- Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2023 has been released for £912 per 12×75
- ‘Sensual, seamless and suave’, said Yohan Castaing, who awarded a barrel range of 97-99 points.
- At this price, today’s release presents reasonable value to buyers.
As part of this year’s Bordeaux En Primeur campaign, Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2023 has been released at €76.8 per bottle ex-négociant, down 28.9% on the 2022 release (€108 per bottle).
It is being offered by the international trade for £912 per 12×75, down 30.9% on the 2022’s opening price (£1,320 per 12×75).
At this price, today’s release presents reasonable value to buyers. Those looking for other opportunities may consider the 2019 vintage. See more pricing analysis below.
Critical response
While describing the 2023 as ‘much more succinct than the 2022’, Neal Martin (Vinous) called it ‘extremely harmonious and characterful’, awarding a score of 94-96 points.
Antonio Galloni (Vinous) also awarded 94-96 points, describing it as ‘increasingly a wine of seamlessness’.
Jane Anson said the wine is ‘distinctive, intense, one for Carmes lovers to celebrate’, and gave the wine a score of 96 points.
Yohan Castaing (The Wine Advocate) called the wine ‘sensual, suave and seamless’ and awarded a score of 97-99 points.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (The Wine Independent) scored the wine 96-98 points, noting ‘fabulously pure, well-defined notes of juicy black cherries, blackcurrant pastilles, ripe juicy blackberries, and licorice, leading to hints of tar, peonies, wet slate, and black olives, with a touch of Sichuan pepper’.
Pricing analysis
According to the Liv-ex Fair Value methodology, Market Prices of Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion are 57.5% correlated with scores from Neal Martin, Liv-ex members’ most influential critic of Bordeaux En Primeur wines. As shown in the chart below, today’s release falls below the Fair Value regression line. As such, it may present reasonable value to buyers – particularly those who are fans of Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW and Yohan Castaing.
The 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021 vintages all fall below the trend line and also represent Fair Value.
Of these, buyers may opt for the 95-point 2019, which hails from a proven vintage and benefits from additional time in bottle. At a Market Price of £900, a slight discount to today’s release, it may present as a compelling alternative to the 2023.
While falling above the Fair Value line, fans of Antonio Galloni may opt for the 2020 vintage. The critic awarded the wine a perfect 100-point score, describing it as a ‘ravishing Pessac-Léognan that will take your breath away’.
Our Bordeaux En Primeur 2023 page contains everything you need to know about this year’s campaign. You can also sign up for our daily En Primeur email alerts using the form below.
Liv-ex analysis is drawn from the world’s most comprehensive database of fine wine prices. The data reflects the real time activity of Liv-ex’s 620+ merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £100m of bids and offers across 20,000 wines.
