Wine Advisor
La Tour Carnet 2014
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The Château La Tour Carnet 2014 is a blend of 68% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot picked between 22 September and 23 October, aged in 30% new oak. This feels more precocious and concentrated on the nose compared directly with the Grand Chênes with small black cherries and blueberry fruit that is nicely defined, quite racy and lively. The palate is full-bodied, dense and quite muscular, a pleasant saline tang coming through towards the finish. There is more presence here than the Grands Chênes. Tasted four or five times, a couple showing a tad "foursquare" perhaps, but otherwise a decent if not spectacular contribution to the 2014 vintage.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2014 La Tour Carnet was a wine that I tasted last year from bottle, so why not give it another whirl to remind readers of its quality. There is a lot going on aromatically with plenty of boisterous black cherry and raspberry fruit, maintaining that floral element that I discerned last year. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, perhaps the oak on this bottle a little more conspicuous than before, but that will be subsumed with two or three years in bottle.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2014 La Tour Carnet offers notable density for the year. There is striking depth to the flavors, but I would prefer to cellar this wine for at least a few years, as La Tour Carnet really needs a bit of bottle age to be at its best. Sweet red cherry, plum, smoke and licorice wrap around the juicy finish. Bernard Magrez's Haut-Médoc remains one of the most attractive under-the-radar wines in Bordeaux. Tasted two times.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Brilliant aromas of blackberries, fresh mushrooms and dried flowers. Black licorice as well. Full body, tight and silky with ripe tannins and a linear line to it. Wet earth and spices. Drink in 2020.
About the Producer
The history of Château La Tour Carnet dates back to the 12th century. Indeed, this vast vineyard of 132 hectares is undoubtedly one of the oldest domains of the Medoc. Its architecture is purely medieval as evidenced by the tower, surrounded by moats, which was built in 1120. The domain takes its name from the valiant squire Carnet having fought alongside the lord Jean de Fait: his self-denial and his bravery were such that he received the property in inheritance. Subsequently, the estate belonged to illustrious owners, including the Montaigne family. Since the 2000s, Château La Tour Carnet has been taken over by Bernard Magrez, who has started a restoration and renovation program. Located in the heart of the Medoc, the property has a unique and exceptional terroir, called the “Butte de la Tour Carnet”. It is a visual curiosity but also geological since it is the only clay-limestone mound of the Medoc. The White of La Tour Carnet is one of the rare white wine produced in the Médoc. The estate also produces a white wine. Located in the heart of the Médoc, the property has a unique and exceptional terroir, called the “Butte de la Tour Carnet”. It is a visual curiosity but also geological since it is the only clay-limestone mound of the Medoc. The quality of Château La Tour Carnet’s wines is link to the quality of its terroir of Garonne and Pyrenean gravel. On this type of soil the Merlots flourish particularly well, which explains why half of the Château La Tour Carnet grape varieties are in Merlot. The dominant of this grape gives the wines of the property, a beautiful fruit, flexibility and allows to address them in their youth. During the vinification, the Château team seeks harmony between Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in order to have gourmet wines. Thus, the entire harvest is harvested by hand and then vinified in concrete vats for Merlot and in wooden vats for Cabernet Sauvignon. Aging is done in barrels, 50% new, for 18 months to coat and enhance the fruit. Château La Tour Carnet is a wine of great elegance, it is a great Médoc.
