2019 Chateau La Tour Carnet 4eme Cru Classe, Haut-Medoc

Offering up aromas of rich cassis and blackberry fruit mingled with burning embers, loamy soil and cigar wrapper, the 2019 La Tour Carnet is medium to full-bodied, velvety and enveloping, with a broad attack that segues into an ample core of fruit that's framed by ripe, powdery tannins and lively acids. This is a seamless, rather giving Médoc that has turned out very well.

About to become a 200-hectare property because they’ve bought Caronne Ste-Gemme! Tasted blind. Sweeter than most on the nose – Merlot? And sweet on the palate with fine tannins underneath. Not the most concentrated but it’s certainly a charmer. Just a little green and weak on the end. (JR)

65% Merlot, 33.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Petit Verdot, 0.5% Cabernet Franc. Black core. Rich aroma of black fruit, damson sweetness as well as cassis. Lacks flesh in the middle so although it is fresh, it is also rather lean. (JH)