Winemaker Notes
The uniqueness of the terroir of Saint-Laurent-du-Medoc lies in its diversity. It is a mosaic of sandy-gravelly and gravelly slopes on which are located the best vineyards, including La Tour Carnet. Soil structure presents a great similarity with that of neighboring appellations of Pauillac and Saint-Julien.
The average age of the vines is 24 years.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
The ancient vineyard of Tour Carnet, first planted in the 15th century, is into a renaissance. This wine, which showed too many tannins when in barrel, is now coming to life. The balance, the acidity and the seductive perfumes promise plenty. So does the structure, just hinting at bitterness, a function of its youthfulness. Keep for 5–8 years.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Like most recent vintages have been, the 2004 La Tour Carnet is a big time sleeper of the vintage. Owned by Bordeaux visionary Bernard Magrez, this chateau is fashioning beautifully structured wines with superb concentration and intensity. The deep ruby/purple-hued 2004 offers up beautiful aromas of flowers, creme de cassis, smoke, and pain grille. Medium to full-bodied with excellent purity, low acidity, and moderately high tannin, this stunning effort should be at its peak between 2011-2024+.
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.
While it claims the same basic landscape as the Medoc—only every so slightly elevated above river level—the Haut Medoc is home to all of the magnificent chateaux of the Left Bank of Bordeaux, creating no lack of beautiful sites to see.
These chateaux, residing over the classed-growth cru in the villages of Margaux, Moulis, Listrac, St-Julien, Pauillac and St. Estephe are within the Haut Medoc appellation. Though within the confines of these villages, any classed-growth chateaux will most certainly claim village or cru status on their wine labels.
Interestingly, some classed-growth cru of the Haut Medoc fall outside of these more famous villages and can certainly be a source of some of the best values in Bordeaux. Deep in color, and concentrated in ripe fruit and tannins, these wines (typically Cabernet Sauvignon-based) often prove the same aging potential of the village classed-growths. Among these, the highest ranked chateaux are Chateau La Lagune and Chateau Cantemerle.