La Tour Carnet 2014

Brilliant aromas of blackberries, fresh mushrooms and dried flowers. Black licorice as well. Full body, tight and silky with ripe tannins and a linear line to it. Wet earth and spices. Drink in 2020.

Fresh, with a beam of cherry and black currant fruit, backed by modest tobacco and warm stone notes. The toast is a bit obvious through the finish, but this has good range.

The 2014 La Tour Carnet was a wine that I tasted last year from bottle, so why not give it another whirl to remind readers of its quality. There is a lot going on aromatically with plenty of boisterous black cherry and raspberry fruit, maintaining that floral element that I discerned last year. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, perhaps the oak on this bottle a little more conspicuous than before, but that will be subsumed with two or three years in bottle. Drink 2019-2030

The Château La Tour Carnet 2014 is a blend of 68% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot picked between 22 September and 23 October, aged in 30% new oak. This feels more precocious and concentrated on the nose compared directly with the Grand Chênes with small black cherries and blueberry fruit that is nicely defined, quite racy and lively. The palate is full-bodied, dense and quite muscular, a pleasant saline tang coming through towards the finish. There is more presence here than the Grands Chênes. Tasted four or five times, a couple showing a tad "foursquare" perhaps, but otherwise a decent if not spectacular contribution to the 2014 vintage. Drink: 2018 - 2030

This shows a solid core of fruit with dark berry and chocolate character. Full with polished texture