Offers for the 2022 Vintage Campaign have begun!
2022 Bordeaux Futures Offer #9
We've got a large offer today, including a potential Parker perfect in Les Carmes Haut Brion (RP 99-100, $169.73) as well as standouts like Pichon Lalande (RP 97-99, $263.25), Rauzan Segla (RP 96-97, $134.15), and Beau Sejour Becot (RP 96-98, $91.42).
I think that the smashing success of the Les Carmes Haut Brion says a lot about this vintage. In 2016, they built a new, strikingly beautiful winery. With this state of the art facility, they have 23 fermentation vessels, including steel, oak and concrete (pictured above) to handle the grapes from the 12 acres under vine. This gives them the ability fine tune the process for multiple lots, and that seems to be a clear advantage in a vintage like this, where the heat produced very small berries and substantial variation. We see that in more traditional and old style cellars that did not take these careful steps the wines were not as successful. Fortunately, this care in the cellar has been a major change over the last twenty years, and the producers we focus on have mostly already made changes in this direction. I'm including the extended notes from this review from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate because it does a good job explaining what is happening at Les Carmes Haut Brion: The remarkable 2022 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a strong candidate for the title of wine of the vintage. It's also one of the most singular, characterful wines being produced in the region today. Unfurling in the glass with complex aromas of blackberries and cherries mingled with notions of exotic spices, orange zest, pencil lead, rose petals and vine smoke, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a velvety attack that segues into a layered, seamless and multidimensional mid-palate framed by rich, powdery tannins. Pure, perfumed and penetrating, this blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot is a brilliant success that caps a decade of relentless work by Guillaume Pouthier and his team that have seen Les Carmes Haut-Brion emerge as one of Bordeaux's leading estates. It checks in at a mere 13.5% alcohol, with a very healthy pH of 3.64. 99-100 "This vintage requires patience," Guillaume Pouthier said to us when we tasted the 2022; and patience is indeed required to fully understand this complex vintage. The 6.9-hectare estate of Les Carmes Haut-Brion, one of the most inspirational in contemporary Bordeaux, has been doing remarkable work for several vintages, and Pouthier's 2022 transcends anything he has achieved before. Thanks to the great attention to detail in the vineyards and winery, such as carefully managing cover crops to pilot hydric stress, whole-bunch vilification and reductive élevage (Pouthier used a mixture of barriques, including 70% new oak, foudres and ceramic vessels), this estate is delivering singular wines while remaining true to Les Carmes Haut-Brion’s distinctive, Cabernet Franc-driven DNA. William Kelley and I tasted the 2022 together twice, and on both occasions the wine performed equally impressively.
If you want to make sure you receive offers by email going forward, you feel free to email me.
Please note: Prices do not include any taxes, duties or tariffs which are in existence or may be in effect in the future. There is no certainty with respect to the tariff rate, if any, or other duties and taxes that may be enacted or imposed at the time of shipment of the 2022 vintage. If any are in effect at the time of delivery of the wine to Houston Wine Merchant, they will be the responsibility of the purchaser and must be paid prior to transferring custody of the wine to you.
A copy of this PDF, containing all wines cumulatively offered thus far, can be downloaded here.
Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us by phone or email. If you choose to email, we ask that you include "Bordeaux Futures" in the subject line. The remains of past vintages will be found on the shelf at regular retail pricing, |
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