Country: France > Bordeaux

Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion

Appellation: Boreaux, Pessac-Leognan
Owner: Patrice Pichet
Winemaker: Guillaume Pouthier
Varieties Grown: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot
Hectares/Age of Vines: 30.75 hectares / 45 years
Altitude/Soil: Gravel, sand, and clay with some limestone
Farming Methods: N/A

Patrice Pichet acquired the Carmes estate in late 2010. This investment had a hint of challenge about it, of course, but it was also driven by a genuine passion for wine harboring the highest ambitions. In seeking to allow the terroir its best possible expression, plot-by-plot work paired with reduced yields enables concentration in the grapes. The ripe fruit then enjoys a wealth of benefits: harvesting by hand, whole berry fermentation, and slow infusion in a gravity-fed vat. From extraction to barrel maturation, gentleness is the watchword. The ten hectares of land are made up of gravel, clay and sand. In this unique geological palette, affinity with the land guides the blend of grape varieties planted (itself also unique): Cabernet Franc (39%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) gaze at each other from either side of the stream, with Merlot (41%) growing a little farther away. This mosaic of plants is what gives the estate its unusual profile.