Le Carre 2011
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Winemaker Notes
The 2011 boasts a dense purple color in addition to abundant quantities of black fruits, crushed rocks and flowers nicely wrapped in new oak, where it receives it's malolactic fermentation and ageing.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The wine shows its wood aging at this stage, but also has swathes of ripe black fruits, sweet tannins and intense acidity. It’s the fruit that will drive this rounded wine, although the structure and dry tannins play a part in allowing it to age.
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Wine Spectator
Solidly built, offering an impressive beam of raspberry and boysenberry fruit that pumps along, with a well-toasted frame and a graphite spine driving the finish. Just a touch stolid now, showing ample depth and persistence. Should stretch out well enough. This has come along very nicely since the barrel tasting.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This parcel, owned by Jonathan Maltus, was carved out of a premier grand cru classe, and the terroir consists of a thin layer of clay over compacted white limestone. The 2011 Le Carre (85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc) reveals good minerality interwoven with blueberry liqueur, white flower and chalk dust characteristics in its medium to full-bodied, pure, rich, concentrated personality. The tannins are supple, and like most successful 2011s, the wine is silky and forward. This impressively-endowed St.-Emilion should drink well for 10-12 years. Only 300 cases were produced.
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James Suckling
Big and rich with dark chocolate, meat and dried fruits. Full body, velvety tannins and a juicy finish. Needs three to five years to come together.
Other Vintages
2012-
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One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.