2 | Wine, Haut-medoc

"Dense but fresh, with a saturated core of blackberry pâte de fruit, anise and plum sauce that races along with vibrant spice and graphite notes. The long finish shows cut and drive, with enough grip to cellar short term."

"This dense purple wine displays notes of charcoal, subtle toast and white chocolate as well as blueberry and blackberry liqueur intermixed with hints of graphite and licorice. Dense, full-bodied, unctuously textured, and quite long and thick, this concentrated, impressively endowed wine is silky-textured and already accessible. However, I suspect its best days are at least 5-7 years ahead of it. It should keep for a minimum of two decades."-Robert Parker

"This has a nice warm feel, with plush roasted coffee bean, steeped plum and fig fruit flavors melding through the tobacco-filled finish."

"Probably La Tour Carnet’s best since their 2001, the 2010 La Tour Carnet exhibits wonderful ripeness, a dense ruby/purple color, notes of licorice, camphor and some toast as well as lots of black currant and blueberry fruit. It is medium to full-bodied, with attractive sweetness of tannin, good acidity, excellent delineation to its component parts, and a full-bodied, impressively long finish. This wine may close down somewhat, given the moderate tannins, but it seems relatively accessible despite being a 2010." -Robert Parker

"This juicy red has a nice compact feel to the core of red and black currant fruit, studded with anise and dark tobacco notes. An iron-tinged grip carries the finish."

"The wine needs a good 7-10 years of cellaring and should keep for 30 more years, but this is the finest Cantemerle I have encountered in my professional career of tasting young vintages (dating back 34 years now). Stunningly deep ruby/purple, with a beautiful nose of spring flowers intermixed with perfumed raspberry and blueberry notes, it exhibits a sort of cool-climate character. Broad, rich and intense on the palate, the wine has plenty of tannins, but they are sweet and well-integrated. Everything is delicately entwined into this beautiful, medium to full-bodied, dense purple wine, which shows stunning character and a prodigious potential for development. This is definitely a major sleeper of the vintage and even better than I thought from barrel." -Robert Parker

"Sports a rather overt toasted spice and fruitcake profile, with ripe blueberry, blackberry and boysenberry notes backed by more toast and anise on the finish. Shows harmony despite the overt style, but this is a touch shy on length and purity for outstanding."
-Wine Spectator - 89 pts

"In a somewhat tragic twist, this over-achieving cru bourgeois in Haut-Medoc has turned in its finest wine to date, an unfined cuvee made from 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 20% Petit Verdot, created by the late proprietor Vincent Mulliez, who died suddenly last year. Sadly, this was his best effort. Notes of blackberries, black currants, licorice and a hint of toasty oak jump from the glass of this medium to full-bodied, well-endowed, impressively pure and textured wine. It should drink nicely for up to a decade."-Robert Parker

"This dense purple wine displays notes of charcoal, subtle toast and white chocolate as well as blueberry and blackberry liqueur intermixed with hints of graphite and licorice. Dense, full-bodied, unctuously textured, and quite long and thick, this concentrated, impressively endowed wine is silky-textured and already accessible. However, I suspect its best days are at least 5-7 years ahead of it. It should keep for a minimum of two decades."-Robert Parker