Wine Advisor
La Tour Carnet 2020
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
Aromas of raspberries, crème de cassis, cigar wrapper and loamy soil introduce the 2020 La Tour Carnet, a medium to full-bodied, velvety and polished wine that's more harmonious and better balanced than Magrez's Grands Chênes. This large estate has eaten up many of the Haut-Médoc's non-classified growths over the past decade to arrive at a surface area of over 130 hectares today.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2020 la Tour Carnet sports a deep purple-black color and notes of crushed red and black currants, Morello cherries and fresh blackberries, plus hints of lavender, pencil lead and tobacco leaf with a touch of bay leaves. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers a great intensity of crunchy black fruits with a lively backbone and fine-grained tannins, finishing with great length and a skip in its step. Nicely done!
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2020 La Tour Carnet has never really come together. I find the bottled wine lacking in both mid-palate depth and persistence. Dark plum, tobacco, cedar, charcoal and licorice struggle to emerge. The 2020 remains compact, angular and void of its typical charm.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2020 La Tour Carnet comes across a bit light and muted. Bernard Magrez's Haut-Médoc shows its typical earthy, savory profile, with good aromatic persistence, but less depth and structure than the best years. La Tour Carnet is often more compelling. Tasted two times.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 La Tour Carnet was impressive from barrel. Now in bottle, it has a composed and understated bouquet that grows in stature with aeration. A second bottle had a more accentuated marine scent. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, nicely judged acidity, very harmonious with an expressive, lightly spiced and persistent finish. Excellent.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 La Tour Carnet has a wonderful bouquet of finely honed blackberry and briar scents plus touches of crushed rock and cedar, one of the most sophisticated that I have encountered from Bernard Magrez’s Haut-Médoc at this stage. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, slightly chalky tannins, fine balance and good weight and focus on the finish. This is well worth seeking out as it is often released at a consumer-friendly price.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 La Tour Carnet showed extremely well just after bottling. This showing reveals a different wine that is a little austere on the nose and more tertiary in style with freshly rolled tobacco and smoky scents. The palate is medium-bodied with dry tannins. It seems to have lost some of its weight and grip. I'd like to revisit this in a year's time. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Blackberry, blackcurrant and some licorice aromas follow through to a medium body with a nice center palate and fine, focused tannins.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Tight and linear with blackcurrant and lemon rind character. Medium-bodied and racy with very fine tannins and a bright finish. Shows energy and focus. Drinkable, but better in three or four years.
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.
