Château Carbonnieux: Tasting & Drinking
My experience of the wines of Château Carbonnieux takes in a number of vintages and whilst I am quite certain that there are more breathtaking wines in the appellation, such as Domaine de Chevalier, Château Pape-Clément, Château Brown and Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte, quality here has remained in the ascendant in recent vintages. Worthy examples can be found in the 2002 and 2004 vintages, as is the case with many white wines from Graves (and elsewhere in France) the 2003 should be avoided, especially if you look for acidity and freshness in your wines. More recent vintages have been successful, in particular 2011, although 2010 and 2008 are also very good efforts. Nevertheless, the style is very much influenced by harvesting practices I feel, which tend to favour the greener and less polished side of Sauvignon Blanc, and so the wines remain very different in style to those found at estates cited above.
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