Wine Advisor
La Tour Carnet 2015
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Bernard Magrez's La Tour Carnet is terrific. Dark cherry, smoke, licorice, French oak, and tobacco give the 2015 its brooding personality. In this vintage, La Tour Carnet is a bit restrained, and yet all the elements come together nicely. One of Bordeaux's hidden gems, La Tour Carnet ages beautifully and delivers serious quality for the money.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2015 La Tour Carnet is soft, supple and inviting. Dark cherry, mocha, chocolate, spice and new leather are all pushed forward. There is good up-front richness and density, but the wine loses some persistence on the finish. This is an especially nuanced, laid-back vintage for the Tour Carnet, with less overall depth than is customary, but solid overall balance. The blend is 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasted four times.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2015 La Tour Carnet is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit was cooled through a "cryogenic tunnel freezer," essentially spraying liquid nitrogen, and will be matured for 16 months in 30% new oak. It has a very pure bouquet, so much so that there is something almost Pinot Noir-like here, with ebullient Morello and subtle kirsch-like scents. The oak is judicious and neatly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin. This is very smooth and harmonious in the mouth, well-judged acidity, precise and detailed. It gently fans out on the finish, completing what I think is a very well-crafted, silky and seductive Haut-Médoc.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2015 la Tour Carnet, a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, has a clean and fresh, slightly smoky bouquet with blackberry and boysenberry scents. It is tightly wound at the moment and clearly needs a couple of years in bottle. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, crisp acidity, a little chewy in the mouth; there is good substance if not quite the elegance I was anticipating on the finish, but that will develop with time. This is an assertive La Tour Carnet that is intent on making an impression. It will. But it will reward those who will afford it 4 or 5 years in bottle.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2015 la Tour Carnet is medium garnet-purple in color and has an earthy nose with red and black fruits and floral notions. The medium-bodied palate has plenty of energy with a great core of pure red and black fruits plus approachable tannins and nice freshness on the finish.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Bernard Magrez's La Tour Carnet is terrific. Dark cherry, smoke, licorice, French oak, and tobacco give the 2015 its brooding personality. In this vintage, La Tour Carnet is a bit restrained, and yet all the elements come together nicely. One of Bordeaux's hidden gems, La Tour Carnet ages beautifully and delivers serious quality for the money.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A fresh and clean wine with blueberry and light spice, mushroom character. Full, very fine. Shows a delicacy and finesse.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
This has a wealth of brambly and spicy berry fruits with a succulent, plush and flavorsome palate delivering red plums and cherries amid smooth tannins. Try from 2022.
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.
