered another fine success at this 6.9-hectare Pessac-Léognan estate. Viticulture at this address is rather innovative, with great attention paid to managing hydric stress: soils are worked at night or during the day, and sometimes the cover crop is rolled rather than being cultivated, on a parcel-by-parcel basis, all with a view to creating the necessary hydric deficit for optimal maturation without going too far, causing the vines to shut down. Deleafing (traditionally performed to expose the grapes to sunshine and improve canopy airflow) has been banished to retain fresh, vibrant flavors. And since the 2015 vintage, when the château's new "Noah's Ark" winery was completed, conditions have been fully adapted to Pouthier's methods. Winemaking is rather reductive, featuring important percentages of whole bunches and vinification in tanks where floating lids keep the cap moist and immersed in the fermenting must below; and Pouthier, a Chapoutier alumnus, favors rather long macerations. Élevage of the young wines is long: generally around 24 months—in a mixture of barrels, foudres and ceramic vessels—and extending as long as 30 months in the 2013 vintage, a notable success at this address in the context of a very challenging year. All this is delivering very singular wines (with comparatively moderate alcohol levels, incidentally), without changing Les Carmes Haut-Brion distinctive, Cabernet Franc-driven DNA.
