2012 Château les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux

This estate has been under new ownership since 2010 and the 2012 is a great success story.  The fruit shows luscious redcurrants and the overall style is really soft and attractive. It is the finish, however, where the wine really shows off a wonderful sapidité (a French term meaning an almost salty, mineral savouriness). The château's director, Guillaume Pouthier, puts this down to using ripe stalks in the blend, a difficult method frequently used in Burgundy but very rarely seen in Bordeaux. This 2012 is very much a success.