A succulent and savory young wine with fine and polished tannins that start well and finish very long. Medium body with chocolate, hazelnut, plum and wet-leaf flavors. Lasts a long time on the finish. Delicious now, but better after 2021.

Fresh, sweet, black fruits and boysenberry, with licorice and smoke to complicate the character. Silky, fresh fruits, soft tannins, with a juicy plum and salty, mineral driven finish that has body, finesse, length and the ability to age. Using, 25% whole bunches in the vinification, the wine was made from 51% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. 14% ABV, with a pH of 3.5. The harvest took place September 28 to October 8. Tasted April 2017

The vines for the second wine of Carmes Haut Brion are in Léognan, a good mile or so away from the main estate. As with the main wine, they work on tension, freshness and purity, helped by 25% whole-bunch pressing. There are some gorgeous floral aromatics of peony and iris that jump out of the glass, with a touch of reduction on the first nose before the fruit comes through. Easy to drink, it has the gloss of Pessac but is approachable and enjoyable. It's not sold En primeur but is released two years after harvest. Aged in 30% new oak. 3.55pH. Drinking Window: 2021 - 2032
Tasted by: Jane Anson Part of Bordeaux second wines: 30 to try

The 2016 Le C des Carmes Haut-Brion comes from vines located in the clos over towards Martillac, rather than the vines in the original Les Carmes Haut-Brion vineyard in the Bordeaux suburbs, known as "Le Clos des Carmes Haut-Brion" up until the 2013 vintage. It is a blend of 51% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Sauvigon and 1% Petit Verdot, matured in 30% new oak and the remainder one year old barrels. This includes 25% whole berry fruit. It offers plenty of brambly black fruit on the nose, crushed violets, fresh fig and a touch of spice that opens nicely in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, neatly integrated oak, a little plushness on the entry thanks to the Merlot, and then it dovetails into a more structured, gently grippy, chalk-textured finish with attractive black fruit. Give this two or three years in bottle just to shave off a little abrasiveness and you will have a fine Pessac-Léognan. NM

A pretty, midweight wine, the 2016 Le C. des Carmes Haut-Brion emerges from vineyards near Smith Haut Lafitte and Carbonnieux rather than within the Carmes Haut-Brion estate proper. Black cherry, smoke, licorice and plum give the wine its dark personality. Medium in body, the 2016 is a good choice for drinking over the next few years.