2019 | Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion | Pessac-Léognan | France

The only great estate inside the city of Bordeaux — a Cabernet Franc-driven Pessac cult wine in a stellar 2019.

Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion is Bordeaux's most singular estate: a walled urban vineyard within the city itself, once part of the original Haut-Brion holdings. Under the Pichet family with Stéphane Derenoncourt consulting, it has rocketed into cult status with a daring, Cabernet Franc-dominant style, whole-bunch fermentation and élevage across barrique, foudre and amphora. The 2019 is a benchmark.

A cult Pessac-Léognan of this pedigree, in a great vintage, is a blue-chip cellar wine. Silky, intense, seamless — 95 points → back-vintages only climb → at $260 you're securing one of the Left Bank's modern icons.

• 48% Cabernet Franc, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot
• Pessac-Léognan — the only major estate within Bordeaux city
• Whole-bunch; élevage in barrique, foudre and amphora
• Pichet family; Stéphane Derenoncourt consulting; drink 2026–2050

"Mingling aromas of plums and cassis with blood orange, warm spices and new oak; full-bodied, velvety and seamless… framed by ripe, powdery tannins and lively acids." Translation: perfumed, silky and profound — a Cabernet Franc-led Pessac of flowers, smoke, sea-salt and dark fruit built for decades.

A modern Bordeaux icon from a landmark vintage. Exactly the bottle to cellar for a special occasion a decade out.