Apple, pithy lemon, honey, cedar, dried apricot and oak. Good acidity and balance. — 9 months ago
Medium deep ruby . Quite a lot of deep dark spicy blackberry , red plum, blueberry. Touch of orange rind , iris , spiced raspberry jam . On the palate quite round and rich , lots of dark spicy blackberry , blackcurrant fruit , notes of clove . Pretty present but ripe and very fine tannins . Good acidity , balanced . Round and exuberante fruits on the palate , intense and powerful . Long , just a touch of warmth , but mostly very well balanced. After a while more mineral on the finish . Needs lots of time , but very well balanced , 20 years to reach its peak . — 2 years ago
Apples, honey, and Iris on the nose. Rich and smooth and luxurious on the palate.  — 3 months ago
The 2016 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is consistent with previous bottles. It soars from the glass with those (to use a word I used last time) disarming array of blackberry, iris and fig aromas, but displaying a little more blue fruit than I recall. The palate is very well balanced with a velvety texture, pure with just a hint of black pepper. Interestingly, the 65% whole bunches are barely noticeable, just a guiding hand that shapes the finish. Sapid yet tender, this is an outstanding Pessac-Léognan. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the Icons of Bordeaux dinner at Legacy Records in New York. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2024)
— 5 months ago
What a treat ! Beautiful structure, even at 20 years old. Still a yellow lemon color, not at all showing its age. Tiny and vibrant bubbles. Pastries, biscuits on the nose, beautiful rounded mouth-feel barely a hint of age. Never disappoints. Thanks Acquis, received in July 2015. Opening for a special occasion. — 6 months ago
Well well well, balanced she said. Bright and earthy after uncorking but slow the horses! This beautiful wine opened up to reveal balance, elegance, light fruit, and smooth depth. This is the perfect age to drink it. Enjoying ourselves at Lupi & Iris in Milwaukee. — 2 years ago
Andrew Cullimore
Medium ruby , bright with a wide ruby rim . Restrained and focused at first , red cherry , pine , iris and wet slate , with fresh sage and rosemary . On the palate very elegant and again restrained , the spicy red cherry , raspberry , rosemary , sage and thyme notes , with good backbone from fresh acidity , saline hints . Tannins are quite elegant and though present are very fine . Medium , sour cherry stained length. Overall perhaps doesn’t have the complexity or structure of the 2019 but this is a very refined , elegant wine , as one would expect. This is actually enjoyable now due to the sweet fine tannins but will no doubt age well and improve over the next 10-15 years — 2 months ago