Tour Carnet - Haut-Médoc 2020

Vinous

88

byNeal Martinthe2/28/2025

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.

Alexandre Ma

91

byAlexandre Mathe4/18/2023

Wine Advocate

91

byWilliam Kelleythe4/6/2023

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.

Wine Spectator

89

byJames Molesworththe3/31/2023

This has a solid core of dark plum and blackberry fruit flavors that marry well with anise- and alder-accented toast. Stays focused through the finish. Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2028.

Jeb DUNNUCK

91

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/30/2023

Almost always a winner, the 2020 Château La Tour Carnet offers a terrific, medium-bodied, concentrated style as well as classic notes of ripe currants, darker cherries, spicy wood, and graphite. It has the vintage's more focused, classic, structured style, with ripe tannins and outstanding length. It's well worth seeking out and is going to evolve for at least a decade.

The Wine Cellar Insider

92

byJeff Levethe3/22/2023

Dark garnet in color, the wine pops with its show nose of espresso, smoked currants, licorice, and barbecue aromas. The wine is ripe, round and lush with a full, rich, polished wave of black cherries and cocoa that come through easily on the mid-palate and in the finish. Drink from 2024-2045.

Alexandre Ma

91

byAlexandre Mathe3/15/2023

Wines Critic

90

byRaffaele Vecchionethe3/10/2023

Slightly agitated in the sensory profile showing notes of raspberries, currants, linden, mandarin blossom, pink grapefruit and ginger. Medium bodied, slightly astringent tannins and a finale with good tension. Better from 2024.

Vinous

87

byAntonio Gallonithe2/24/2023

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.

Vinous

92

byNeal Martinthe2/15/2023

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.

Jamessuckling.com

92

byJames Sucklingthe1/16/2023

Aromas of blackcurrant and tobacco leaf with some dark cherry follow through to a medium body, creamy tannins and a medium finish. Some bitter wood, too. Drinkable now, but better at the end of 2023.

Yvesbeck.wine

92

byYves Beckthe1/3/2023

D'entrée Tour Carnet 2020 affiche un caractère invitant, tant par son intensité fruitée que sa pluralité.
Friand et de bonne densité, le vin est doté de tannins ronds et veloutés. Il a du corps, de la
profondeur et du charme. Un vin délicieux et gourmand que l'on pourra certainement approcher
dans sa jeunesse, mais qui affiche également une bonne aptitude à la garde. 2024-2037

TASTED

94

byAndreas Larssonthe7/6/2021

Meaty and fleshy dark fruit, fine oak notes and mocha. Dense and concentrated with fine extract a tannic freshness, paired with dark chocolate and unctuous dark fruit, long and generous finish.

Vinous

88-90

byAntonio Gallonithe6/1/2021

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.

Vinous

91-93

byNeal Martinthe5/27/2021

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.

Decanter.com

91

byJane Ansonthe5/25/2021

They have done a good job of carefully working the extraction so that the tannins are abundant but not bitter, and the fruit is savoury, with layers of redcurrant and raspberry alongside some hawthorn character. Expertly handled, lovely appealing aromatics, but things finish a little abruptly. A yield of 30hl/ha. 12 months ageing. Harvest September 22 to October 2.

The Wine Cellar Insider

91-93

byJeff Levethe5/21/2021

Smoke, espresso, licorice, mesquite, black and red currant aromas appear in the perfume. The palate is lush, round, ripe and rich with smoky black cherries, bitter cocoa and black plums. The finish is powerful, full and almost muscular, leaving you with a big gulp of black fruits. 91-93

Wine Advocate

91-93

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe5/20/2021

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!

Anthocyanes

90-92

byYohan Castaingthe5/11/2021

Nez très fruits noirs, cassis, un peu myrtille avec une pointe épicée. En bouche, c'est rond et juteux mais la structure moyennement dense manque un peu de fond. Plutôt frais en finale.

Falstaff

91-93

byPeter Moserthe5/10/2021

Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, dezente Randaufhellung. Reife Pflaumen, etwas Nougat, dunkle Waldbeeren unterlegt, Orangenzesten im Hintergrund. Mittlerer Körper, rotbeerige Frucht, dezente Süße, eingelegte Kirschen, reife Tannine, harmonisch, bereits gut entwickelt.

My Bettane + Desseauve

90-91

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/7/2021

Jamessuckling.com

92-93

byJames Sucklingthe4/23/2021

Blackberry, blackcurrant and some licorice aromas follow through to a medium body with a nice center palate and fine, focused tannins.