Chateau Carbonnieux 2018
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
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Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The 2018 red has an optimal level of maturity for all the Cabernet Sauvignon batches. The wine has a deep purple color with hints of ruby. In the nose the fruity flavour dominates the woody flavour with wonderful blueberry notes thank to the ripeness of the Merlots and the nice strength of the Cabernet Sauvignon with its smoky hints is easily recognized. On the palate the attack is unctuous, full, powerful with a slightly woody note without the astringency or hardness of tannins, this wine needs to reach its best through aging but it certainly promises to be a great wine.
Blend: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Always a success, the releases of whites from this estate continue with this tight, textured, wood-aged and ripe wine. It is still young, balancing between citrus and crisp acidity, with a texture that will open as the wine ages. Drink from 2023.
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Wine Spectator
Tightly drawn, with a cloak of alder and juniper over the core of steeped plum and black currant flavors. Lots of tar, bramble, loam and sweet bay accents score the finish, which sports heft and muscle. Superb showing. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2038.
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James Suckling
Blackberry, dried-violet, gravel, chocolate and iodine aromas. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, creamy tannins. Chewy, flavorful finish. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 25% merlot, 5% cabernet franc and 5% petit verdot. Try from 2024.
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Jeb Dunnuck
I loved the 2018 Château Carbonnieux. This Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated Pessac sports a deep purple hue as well as ripe, sexy aromas and flavors of blackcurrants, chocolate, leafy tobacco, and earth. Beautifully textured, with silky tannins and outstanding balance, it's already drinking brilliantly yet has a solid 10-15 years of longevity ahead of it.
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Decanter
A more savoury Cabernet-dominant profile than with the Carbonnieux, with a hint of tomato leaf. This is good but a little austere. The slight bitterness on the finish seen during en primeur is a little more evident now after the ageing, and it certainly needs another five or so years to soften. I am bringing the score down slightly from en primeur. 5% Petit Verdot finishes the blend. 40% new oak. Drinking Window 2023 - 2040
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Carbonnieux gives up wonderfully pure scents of ripe black cherries, mulberries and cassis, plus suggestions of Ceylon tea, black olive and lavender with a pinch of ground cloves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers loads of spicy black fruit flavors, supported by grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing with a peppery kick.
Other Vintages
2022-
Robert
Parker - Decanter
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James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
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Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
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James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Enthusiast - Decanter
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Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker -
Wilfred
Wong
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling - Decanter
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Wine
Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling - Decanter
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Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wilfred
Wong -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker -
Connoisseurs'
Guide -
Wine
Enthusiast
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Robert
Parker
Marc Perrin acquired and restored the chateau in 1956. His son, Antony, currently manages the estate. The gravelly soil at Carbonnieux is perfectly drained thanks to the Eau Blanche stream that carries away any excess water. The 85 hectares of vines are evenly divided between red and white wine varieties. The white wine is fermented and aged in barrel for 10 months. The red wine is aged for 15 to 18 months in barrel, depending on the quality and characteristics of the vintage.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Recognized for its superior reds as well as whites, Pessac-Léognan on the Left Bank claims classified growths for both—making it quite unique in comparison to its neighboring Médoc properties.
Pessac’s Chateau Haut-Brion, the only first growth located outside of the Médoc, is said to have been the first to conceptualize fine red wine in Bordeaux back in the late 1600s. The estate, along with its high-esteemed neighbors, La Mission Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pique-Caillou and Chateau Pape-Clément are today all but enveloped by the city of Bordeaux. The rest of the vineyards of Pessac-Léognan are in clearings of heavily forested area or abutting dense suburbs.
Arid sand and gravel on top of clay and limestone make the area unique and conducive to growing Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc as well as the grapes in the usual Left Bank red recipe: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and miniscule percentages of Petit Verdot and Malbec.
The best reds will show great force and finesse with inky blue and black fruit, mushroom, forest, tobacco, iodine and a smooth and intriguing texture.
Its best whites show complexity, longevity and no lack of exotic twists on citrus, tropical and stone fruit with pronounced floral and spice characteristics.