Château de Carles: Tasting & Drinking
Reflecting on my first encounter with the wines of Château de Carles has me scraping the bottom of the barrel of my wine memories, because I first tasted Château de Carles when it was shown in the portfolio of wines made by Jean-Luc Thunevin when he was consulting for the property. It was firm and tannic, and showed some quality. Having said that this was over twenty years ago, and the pace of changed here at Château de Carles means that wine has little in common with those made here today. Since then the cellars have seen a major overhaul in 2003, allowing for the movement of wine solely by gravity, followed by yet another major reinvestment and upgrade in time for the 2020 vintage.
More recent vintages are perhaps rather more relevant to current buying decisions, and on the whole these have much promise. Strong vintages include 2019 in particular, with very fine efforts in the 2022, 2020 and 2018 vintages. For my palate the Haut-Carles cuvée is decidedly superior, with more texture, more fruit and greater conviction. I can see the Château de Carles cuvée drinking better in some situations though, and it is perhaps a better choice for younger drinking.
With more recent investments I expect to see more wines of greater quality made here in forthcoming vintages, so this is a property I will endeavour to follow in the coming years. (4/9/24)
