Wine Advisor
La Tour Carnet 2019
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2019 La Tour Carnet has turned out beautifully. Dark, pliant and super-expressive, the 2019 possesses tremendous richness as well as character. Dark cherry, plum, mocha, leather, spice, licorice, iron and dried herbs infuse the 2019 with gorgeous layers of dimension. La Tour Carnet is a consistently outstanding bottle, as it is again in 2019.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2019 La Tour Carnet has a well-defined bouquet of lifted black fruit, wild hedgerow, melted tar and just a touch of juniper berry. The palate is well balanced with supple tannins, a mélange of red and black fruit, fine salinity and a nicely detailed, persistent finish. This is an excellent La Tour Carnet, one of the best in recent years.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Deep purple-black colored, the 2019 la Tour Carnet charges out of the glass with bold notes of crushed black plums, fresh blackcurrants and kirsch plus suggestions of bay leaves, pencil lead, camphor and woodsmoke. The medium-bodied palate has a great core of taut, muscular black fruit with a firm, grainy texture and well-knit freshness, finishing long and savory.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
Offering up aromas of rich cassis and blackberry fruit mingled with burning embers, loamy soil and cigar wrapper, the 2019 La Tour Carnet is medium to full-bodied, velvety and enveloping, with a broad attack that segues into an ample core of fruit that's framed by ripe, powdery tannins and lively acids. This is a seamless, rather giving Médoc that has turned out very well.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2019 La Tour Carnet is fabulous. Deep and inky, it shows notes of graphite, scorched earth, cedar, tobacco and menthol. The 2019 needs time to shed some of its baby fat and reveal its full range of aromatics, but it is undeniably beautiful today. Best of all, the 2019 should be a fabulous deal.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A dense, flavorful red with blackberry and black-olive character. It’s medium-to full-bodied with chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Chewy and solid. Better than the 2018?
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A solid Haut-Medoc with currant and walnut character and some dried mushroom. It’s full-bodied with medium, chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Well done. Drink after 2024.
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.
