2019 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion

The only Pessac Leognan I was not able to taste in barrel has turned out beautifully! The wine opens with flowers, smoke, tobacco leaf, herbs, sea-salt, blackberries, plums and forest leaf aromas. If that wasn't enough to steal the show, the wine is silky, intense, fresh, elegant, deep and sensuous on your palate. Multi-layered and multi-faceted, this stunning wine has a seamless finish that doesn't quit. Give it a few years in the cellar before pulling a cork as this has the potential to age and evolve for 2-3 decades with ease.

Rippling violet and peony waves alongside creamy blueberry and raspberry fruits, this is a gorgeous 2019 that continues a strong run of vintages at the estate. Slate-textured, salt-licked stones, rosemary and saffron-edged, white truffle spice. Takes its time and stretches out through the palate, tingling and enticing. Technical director Guillaume Pouthier has created something here that stands on its own, with complexity and nuance. Give it a full five or six years before opening. 3.59ph. 60% stems, and once again you see the difference it makes not only in nuance and philosophy but also in the actual physical properties of the wine.

What a great nose with such complexity of blackberry, forest floor, mushroom and bark. Like walking in a deep forest. Full-bodied with a dense palate, yet it remains energetic and focused. Very fine texture. Flavorful finish. Extremely persistent. Fantastic young 2019. Try after 2028.