1998 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion

Community Tasting Notes (22) Avg Score: 90.4 points

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  6/22/2023 - Vinumming & Ahhing Likes this wine: 92 Points

  1998 Bordeaux Horizontal - London (Sun Street Hotel, Liverpool Street, London): This is another top, top wine. There is a pepperiness to the greenness on the nose that reminds my of torn rocket. There is bell pepper to and some ripe strawberry. Also a faint citrus twist, like a little squeeze of lemon juice. Palate red fruited and mouth coating. Just at whisker shorter than its flight mates.

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  3/3/2023 - El_Dougo wrote: 90 Points

  Pop and pour at a blind tasting dinner with 3 other wines. Although easily identified as left bank Bordeaux, it was initially very rough and disjointed. Nose of extreme oak- overbearing and overwhelming. Red and back fruit buried behind spice, oak and vanilla. After an hour in the glass things began to come together and the oak integrated into the wine for a much improved balance. Red and black plum… Acidity medium, alcohol med. Tannins integrated. Medium finish.
  
  Of the four wines we drank this one started off the worst by comparison but improved with time. I don’t think it ever moved beyond 3rd place but it was interesting to witness evolution in the glass.

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  12/26/2022 - GrapeScott wrote: 87 Points

  Underwhelming. Perhaps this needs a serious decanting, but it didn't show a lot of positive evolution over 3+ hrs of being open. Rather poorly managed oak regimen, with a nose dominated by strong vanilla and violet notes that overshadow the core of what could have been pretty red fruits. With lots of air, the oak begins to integrate a bit, revealing raspberry, cherry, wild strawberry and some crushed rock. Unbalanced and a bit ostentatious, I can only hope that time will improve this train wreck.

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  11/9/2021 - Paul D wrote: 94 Points

  At L'Univerre, Bordeaux. Rich, yet aromatic, classic Graves nose, dark fruits, spice, smoke, soil. Medium bodied, dark smoky fruit, tobacco, earth, soft tannins, fresh acids, good length finish. Exellent and drinking beautifully.

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  2/14/2020 - Cofxc Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Light, transparent (more Pinot Noir) colour. Initially, balsam, smoke, tobacco, a hint of worcester sauce. The palate more youthful, quite rich, red fruited, strawberry, still with some structure. A touch of VA, pomegranite, doesn't detract. Gaining some sweetness as it opens. Good acidity. On the second day this seems, leaner, more classic, graphite to the fore, cedar, more St Julien. I bob about a lot for the score on this. Should I be harsh on technicalities? But the pleasure and interest is 95. An easy 93.

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